April 26 — Simmering for Sandra Lee

Food Network star Sandra Lee visits her hometown of Sumner

Andrew Hosford / of The Herald

Television star and best-selling author Sandra Lee made her way back home to Sumner this past week to film four episodes of her show “Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.”

The show, which airs weekly on the Food Network, filmed episodes at The Spring Fair, Northwest Trek and two at Sumner’s Laurel Creek Manor.

“Sandra is a really nice person,” said Laurel Cabodi, owner of the Manor. “She is such a joy to have around.”

Lee spent part of her childhood in Sumner attending both Sumner middle and high schools.

She has four siblings, who she helped raise because her mother died when Lee was 10 years old, and they all still live in the Sumner area.

“I got to know the grocery store very well,” Lee said of her the pressure to cook for her family. “I can make anything out of Bisquick.”

She splits time between New York, where the Food Network is based, and her home in Los Angeles, traveling back to Sumner four or five times a year, she said.

“I can’t get everybody else to leave,” she said of her family. “It makes me want to come back.”

Her family might not move but they still get to benefit from their sister’s celebrity lifestyle.

She takes them on vacation to exotic locations and even had her nephews on camera for part of her taping.

“I think they love it,” she added.

Lee is loved and admired by many people these days as her popularity has rocketed her up the charts.

The “Semi-Homemade” series is the third-highest rated show on the Food Network with weekly episodes about cooking, and home decorations that are affordable.

Currently, the show doubles the ratings of her colleague on the Food Network, Emeril Lagasse.

She hopes the four episodes in Western Washington will continue to attract viewers and readers to her cookbooks.

“You can tell she is from a small town,” Cabodi said of Lee’s personality.

The producers of the show felt the Laurel Creek location captured the essence of Lee and her show.

“I never dreamed we would have a TV show here,” Cabodi said.

The crew checked out the Knutzen Farms and even Meeker Mansion for possible locations but settled on the Manor.

She said the crew was cautious around her pristine gardens and “treated everything with such care.” They are welcome back anytime, she added with a grin.

“They are emphasizing that she grew up here,” Cabodi said. “It’s going to be great for Sumner.”

The biggest problem at the shoot, other than the occasional wind burst, was a controversy over when to flip the asparagus on the grill.

Lee thought the wrapped delicacies should be flipped in between scenes as to not burn them but was overridden by the director. In the end, all the food looked delicious.

Each show is based on a theme and daffodils were the focus for the second shoot at the Manor.

Citrus swordfish brochette and wrapped asparagus cooked on the grill while Lee prepared lime couscous for the camera. Each recipe involved plenty of spring colors with no shortage of yellow.

A couple of acts into the shoot, Lee integrated the theme with a special daffodil cake, covered with daffodil-shaped cookies.

Staying true to her “Semi-Homemade” book and television series roots, the main ingredient is a half-sheet, bakery-bought cake.

After applying the yellow frosting, the final touches include a stack of yellow and white frosting cupcakes and a few daffodil-shaped cookies.

The final ingredient to the daffodil feast Lee prepared on the show is a special drink presented during “cocktail time.”

Named the Daffodil Driver, the drink is an original recipe concocted by Lee.

The daffodil dinner is something Lee was looking forward to creating as she never had time to join in on the daffodil festivities during school.

“I am a very semi-homemade daffodil princess,” Lee said as she put on her 2007 festival pin.

Check local listings for show times as an airing date is not yet set.