Rachael Ray's 3-Delish Episode!

Yum-O! For her October 29 Halloween episode, foodie and Halloween fiend Rachael Ray is serving up an episode packed with 3-D effects and suitably outré appearances by Pee-wee Herman and magicians Penn & Teller. Good thing the two-time Emmy winner is as fearless as she is fabulous.
TV Guide Magazine: Where did you come up with the idea to do a 3-D episode?
Ray: We went to this conference, and the men who created the Real-D technology were there. They showed us scenes from The Departedand [had] a showing of Kung Fu Panda in Real-D that was amazing. So I called our executive producer and said, "We have got to be the first daytime show that does a 3-D production." We've been kicking it around for a few years, so this has been some time in the making.
TV Guide Magazine: Well, it looks awesome. And rumor has it you are quite the Halloween fan, anyway.
Ray: Oh, yeah. Anything that involves playing with your food, you know? [Laughs] And I always reek like garlic, so the only time people don't mind that is when it keeps the vampires away. 
TV Guide Magazine: On the 3-D episode, you rock a serious Jessica Rabbit outfit. Did you have a favorite costume as a kid?
Ray: I'm 42, so when I was a kid, everyone made their costumes. We were pirates and hobos. I liked being a hobo because I liked putting the dirt makeup on and I'd go out into the woods to find a good stick for the bag you'd carry.
TV Guide Magazine: What was your candy of choice?
Ray: My favorite Halloween candy was Mary Jane. Can you imagine? Those peanut-butter chewy things? Mmmm. And It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was my favorite special, of course!
TV Guide Magazine: How are you and your husband, John Cusimano, celebrating the holiday this year?
Ray: We're having a bunch of friends to our place upstate and I'm making everybody goofy Halloween bags with all kinds of masks and tattoos [and] jacked-up teeth people can pop in. They get to make their own costume. Oh, and we're gonna watch the new Blu-ray release of The Exorcist. That is my favorite horror movie of all time!
TV Guide Magazine: And what kind of treats have you cooked up for the trick-or-treaters?
Ray: I don't make treats. I give out a big ol' bowl of candy and let the kids pick out what they want. [Laughs] I always hated those houses where the mom would choose for you.
TV Guide Magazine: Recently, David Letterman got into trouble when he ranted against food shows while you were a guest on his show. What happened?
Ray: OK, so I have been on his show many, many times. I love Dave. Over the summer I was working on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, something I mentioned in passing when the producer prepped me that day. And Dave is devoted to this issue, so he's passionate about it. It really incenses him that we're a country of plenty, but kids go to bed hungry. And he's right! During my segment, he went on a rant that I completely agreed with.
TV Guide Magazine: So no hard feelings then?
Ray: I actually didn't have a problem with it. But everyone in the audience was waiting for the typical chit-chat about what's coming up on the daytime show or my new Food Network show, Week in a Day. It turned out to be a really heavy discussion. I guess he must have gotten some flack from his own team, because he then went and apologized on air for a show that hadn't even aired yet! [Laughs] My dream is that maybe Dave will come on my show and have a proper full-length rant about it, you know? Maybe one day we could do something together about [the issue]. But I have no complaints. I'm Dave's biggest fan.
TV Guide Magazine: Talking about Week in a Day — you have that, 30 Minute Meals, the talk show, your books, the magazine, your Yum-o! charity, your animal-rescue work, lobbying and live appearances... where do you find time to have a life?
Ray: [Laughs] John and I are people who never really looked for balance in our lives; we just look for quality. So even if we only have two hours together, we make dinner, open a bottle of wine — we have a good quality of life.
For a pair of free 3-D glasses and exclusive images from the Halloween special, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide Magazine, on newsstands now!
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