I had my first experience cooking in front of a camera tonight. I was contacted recently by a television producer, and I agreed to be taped making meatloaf for a video project. I don’t know exactly where it will end up, but I will certainly link to it if possible.

Of course the whole thing made me pretty nervous, but not as nervous as I expected to be. I asked an acquaintance who has been on TV many times for advice, and she told me to wear a solid color other than white and to relax and be myself. So I kept reminding myself how easy meatloaf is, and how little there is to screw up. My main concern was looking dumb on camera, and for all I know, I did. But I had a glass of wine before the producers arrived, and I had my ingredients in place, so I felt good.

The hardest thing about being taped while you cook is having to talk about what you’re doing. When I cook on a regular night, Nathan is working on the computer a few feet away, and we’re either chatting or just listening to music. I’m certainly not narrating my progress. But I think I did alright once I got into it.

The loaf, incidentally, came out beautifully. It didn’t fall apart, and the flavor was good enough for the producers to have seconds. If I had known that the final plating was to be recorded, and that they were going to stay and eat, I would have made a green side dish like spinach or green beans or at least a small salad. As it was, we just had roasted yams and garlic, so I thought it all looked a bit sad on the plate. But at that point there was nothing to be done. I told the guys that my mom would be horrified by the lack of a green vegetable. Sure enough, when I told her about it on the phone, she asked, “What? Nothing green?”

Another snafu was that I started to cry uncontrollably in the middle of chopping the onion. Off camera, I can take a break and run some water near my eyes. I’m just glad I didn’t chop a finger off trying to look smooth. I hope that scene gets cut!