we are back now with more of "today" on a monday morning, may 7th, 2012. and wow, starting to brighten up beautifully here. looks like we're in for a nice day. and we've got a great crowd out on the plaza. we thank these people for sticking around. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker, and savannah guthrie. who joins us on the plaza. coming up, we're going to be listening to and hearing from the woman who's really at the center of that secret service prostitution scandal. >> that's right she's speaking out in her first interview, and it's exclusive for us on american television. so the question is how did she meet the agents and what happened in that row tell in colombia? we're going to hear what she's got to sea about it. and she might raise some eyebrows. >> and we've got consumer news

that we can all use. a lot of people feel they pay too much for their cell phone. not only that the contracts can be long, expensive, confusing. we've got some news you can use. strategies how to cut down on your cell phone bill. >> and today is being called melanoma monday. skin cancer one of the most common cancers out there in the united states. and coming up we've got some important information that could save your life. or someone you love. we're going to clear up the confusion about spfs, tell you why a base tan does not protect you and gets you a lot more preventative information. >> finally. >> and also i will tell you that all-times eagles probably one of my top two bands. love them. one of the founding members here, glenn frey. >> thank you very much. >> we love you. >> thank you. >> you surprised me with this. when i started to look at the list of songs here. it's a different direction for you. >> absolutely. songs i've always wanted to record. i wanted to make this album for my parents who are still alive and kicking out in palm springs.

i wanted to share their music with them, my version of it, and it was great making the record. and now i said everybody's a little bit surprised. and pleasantly so. >> yeah. >> are maybe you among those people? because at one point you were sort of wondering, you really wanted to own this music. >> it's a different kind of singing, you know. what i do in the eagles and what i do as a solo artist i call guitar singing. and with these songs, sometimes you're a trumpet. sometimes you're a clarinet. it's kind of more appropriate for the instruments that you use on the song. so it was a real challenge. but one i really enjoyed, and i'm really happy i did it. i want to do another one. >> doing this material made you a better singer? >> yeah, i believe so. because you breathe different. you hold notes different. it's not rock 'n' roll singing. of course i got a lot of respect for the people like tony bennett and ella fitzgerald, all the people i admire. now i realize how good you have to be. >> and you're going back out on

tour? >> i'm on tour right now. i'm going to play town hall on wednesday night here in new york with the nyu concert orchestra. >> oh. >> which should be really exciting. play a few more shows here on the east coast. >> we just heard you. you sound wonderful. >> thank you. >> you ever want to bring that other band by here on the plaza, we could do that one. >> they might just do it. i'm going to tell them i had a great time and how good it was to be here. >> do that. i mean it. >> they will. >> okay, that's nice. mr. roker, how about -- >> no, no, no. >> let's go inside to natalie morales at the news desk. >> good morning once again. an aide worker kidnapped last summer in pakistan has resurfaced this morning in a video message released by al qaeda. nbc news cannot verify where or when the video was produced. in it, warren weinstein urges president obama to agree to his captors' demands, saying he'll be killed if the u.s. does not stop air strikes, and if al qaeda and the taliban -- taliban suspects worldwide are not released. the 24-year-old colombian

escort at the center of the secret service scandal is spiking out this morning in a "today" exclusive. nbc's michelle kosinski has the story. michelle? >> hi, natalie. she's 24 years old, a mother, has family here, and she was not paid for this interview. she calls the secret service men, stupid brutes. that she says put extremely indiscreet partying ahead of the president's security. >> translator: they like to show off their bodies. great bodies. well-defined abs. they like attention, and we colombian women are not used to that. i was surprised that every time he dance with me he lift up his sweater so i could see. >> so they were acting very bold, and sure of themselves? >> translator: they were full of themselves. there was another guy that would jump up on the bar. >> were they shy about asking for sex or were they very direct about it? >> translator: very direct. i will say too direct.

>> did any of them say that they had done this before? >> translator: no, but the way they approach us, it seems obvious that they were used to doing it, because people that do this for the first time are very shy. >> what if someone said, well, you went to the bar, you tempted these guys. >> translator: no, i'm not to blame for being attractive. they are to blame for leaving their jewelry behind. >> reporter: dannia suarez says the three men who approached and propositioned her and her friend, she assumed they were tourists, were drinking like, quote, like it was water, but were still coherent. she said she made it clear that a night with her would cost $800. >> translator: these are very basic words. sex, sexto, cash, money, dinero. i made a sign with my fingers so that he couldn't pretend that i

was charging $80 or 80 cents. okay, no problem. let's go. >> reporter: she says after what she described as normal sex he fell asleep. that she could have gone through or stolen everything in his room, but didn't. and the next morning -- >> translator: he told me to stay. >> he told you to stay longer? >> translator: he told me stay here. stay, my love. >> stay my love. >> translator: i told him no. i told him to give me my money. that i was going home. >> was he angry? >> translator: very angry. very angry. >> she says the man, allegedly a secret service agent, gave her $50, ordered her out, closed the door. police got involved. she says other agents gathered about $250, and she left. >> translator: i think it's fair they lost their jobs and cannot have them back again. >> what do you think of these guys? you laugh? why do you laugh so much? >> translator: they seem like completely stupid. idiots.

i don't know how obama had them in his security force. what dumb men. >> the laughter lasts only until she thinks of her own life and of her 9-year-old son. she says in a way she feels sorry for the men involved but that no one should feel sorry for her. >> translator: i know that it's something shameful and ugly. i don't justy it, but i did it. i kept it a low profile. never again. >> a u.s. official acknowledges that the agent she claims she has been with has resigned. she says she has been contacted by a major american publishing house with interest in a book deal. >> michelle kosinski, thanks. an autopsy today could provide new clues in the apparent homicide of a worker at churchill downs racetrack. the body of 48-year-old aidan fabian perez was found in a barn early sunday just hours after the kentucky derby. a blind chinese activist says today he is confident beijing will uphold its end of a

tentative deal to let him leave the country and study abroad. chen guangcheng triggered a dispute between the u.s. and china when he escaped from house arrest into u.s. diplomatic custody more than a week ago. france has elected a new president, ousting incumbent nicolas sarkozy in favor of the socialist francois hollande. the new president-elect is expected to be inaugurated later this month but the change in leadership could rattle world markets as hollande has promised a new economic course of action for france saying that austerity is no longer inevitable. and the biggest opening weekend ever as "the avengers" broke the record at the box office, raking in more than $200 million, well on its way to becoming one of the top grossing movies of all time. "think like a man" came in second. and "the hunger games" fell to third. it is eight minutes past the hour. let's go upstairs to al with a check of your weather. >> and the three stooges was fifth. so there you go. let's see what we've got for you for today. got a risk of strong storms,

this is also causing a lot of rain. we've got flood watches and flood warnings from chicago all the way down to texas, as a frontal system with a couple of big low pressure systems bring plenty of rain from texarkana all the way to detroit. we've got the possibility of damaging winds. super cell tornadoes, or i should say thunderstorms in ohio, and western p.a. from jackson all the way to cleveland, and rainfall amounts anywhere from about 2 to 3 inches in western pennsylvania, down to about a half an inch to an inch all the way into texas. >> good morning. there is some cloud cover to start the work week. a slight chance we could see a rain shower, 20%. most of the

this morning on "today's consumer," what do you pay too much for? we asked. you answered. a lot of you think you're paying too much for cell phone service. so "today" financial editor jean chatzky is here with three strategies you can use to lower those bills. jean, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> how much is the average person paying? >> $71 a month. and that's just for an individual cell phone bill. that's up about 30% from two years ago. >> what's driving it up? >> smartphones. instead of just paying for voice, now we're paying for voice and text and data, in many cases, and in many cases we're not using it. >> are folks overpaying? >> yes. folks are overpaying. about 80% of cases. >> is it the people, the consumers, or the phone companies or a combo. >> i think it's a little bit of both. people have to take the initiative to make sure that they're on the right plan, that they have the right number of voice minutes, and text minutes, and data in terms of their own

usage, and if you mess that up and go over, you're going to pay too much. but if you're under, you're going to pay too much, as well. >> so let's get started. you say one of the first strategies is ask for a one-time credit. >> that's right. we have a user named heather, and we went to her phone provider, which was sprint, now she's got two smartphones, she's got a hot spot, and she's got 1500 minutes a month and based on her usage, that's actually the right plan for her. so you would think there would be nothing that she could do. we called them, we didn't even have to ask, before they said we're going to give you $100, just because you're a loyal customer, and, in fact, both at&t and verizon, they have these loyalty bonuses that they're willing to throw to people who've been there for years. >> but you've got to ask for them. >> you do have to ask for them. in many cases, or at least in her case, make the phone call. we didn't have to say it, they came to us and said we can do this for you. >> another example, a viewer you say was given two discount options. how do you decide which one is right?

>> you have to look at how long you're planning to be with that carrier. this was peggy. peggy is with at&t. she's got four phones on the plan. she's been with them forever and she says that she's not leaving. because they're the only carrier in her neighborhood that has decent service. so she knows she's going to stay with them. they offered $10 a month off of her texting plan, or to waive the entire cost of texting for six months. so she looked at it and she said i'm going to be there for a lot longer, so she took the $10 a month. and then we said, is there anything else that we can do. and they said, if you're willing to extend your time with us for an additional year on two of your phones we'll give you an extra $70 off. so we saved another $200. >> and that goes in to your second strategy, which is to think long-term. >> you have to think about, am i going to be with this carrier forever? or do i want to wind my contract down so that i don't have to pay fees for getting out of them, and then i could go to one of

those no-contract plans that, for a lot of people is a good way to save a decent amount of money. you have to buy your own phone, but, the plans really run only about $40, $50 a month all-in. >> all right. and then the last strategy you say is you should really we should all be doing this anyway is examine your bill closely. >> okay. so cindy got in touch with us. and she's got a bunch of phones, she texts, no problem. but she's paying $15 a month for data, she doesn't use data. >> oh. >> yes. $15 a month. and this has been going on since 2009. >> wow. >> so she noticed this for the first time in november. she called them, they got rid of it, but only for a month and then it came right back on, and she said what can you help me do about this? so we got in touch with the carrier, that was verizon. they were willing, on the first call to get rid of it going back to november. that wasn't good enough for us. we asked for a supervisor and they got rid of it for another four months. now we saved her about $275. they wouldn't get rid of it

going all the way back because they said it's really up to the customer to look at your bill, as well. and she was in a plan that was in too much -- she just was buying too much phone usage, so she switched that, as well. >> all right. well some great advice. you really save a lot without doing a lot of work. >> just pick up the phone. i did it last week, i saved $100. so there you go. >> jean chatzky, thanks so much. still ahead, what you might not know about skin cancer, but you should. we're going to get important information from a dermatologist. then a little bit later on, supermodel linda evangelista's child support case. she's suing her billionaire ex for big bucks. he's married now to actress salma hayek. about activia.alking i've been eating activia and i feel great! i'm used to having irregularity. i feel like that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... i came to find my 'new normal'

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get rid of them with clorox 2. its triple-solve technology penetrates, dissolves, and eliminates tough stains. clorox 2. the triple-solve stain fighter. now on "today's health," what you may not know about skin cancer. the american academy of dermatology has dubbed today melanoma monday. dr. susan taylor is a dermatologist and spokesperson for the academy. >> good morning. >> melanoma. we hear a lot about skin cancer and yet we've seen the melanoma rates rise so dramatically over the last four decades. is the public health message not getting out? >> well, there's still a concern. one in five americans will

develop skin cancer in their lifetime. and one person, it's estimated, dies every hour from melanoma. so it remains a major concern. >> we have a lot of great tips so we're going to clear up some misconceptions. the first thing we want to point out is that early detection can really make a huge difference. >> melanoma can be cured if it's detected at an early stage. advanced melanoma can spread to the lymph nodes and internal organs and result in death. so what people should know is that if we detect melanoma before it gets to the lymph nodes, there is a 98% five-year survival. but if it spreads to the lymph nodes, that five-year survival decreases to 62%. and if it gets to the internal organs, that drops all the way to 16%. >> well, prevention clearly is the key here. >> it is. >> everyone knows you should wear sunscreen but the spfs can be really confusing. >> they can be very confusing. in fact there was a study that shows only 1 in 5 americans realize that an spf 30 didn't

confer double the protection of a 15. so the bottom line is this. you want to apply an spf 30 on a daily basis. you want to apply at least a shot glass full. >> you're showing us a shot glass. >> a shot glass full and you want to reapply every two hours. that's something many people don't realize. you want to apply it even on a cloudy day. don't forget to reapply if you go swimming, or if you sweat. you know, there's recently determined that you can cut the incidence of melanoma in half by using sunscreen on a daily basis. spf 30, broad spectrum. >> and a shot glass full. >> a shot glass full to all exposed areas. >> okay. another myth, young people are not immune. >> mm-hmm. so although melanoma occurs most commonly in middle-aged men, it can occur, in fact it's the second most common form of cancer in young people. ages 15 to 29. in young women, it occurs on the

torso. and we think that's due to unsafe tanning habits. >> like tanning booths? >> absolutely. >> some people think if you have a base tan, then you're protected. any truth to that? >> wrong, wrong, wrong. in fact, there were 65% of people in a survey who thought that a base tan can protect their skin. that is simply not true. there's no safe tan. >> also, all skin tones and colors can be subject to melanoma. >> that's right. so people with darker skin tones, those of african and latin and asian descent can, indeed, develop melanoma skin cancer. bob marley died of melanoma on his toe. the other thing that's of concern with darker skin tones is that the melanoma's often detected at a much later stage, and the prognosis for survival is much lower. >> we also should mention, although most people think of the sun when they think of skin cancer, you can get skin cancer in places that the sun never sees. >> that's exactly right. like the bottom of your foot. so it's critically important to know how to spot skin cancer and to spot things that change.

in fact the american academy of dermatology has a website, spotskincancer.org. but it has great information about how to spot skin cancer. and how to prevent skin cancer. >> and you say your partner can actually be a really good ally in this. >> that's right. so many times, a man or a woman comes to my office because their partner has seen something, they've spotted something on their back, or a place they can't see. so you should talk to your partner and you should examine one another's skin. because he or she can see the back, for example. so that's a great way to support one another. >> really good advice. dr. susan taylor, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and coming up, the child support battle between supermodel linda evangelista and the billionaire father of her son. but first, these messages. ♪ [ male announcer ] need a new car? ♪ now's the time to get amazing deals from toyota, the full-line brand with the longest lasting vehicles during toyota's save in may sales event.

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and coming up, finding the perfect gift for your child's teacher to show your heartfelt appreciation. >> and we're going to sink our teeth into some tasty sandwiches from all around the world. >> first your local news and weather. ♪

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal tv 11 news update. >> we are off to a fairly quiet start as we kick of the workweek. slight chance of a couple light rain showers and sprinkles. allies, variable clouds. high temperatures slightly below average. warmer on tuesday and wednesday. chance for r

how come they wouldn't give you a raise? >> i don't know. i'm the best secretary they have if you don't count my shorthand and typing. >> actress suzanne somers has gone from america's blonde bombshell on the sitcom "three's company" to a crusader for al tempive medicine and now she's back. she's promising to help you rethink and redefine aging. and she'll be here to explain that and more tomorrow on "today." look forward to that. >> got some old footage out. >> yeah. coming up in this half hour a high profile and high stakes child support case. supermodel linda evangelista is seeking a reported $46,000 a month to raise her 5 yield son she had with billionaire french

fashion executive henri pinault. >> also ahead we were talking about this, no more pencils, no more books, almost time for summer vacation. remember how good that feels? one last assignment, though, you've got to find a great gift for your child's teacher. and that can be a tough one sometimes. we're planning to make it a little bit easier with creative handmade and store-bought ideas for teacher. >> a wheel o'crayons. >> from poor boys to gyros, sandwiches are a food favorite around the world. we've got andrew zimmerman in the kitchen to show us a guadalajara style roast pork sandwich smothered in spicy sauce. >> oh, yeah. >> all good stuff. >> not like eyeballs and things like -- >> no, no, nothing weather. >> no eyeball sandwiches. >> good, good. first a check of the weather. >> all right. let's show you what we got for today. starting off with the week ahead, we've got wet weather here in the east. with warmer temperatures through the ohio river valley. below normal temperatures in the midsection of the country. above normal temps out in the

pacific northwest. midweek period, heavy rain along the coast. we've got more rain in the central plains and above normal temperatures there, and then as we get to the latter part of the week we've got normal conditions along the eastern sea board, cooler down through texas on into the great lakes, and above normal temperatures for the rest of the third of the country. >> good morning. there is some cloud cover. you'll probably see some sunshine. variable clouds. 20% >> and that's your latest weather. >> coming up next, inside supermodel linda evangelista's child support case. i'm gonna make you breakfast. what? with magic.

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and now to the contentious court battle involving supermodel linda evangelista. >> she's suing the billionaire father of her 5-year-old son for what could be a record-setting child support payment here in new york city. >> nbc's mar ka schiavocampo has

been outside the courthouse. >> good morning. >> good morning, everyone. this certainly isn't your typical child support battle. on one side you have supermodel linda evangelista, and on the other side, french billionaire francois-henri pinault, the husband of actress salma hayek. it's all over support for 5-year-old augie. evangelista is asking for big bucks. supermodel linda evangelista is used to cameras flashing. but this is no runway. >> how did it go in court? >> reporter: she has been in manhattan family court for a child support battle with her ex, french billionaire francois-henri pinault, husband of actress salma hayek. >> you've got facing off supermodel, and billionaire, because he comes from a family that is worth $11.5 billion. >> reporter: pinault is the ceo of a company that owns big-time fashion brands gucci, and yves saint laurent. he is also the father of evangelista's 5-year-old son augie, born before pinault married salma hayek.

>> we heard, from our insider, that mr. pinault has been reluctant to talk about his son in court because he's very concerned that his son is not seen as a commodity. >> reporter: at the center of the case, how much child support pinault should have to pay. evangelista is reportedly asking for $46,000 a month. a record in new york state. >> the judge is going to be looking at the standard of care of the other children of the noncustodial parent and analyzing how much this child, augie, is entitled to under that standard of living. >> reporter: pinault also has a 4-year-old daughter, valentina, with salma hayek, who, by many accounts, has been raised in lavish surroundings. pinault reportedly has a $12 million los angeles mansion in a trust in valentina's name. evangelis evangelista, known for grossing the cover of countless magazines throughout her career, once famously said of supermodels, quote, we don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day.

>> because you're worth it. >> reporter: evangelista is no stranger to big paydays. up until 2010, she had a lucrative contract with cosmetics giant l'oreal, and an estimated worth of $8 million. the child support will reportedly cover costs of a 24-hour nanny for augie, as well as a driver and security. >> obviously $46,000 a month is a large sum. however, it could happen in this case, because you're dealing with a billionaire. >> reporter: pinault says he offered for years to pay child support but evangelista never responded. the supermodel is due back in court today for further testimony. savannah, natalie, al? >> all right. we'll be watching all the developments there. mara schiavocampo, thank you. >> coming up next, presents for the teacher that will get high marks for sure. >> beyond shiny apples. what happens when classroom teachers get the training... ...and support they need? schools flourish and students blossom.

that's why programs like... ...the mickelson exxonmobil teachers academy... ...and astronaut sally ride's science academy are helping our educators improve student success in math and science. let's shoot for the stars. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. i don't want a plunger anywhere near my coffee. not in my house. with maxwell house french roast, you let gravity do the work. [ male announcer ] maxwell house french roast. always good to the last drop. well, it's not gonna clean itself. want me to get dad? no thank you. viva's all i need. look at that! still in one piece. yeah, so's the towel. [ female announcer ] grab a roll and try it on your toughest mess. now, i wear it every day. because damaging uv rays are everywhere

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appreciate teachers "today" is brought to you by exxon mobil. taking on the world's toughest energy challenges. >> this morning an appreciate teachers today, a-plus presents. as the school year wraps up parents need to find the perfect

gift to let teachers know how much they value their hard work. and "today" contributor and lifestyle expert elizabeth mayhew has suggestions that will put your family at the head of the class. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. >> so not too early to start thinking about what to get your teachers. because now is the time to be planning. >> and teacher appreciation day is tomorrow. >> oh, is it? >> it's this week. >> who knew. >> and for many of us, the class -- the year is ending, so, yeah, now is the time to do it, particularly if you're going to do something creative. or if you're going to go in a group gift. >> what on average are people spending these days? >> i'd say about $30 if you're doing an independent gift. obviously that goes up, because everybody's contributing and we've got some of those at the end. >> all right let's talk about some just great ideas and first thing these tote bags which teachers always need totes. >> right. so we often think of the coffee mug. >> right. >> as the classic gift. but i say a tote is so much better because it's more useful. we're all trying to cut back on plastic and paper. when do you find yourself not needing a tote? >> so true. >> so the first ones are from

cafe crafts they're $18.25. you can go and customize it. >> great. >> with fun sayings. >> right. >> or very graphic i teacher, love, teach. >> i love these personalized ones, too. >> for even more personalized, they start at about $30 for the small little canvas like little clutch -- >> like we have here. >> and they go up and you can personalize it with these really fun, very fashion forward monograms. >> all right. now i love this next gift. such a great idea. and that is to give your teachers the gift of learning, you know, a subscription to magazines. >> that's right. >> newsmagazines. >> i actually give this to my son's teacher every year. it's called "the week." to me it is the one source that kind of can make you feel smart because you can get all of the week's news in one place. >> oh, wow. >> plus it gives you all vantage points. "the new york times" said this. "the wall street journal" said "x." and it's a great learning tool, as well. so one of the things you can

also do is give a class a subscription. you can pay for your whole class to get one that can stay in the classroom and then the teacher gets a free subscription with that. >> that's a great idea. >> it is $49 for the year. it goes down less if you buy it for the class. >> okay, but it is great. okay. now teachers are always needing something to write on, they're jotting down little notes and you've got a lot of great little ideas here. >> this little trio, these little notes have a light bulb on them. called the bright idea series. >> very good. >> they're made by albertine crafts all hand done. i pair it with pencils called the know it all pencils. they have printed on them fun little things everybody should know like the boiling point of water. the world's biggest mammal. really fun things. also in that paper mode i love these, they're very chic. >> personal note cards. >> we had one made for you, head of the class, natalie morales. >> thank you. >> they're $18. they come in a lucite container and you can personalize those and i love the little quips and

queries gifts to jot down little notes. it has all good luck symbols and then another one will little french signs. >> okay. now these are also letter pressed this alphabet poster and great coasters, as well. this is designed i understand by a former emtly schoolteacher, right? >> three women and one of them happened to be an elementary school teacher. they're all hand pressed, done in addition. they're very attractive and i thought you could give either the poster or the coasters and say from a to z you're the best teacher i know or some fun little -- >> nice little artwork. >> and it's really pretty artwork. >> get to supplies. often they're digging into their own pockets. >> that's the thing, most teachers are paying for supplies in their classroom. i put together little teacher emergency kit. i just went to the container store -- >> mm-hmm. >> -- everything from -- >> hand sanitizer. >> to red pencil for correcting. good hand sanitizer, even threw in some life 15i6ers, put those in a jar and container store

has -- >> that's cute. >> you can do the same thing. -- >> great idea. >> okay now for the crafty parent out there here's something you can do for your teachers as well. >> i just made this crayon wreath. it was very simple. i went to michaels and actually on sale i bought two embroidery hoop rings. one 12 inch and one a 9 inch. you just lay them down and you start gluing -- >> great ideas. >> this took 84 crayons exactly. so you kind of have to figure it out. it's much easier if you just don't worry about stacking all the colors. but i was doing -- >> that's cute. >> -- kind of rainbow design. >> i like that. this is adorable, too. with pencils you made these flower boxes. >> i just took a jar and i glue gunned number two pencils. and then i thought i would say, you know, these pencils may be number 2, but you're number 1. and filled those with flowers -- >> saying! >> just a little note as well. >> which is cute. >> which is one thing i want to say. as you're giving a gift really -- >> personalize --

>> so that goes to this. this is a group gift where you have maybe you have 25 kids in the class you have them each write four or so reasons that they love their teacher and then stack those notes in between $100 bills and it's 100 reasons that you think they're a great teacher. >> and we're out of time but you have gift ideas, gift cards. >> and then also as a group gift to give a loaded amazon kindle and then you can customize them with these gel skins. go to gelskins.com and you can print out even a note for kids or a class picture. >> great. good ideas. elizabeth mayhew, thanks so much. as always. coming up next, from new orleans to greece, a taste of sandwiches from all over the world.

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's on the menu? how about sandwiches from around the world.

>> oh -- >> we have a great assortment that will make you want to roll up your sleeves and take a big bite. andrew is the host of bizarre foods on the travel channel. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is our cooking show. >> it is right now. >> can we just give you some congratulations? your show won the james beard award. >> thank you. very, very lucky. best tv show on location. i won't argue with them. >> no, not at all. >> we're very proud of what we do and very lucky with some stiff competition as there is every year and a lot of people could have won the award. we're thrilled it was us. >> i'm sure you run across some great sandwiches. >> and that's the thing. you guys know, i mean, you're a huge, passionate food maven. it all starts with bread. and from around the world what you have to make sure is that the bread can actually be eaten. here's a great, crusty baguette but you can't actually put your teeth through it. nowadays a lot of people build sandwiches from things that are inedible or they fall apart. the other thing is the democratization of the food movement.

we're lucky enough to be in an age and time where chefs in very fancy, high-end restaurants are doing sandwiches. especially here in new york. i wanted to make you three of my favorite. >> okay. >> this one is from guadalajara. we're making a torto avogada, means drowned or wet sandwich. pork shoulder, some onions, some oregano, some garlic, salt, throw it into the oven for three hours at 325. meanwhile, take your tomatoes, some onions here sweating. easiest thing in the whole world to get the skin off of a tomato is simply to grate it. >> oh. >> and press the fleesh away. you can see what you end up lift with is just the skin here. >> pretty cool. >> i don't mind the beads. in this. what i do want to do is make sure i don't have too many of them. nice to use a medium sized tomato. a little oregano, a little bay leaf. some salt. and about a quarter pound of

chili arbal that had the seeds taken out of them. smush them. a lot of chili. a lot of tomatoes. >> oh, my gosh! >> as it cooks -- >> how spicy is this? >> as it cooks it gets milder. >> my eyes are burning right now. >> the real fun of this is if you like it hot, leave the quarter pound in. if you would like it less hot go about halfway. you add some water, you cook this down, and you puree it in a blender and you wind up with this fantastic sauce. >> oh. >> now, the key here -- the key here with this is building it, a toasted roll, or baguette, is great. the reason you want it toasted is that you want the torta to have that toasted flavoring. this is the pork after it's been cooked for three hours. >> just falls apart. >> you used -- >> pulled pork. of course the traditional way in guadalajara, especially with the food stalls, vinegared onions, cilantro, the bread, and it gets very messy, and yes --

>> drowning it. >> they really do drown the sandwich just like that. and i'm going to -- >> that gooks great. >> it really is a fantastic, fantastic way to eat. now -- >> tell us about the other two sandwiches. >> well, the recipe for all of these is on the website. but i brought two more of my favorites. this is a po boy from new orleans. my favorite sandwich in the whole world. usually made with meat or fried seafood. used to be called the peacemaker. but apparently, and perhaps it's apocryphal a long time ago during a street car strike down there one of the retired street car guys opened a sandwich shop and gave free sandwiches to the guys on strike, and so it became called the po boy. this is a real suvlaki from athens. another one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. the pork, the eggplant and all the rest. >> good to see you. >> eat up. dig in.