The US Sportsday Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch

Hi, this is my life.

'I love cooking!'

They smell amazing.

'My dad's a chef.'

Ironman Daddy!

'But I think I'm already better than him.'

LAUGHTER

My name's Matilda Ramsay, but people usually call me Tilly.

'Meet my embarrassing family.'

Ramsay.

Mum - she wears the trousers and is the only one Dad's afraid of.

I'm not kissing you when you're like that.

Big sister Megan.

She's all grown-up now and crazy to get on with life.

Jack - he's so good at sport

he's going to be playing for Britain soon.

This is Holly.

She is determined to be the greatest fashion designer of her generation.

Dad - even though he's hard on the outside,

he's soft and mushy on the inside.

And quite a good cook, too.

Excuse me! How about very?!

Matilda!

-Matilda!

-When you're the youngest you have to fight to get noticed.

So, that's why I love to cook up a storm.

This is my world.

# I wish that I could be like the cool kids

# Cos all the cool kids they seem to fit in. #

America is totally crazy about sport, which explains why me

and my family love it here, cos we're sports mad, as well.

Ironman Daddy!

We're off to the World Beach Volleyball Championships today

and I'm making a great American sports feast for us to take.

'Of LA hot dogs,

'light and bright coleslaw

'and pretzels with cinnamon sugar.'

I love cooking for everyone

because I love seeing what they think about my food.

And it's especially good fun when you're doing it for a big day out.

So, the big question is...

'The one thing everybody eats at a major sporting event

'in the US are hot dogs.

'I'm going to grill mine when we get to the volleyball

'but first, I'm making tasty toppings that are packed

'with herbs and veg and loads of goodness.'

You can play with endless types of toppings.

These hot dogs are going to be really bright and colourful.

Carrot, cucumber, mint, coriander.

I'm going to start with a pickled cucumber sauce.

'Into a pan with white wine vinegar and sugar.'

The sugar helps balance out the vinegar.

You're boiling it only to dissolve the sugar.

'Now for the cucumber. And you want even slices.'

My dad's been really good at teaching me how to use a knife.

He tells me about having one finger in front

and two behind and holding it firm and upright.

'Be careful!

'And remember that your grown-ups like to be asked

'before you take over the kitchen.'

Now that's probably enough.

'Once the sugar's dissolved in the vinegar,

'pour it onto your cucumber.'

The pickles now need to cool down.

'When they're cool, pour off the vinegar,

'then add tasty fresh herbs.'

I'm pretty much just chopping it up. You can tear it.

'Or even just use scissors.'

Now I'm going to add in the mint and coriander.

'Lastly, crunchy shredded carrot.'

Nice mix.

'The pickles will make my hot dogs brilliantly zingy.

'They can chill in the fridge until later.

'It's going to be difficult to cool anything today.

'It's one of the hottest days we've had yet.'

It's meant to be 100 today.

'That's 38 degrees centigrade.'

Ohh!

'And when the sun comes out,

'so does the sun cream and, best of all, so do the lizards.

'Jack loves them.

'They can bite...'

Hey, little guy.

'..and you can hurt them, so it's best not to pick animals like this

'up unless you've been shown how.'

This guy's big.

-Jack, what is that?

-This?

-Yeah.

-It's a lizard.

'This is a western fence lizard.

'You find them in loads of gardens in LA.

'When they feel scared, some lizards shed their tails.

'It's not great for them but it's pretty cool because,

'like Doctor Who, they can regenerate them.

'Next to make my hot dogs extra amazing,

'a spicy sauce just for Jack.

'Add mustard to mayo.'

Probably about...

..this much.

'And Thai chilli sauce.'

Hey, Jack.

'Lizard-Man Jack's going to love this mayo.

'It's got his favourite hot sauce in it.'

Jack, would you taste it for me?

Hm...?

Maybe a bit more hot sauce.

No-oo!

Jack!

Perfect.

Whew!

It's not bad. Still very spicy.

I'll always bring the hot sauce for you to put more on, Jack.

That's ready to go.

WHISTLE BLOWS

'Beach volleyball is massive in California.

'The best players from all over the world have come to play

'in the five-day grand-slam competition.

'And I can't wait to go.

SHOUTING

'But, first, my LA coleslaw.

'Perfect for picnics and delicious with hot dogs.'

I love keeping my coleslaw as colourful as possible.

The brighter it is the more people will want to eat it.

'I'm using red and white cabbage, carrot, spring onions and grapes.'

Coleslaw's really easy and really fun to make.

'Start by slicing cabbage as finely as possible.'

You don't want the core because it's so hard and not tasty at all.

Just get it really fine.

To make it really colourful I'm going to do the purple cabbage, too.

That's all finished, it's now time to put it into the bowl.

'Then add shredded carrot and spring onion.'

-What you making?

-Coleslaw.

-Coleslaw.

-My favourite.

-I know, that's why making it.

-Oh, man.

-What else is going in there?

-Some grapes to sweeten it up.

Oh, gone all LA on me.

Right, see you later. High-five, please.

Oh, that's bad. Give me a kiss.

-Good luck.

-High-five.

-Boom!

Um...

Nice to see you're not burning anything this morning.

And now it's time to do the coleslaw sauce.

'A little shake of white wine vinegar and sour cream.'

A really good dollop.

-Tilly, I hear you're making coleslaw.

-Yeah.

I'm making quite an LA one cos I'm going to put grapes in it,

-if you don't eat them all.

-And drop them all.

I'm then going to add in about the same amount of mayonnaise.

Here, you can start mixing it, if you want.

Jack is quite helpful when I'm cooking.

Only cos I want to try it.

Keep mixing, Jack. Just keep going.

Next is some dry mustard.

Going to do about a teaspoon, a teaspoon and a half in.

'Then some dill and grapes for a Californian twist.'

-Why don't you taste a bit?

-OK.

It's really good.

'A pinch of salt and pepper.

'And mix with your veg.'

Wow, it's definitely looking good.

'Jack and Dad aren't the only fans. My whole family loves coleslaw.'

-Oh, wow, everyone's in here.

-Looks great, Till. Well done.

-I like the grapes in that.

-Thank you.

OK, Holly. You can go now.

-OK, one more bit.

-Holly!

At least it's good, otherwise I'd be like, "Eurgh."

Thank you.

I hope you've never done that.

There we go. Ready for the volleyball picnic.

'That's a great one for my food blog,

'which you can find with some of my recipes on the CBBC website.

'That can chill in the fridge until we head to the picnic.

'This may not be a great American sport,

'but we do love playing Catch The Egg when we're here.'

You get a real egg and you throw it to each other.

And whoever it breaks on, it goes everywhere.

'You start in a small circle

'and then after each catch take a step out.'

Take a step out.

SHOUTING

Whoa!

'So, it gets bigger and bigger and more difficult.'

Ow!

'We all want to win.'

-LAUGHTER

-It was cracked!

'Oh, no! I've been hit.'

-And it's on my hands.

-It's OK.

'I'm never a sore loser.

'Well, almost never.'

Eurgh!

-I'm really excited for today, are you?

-Mm-hm.

-I am.

-We've got hot dogs, got pretzels, you've got...

We've got pretzels?

They're coming right up, guys.

My easy pretzels with a cinnamon sugar coating.

My frosted pretzels are really fun to shape.

They can be tricky at first but Jack's really good at it,

so I'm going to get him to help.

They're going to be served with cinnamon and sugar on the top

and a nice caramel sauce.

'Pretzel dough's really easy to make

'from flour, yeast, warm water, sugar and salt.'

So, I'll cut off a few pieces.

'And roll into long sausages.'

You have to be patient.

Just keep going.

'And then shape.'

So, you make a U.

Crisscross so it looks a bit like a twister.

Pull it back.

Jack is the expert at this. You can always rely on Jack.

Cos he eats them and he loves them.

Bring it together, crisscross,

crisscross, crisscross.

OK, Jack, they're done.

They go in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Can't wait to see them in 15 minutes.

'When the pretzels are golden, take them out

'and add more yummy flavours.'

Once they're out, you brush them all with some melted butter.

Mm-mm.

Sprinkle them with cimmanom...

Cimman...

Sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

'This is just white sugar mixed with the ground cinnamon.'

Mm-mm, this cinnamon sugar smells amazing.

And that's probably enough.

Definitely worth a few snaps for my blog.

'My sports picnic's all packed up

'ready for the World Series Volleyball.

'It's being held in Long Beach which is about 20 miles from our house.

CHEERING

'Mum's come with us today.

'She's crazy about sports, too.

'But Dad's off working.'

Really exciting.

There's just so much life around here.

'Jack's spotted a volleyball machine.'

So, this machine pumps out the ball and so it actually goes 60mph.

Imagine that heading towards you.

Jack, do you reckon you could do it?

'Jack's so competitive he wants a go.'

Coming all the way from the UK. Show us how it's done.

'With Megan for support, it's Jack vs Machine.'

Oh, that's over. That's...

Oh, it's up, it's over, oh!

Oh, yeah.

Think he was quite good.

'Everyone's already watching the big match

'so I better get on with the hot dogs.'

I'm going to get the really nice lines on these hot dogs.

'Whilst the hot dogs sizzle away, serve up the coleslaw.'

I'm going to serve them into these white boxes.

Wow, I think people are really going to like this.

Behind me is Argentina vs Brazil.

It's really exciting.

My family's going to have a real feast.

Dad might be a bit upset that he's missing it,

but I can always remake the food.

Fold down the boxes and get the hot dogs done.

They're starting to look really good.

Grab a bun.

Put in my sausage.

Now, get the sauces on.

'The pickles first, then the spicy mayo.'

It's the last one.

'For dessert, those pretzels.'

Looking good.

'And caramel sauce to dip them in.'

Which tastes...delicious!

I'm going to take this to the others.

We're in the stands for the women's semifinals -

the USA vs Spain.

-Coleslaw.

-Thank you, Tilly.

-Till, these hot dogs are so good.

-Aren't they delicious?

-Thanks.

-This is really delicious coleslaw, Till.

-Thank you.

-It is.

-Who's hungry for dessert?

-Me!

'It's my amazing pretzels with caramel sauce.'

Handmade by Jack and I.

By Jack? Uh-oh!

'That sauce is yummy.'

Wow, that is good.

'If you can get it in your mouth, Holly.'

I spilt my caramel sauce all down my leg.

-LAUGHTER

-Tilly!

Tilly, stop it. For once, it wasn't Tilly.

'As Dad's not around to chat to about food,

'I'm going to find out what the real pros think.

'International volleyball pros, that is.'

-Would you like to try a pretzel?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-I heard you guys made these?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-She did, I can't take credit!

Is there any special diet you have to have before your tournament?

I don't eat sweets during competitions.

Normally, lean proteins, lot of vegetables, complex carbohydrates.

-So, we try to eat well. It's really good.

-Thank you.

-Nice job.

-JACK:

-Which team do you play for?

-ALEKSANDRS:

-I'm from Latvia.

-JACK:

-Doesn't the sand get really sticky with the sun cream?

-ALEKSANDRS:

-We are beach volleyball players so sand is everywhere.

-In your car, in your house.

-Yeah!

-It's everywhere!

We're used to being dirty, so.

-Can I please take a picture?

-Yeah, let's do it.

-OK, ready?

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you!

-Good luck for the rest of your games.

-Good luck.

-See you guys!

'Everyone loved my volleyball picnic of hot dog, coleslaw

'and I can't believe my pretzels got a pro seal of approval.'

It's really good.

'It's been a ball.

'A VOLLEYBALL, that is.

'Set it up, spike it down.'

I don't care if you're practising a volleyball move,

it's time to go to sleep!

-Goodnight everyone.

-Goodnight, everyone.

ALL: Goodnight! Love you!

'It's been one of the hottest,

'sandiest but best days ever in LA.'