Hi! I’m Sara O’Donnell… food lover, blogger, recipe author, video producer and the creator of Average Betty. I’m an artist and an Art Historian by degree. Therefore, the content on this site is an evolving, satirical look at current events, relationships and the foods that define them.
Average Betty ignites a passion for cooking and baking and engages a positive environment for the exploration of all foods. From not-so-secret family recipes to the kitchens of James Beard Award winning chefs and all the morsels in between, Average Betty uncovers the treasures that surround good food.
Why Average Betty? I know. This website is called Average Betty and my name is Sara. You see, here in Southern California, “Betty” is slang for the word gal similar to how “Joe” is slang for a guy. For example: Average Joe, Joe Six Pack, Joe the Plumber. Well, I’m Average Betty. I’m not a diva, I’m not a chef and I’m certainly not a guru. I’m just an average betty that loves food, wine, art and music. I also like to party.
Why food? I am the last of six children from a middle class family; needless to say I was in the kitchen a lot helping prepare meals. I put myself through college working in the bar-restaurant business. Cooking, baking, entertaining and grocery shopping have always been a part of my life.
With the rise in convenience products and increasingly busy lifestyles, many people are no longer eating meals at home, prepared from whole foods. So I decided to make food the focus of Average Betty. Not with the ambition to solve the obesity epidemic, but with the ambition of getting more people in the kitchen again to prepare their own meals and have an ongoing, positive discussion about food.
We want to hear from you! Do you have a recipe request or a recipe you’d like to share? Maybe you have a suggestion or a concern? Is there a chef we’ve got to meet or a festival we need to explore? What if you’ve got a gadget we just have to test drive or a goodie that we must ingest? Contact Average Betty (betty at averagebetty dot com).
I am working on a concept of email video news. I am interested in discussing including some averagebetty as a choice. Reply or call 435-901-7664
love the videos “Better Than” Average Betty, You get me cookin’.
Hello,
We would like to do an interview with you about your blog for
http://www.BlogInterviewer.com . We’d like to give you the opportunity to
give us some insight on the “person behind the blog.”
It would just take a few minutes of your time. The interview form can
be submitted online at http://bloginterviewer.com/submit-an-interview
Best regards,
Mike Thomas
WOW !!!
The best thing since Billie Holiday and vanilla ice cream with hit chocolate !!!
Alain
sorry, HOT chocolate
:-)
YOU R 2 CUTE/FUNNY, LOVE THE BROADCAST. YES, YOU GOT ME COOKING AS WELL.
So my mom posted your chicken tazer video on myspace, and I have to say your non-conventional marketing tactics are awesome! Seriously, this was amazing! I’m definitely forwarding it on to all of my advertising friends and I’m sure we’ll all be copycatting your ingenious methods of punk marketing now ;)
good work, and great recipes!
betty:
I love it I love it i love it!!! I am a muslim who eats only halal or kosher meat. therefore, I haven’t been able to eat any chinese food ever since I’ve gone halal. When I watched your fried rice presentation, I thought to myself: wait a minute!! I can do that with halal meat from the market. WOULD YOU PLEASEEEEEEE teach me how to make sweet and sour chicken. Loved your fried rice.
God bless and thank you.
Halalone
Hi halalone!
Thank you so much! You can make the fried rice with halal meat OR just make it without meat… I do a lot and it’s still great!
I’ve never tried to make sweet n’ sour chicken before, but you have inspired me! I will give it my best shot!
Cheers,
Betty
love your stuff,you make me hungry!!!!!!
Hey scott!
Thank you! Glad I make you hungry! Do you like to cook or are you more about the eating?
xo,
Betty
Glad to hear from you! I love to cook it,then i enjoy eating it
Love your stuff Betty. Are you single? Hey I have a challenge for you. I am a pilot and away from home for 4 days at a time. I am so tired of eating out. I would love to see what you can come up with. Something quick, easy and I can bring along with me. Preferably something that doesnt need to be re-heated. I have a cooler so keeping it cold is no prob. Oh by the way, when do we get to see bikini Betty?
Hi Rob! I love your challenge! I have some ideas already… but maybe you should tell me what your tastes are – question for ya: do you like curry?
And, oh… “Bikini Betty” has made a few debuts (under different guises) in Fajquitos: Toma Dos, Mac Daddy n Cheese and, I don’t know if it’s exactly a bikini, but The Cuckoonut Shrimp Fairy!
Hi Betty,
Love your videos. Think you’re a breath of fresh air in the kinda stuffy cooking industry!!
I’d be interested in talking to you about a potential commercial venture. you can contact myself or my colleague Niall Harbison (niall.harbison@ifoods.tv). We’re based in Dublin so if you’d like to talk on skype or we could give you a call just let us know.
Cheers and keep up the good work!!
Sean.
Betty, yes I like curry and pretty much anything else. Easy to please, haha. I look forward to seeing what you can come up with. I enjoy Bikini Betty anytime she makes an appearance, but you never answered my 1st question…are you single?
Betty,do you like catfish?if so how do you cook it?
Hey Scott! I LOVE catfish! When I was a little girl, my Uncle had a farm in Alabama and raised catfish… of course I didn’t like fish then… kinda the story behind “Fish Camp.”
The seasoning combination in the Fish Camp recipe is how I would prepare almost any whitefish. But I would use the spices as more of a “rub” and blacken the fish in a skillet. The red pepper aioli would be great too. http://www.averagebetty.com/?p=119
I’ve had catfish at this swanky restaurant in Del Mar where they bread it with a mustard batter and serve it on a bed of succotash of roasted corn, potatoes and onions. Delicious!
Mmmm, now you have made me hungry for catfish Scott! Hope this helped ;)
xo,
Betty
Betty,
Thankyou for the above info,i cooked it,chowed down and loved it !!! In your 911 video you say something about somebody getting wacked, that tell’s me you know people in New York,Chicago ect.I know you could make the planet laugh and eat if you cooked something Italian and had a mob theme video
FUHGEDABOUDIT
Scott Moorhouse
Yay Scott! So glad you enjoyed the fish ;)
YES!!! I do know peeps in the North East that complain about not being able to get a good burrito… that was definitely the inspiration there! Expect more Burrito 911 episodes in the future!
Gotta get on the Italian dishes! Funny that you say that, because a pasta was going to be next, but… now it’s… well, FUHGEDABOUDIT! New one coming soon!
Always good to hear from you Scott!
Cheers,
Betty
hello betty
first of all you look hot and you are so funny :). anyway let get
back to bussines I like to ask you something about this site. I am
planning the same concept in turkish site. how much does this
cost and how much do you make from here ?
you see I am a nerdy webmaster I know how to build these
things but I dunno the bussines part much. you can mail me
directly from my email adress I think it would be better
because this questions are not about food :)
Cheers
Betty
I am hungry for pasta ,fuhgedaboudit help me out ! There is one thing better than food ,it is humor and you do it well.You make me hungry and laugh.
Hey Scott!
Oh pasta! Gotta get to the pasta, I know!! I have a soup coming up next I hope to have out in a few days. Getting ready for some Halloween humor!
What is your favorite pasta, by the way?
Cheers,
Betty
All pasta.Today is a rainy day so i am going to do your butternut squash soup.Look’s good.
Betty,I made the soup.It was a great feast!!!!!!!!
Scott! You made the soup?!?!? How awesome! Thank you so much for trying it – I am so happy to hear you liked it! You made my day ;)
xo,
Betty
Now… about that pasta…
Betty,
I hope ma ma betty and daughter betty enjoyed the meal they shared. Did they?
Hey Scott! They did -all thanks to those three easy steps! It was a lot of fun getting this recipe from my Mom and knowing in the back of my mind what was brewing. HeeHee. I was a bit like Emo Betty when I was a kid – my poor Mom!
Pasta is coming!! I have 2 great pasta dishes in the works…
Happy Thanksgiving, Scott!
xo,
Betty
Happy Hollandaise Betty,
I will try it out this sunday.Never made it, but with your video I think I can do it.
Aloha, scott! Happy Hollandaise to you too!!
I must tell you… making Hollandaise your first time is scary! (It’s the first sauce they teach you to make in cooking school… I guess cause it can make you or break you! Pun intended!) Just keep the water in your double boiler hot-not boiling and whisk like a mad man!
Eggs Benedict is truly one of my favorite indulgences and if you can treat someone to it… they will be more than impressed ;)
Let me know how it goes!
Mahaloxoxo,
Betty
BETTY FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
Betty it took a few times to get the Happy Hollandaise down pat,but I got it.Spin-ach soup will be on the menu for this football weekend,it looks good.Sen.Betty said FUHGEDABOUDIT,that makes me think of pasta.How about you???????????
I do not know what this means.
Mahaloxoxo,
Scott Moorhouse
Hey Scott! Woo-Hoo! I am so glad you stuck with the Hollandaise! It looks so easy, but can be tricky. And so glad you are going to give the Spinach Soup a try!
Just experimented with a baked ziti this week ;) Fuhgedaboudit! I want to do an eggplant parm too… and a simple Alfredo… mmm. I’m getting hungry!
“Mahalo” is like “good-bye” or “you’re welcome” in Hawaiian. The response to “Aloha.” So, Mahaloxoxo was my silly way of saying “Love from Hawaii” because when I wrote to you last… I was there. And, I miss that place already!
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Betty
Betty you are a nut,I would love to cook with you.I know it would be fun.Please keep doing what you do!
Hi Scott!
Yes. Nuttier than a banana bread ;) I promise you, I will keep doin’ what I do… new one coming this weekend!
xoxo,
Betty
There is no page for you in Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=AVERAGE+BETTY&go=Go
I’m sure you know you can create a page for Average Betty. Perhaps have your fans add to it.
All the best…..
rp
Well hello there, Ron!
It’s great to meet you! You are so right, thanks for looking out for my best interests… I’ll just have to create a page in Wikipedia and “officially” exist online :)
Look out for it …
Cheers,
Betty
Betty, I recently discovered you (my loss) with Fried Rice Demons! You have an awesome Kei!! Of course seeing that video led me to watch several more, each one better then the one before. I especially loved the Blind Date Betty / valentine cookie recipe.
I’d like to feature your fried rice video in my blog but don’t know your policies… BTW made the recipe last night and it rocks! Not only are you gorgeous and funny but you can cook!!
Any chance Blind Date Betty is free tonight? I know this great Crouton place!
Hi Sensei Mitch!
I am so glad you found me! Thank you very much for all the wonderful compliments… and I must agree with you, Blind Date Betty is my favorite character too! She did get pretty lucky with Biff… but I don’t know if it will last :)
I would be honored to have you feature my video on your blog! Embed away…
I’m really glad to hear you tried the Fried Rice recipe – I always love to hear how my recipes work out and if you have any changes.
It’s great to meet you Sensei!
Cheers,
Betty
Betty,
Please pasta,you are killing me love.I still say you are a nut,FUHGEDABOUDIT.
Sorry for the delayed response, things have been rather busy on this end. Thank you for the permission to reprint the recipe, if you want to post a comment…hint, hint… you can go directly the post here.
If I jazz up the recipe the next time I make it I’ll let you know. If you don’t think thing will last between Blind Date Betty and Biff feel free to give her my number, I’m a prow at the Heimlich maneuver!!
Drop me an email if you ever want to team up on a project.
Betty,
Thank you! Betty you made my day.I told my freind’s at work about you and they are laughing their pasta off.Guess what is for supper on sunday,FUHGEDABOUDIT!!!
Scott Moorhouse
Oh my god! I am laughing my ass off with your videos, I think I am in love with you!
Keep up the good work.
Bira
OF COURSE, YOU’RE THE BEST….
SIMPLE SUGGESTION; SORT RECIPES BY ACTUAL “NAME”, LIKE TOMATO SOUP, AND BY CATEGORY…DESERT, MAIN COURSE, ETC.
YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WE CAN UNDERSTAND. CAUSE WE’RE SLOW.
NOW TO GO LOOK UP THE BIKINI BETTY RECIPES YOU MENTIONED…
Hey Uncle Normy!
You are too kind :) You’re not the one that’s slow – I hope to have an easier to navigate site soon… thanks for bearing with me till it’s happenin’.
Cheers,
B
I don’t know if it’s a cooking show but it’s 1) funny and 2) she’s a female Gordon Ramsey – HOT.
Come to think of it… average betty + next season of hells kitchen? I’d watch it.
Hey Sprax!
Wow, well who doesn’t love Gordon Ramsey? Quite a compliment, thank you!
I don’t think I cuss nearly as much though ;)
xoxo,
B
Just wanted to say thanks for the many laughs and GREAT recipes! You are a genius!
**Thanks, Hallie! I’m no genius… just so stoked you enjoy the show!
Cheers, Betty
You are the most stunning, beautiful, funny, woman I have seen in many years. I, too spent many moons in Tampa (hence Argus?) But I’m all better now.
Would you be my future ex-wife? I have a long history of giving real property to redheads!
Ok, The world shall know Average Betty, even if I have to hit ‘em with a crowbar first.
http://theargus.today.com/2008/10/17/averagebetty/