Food, friends and music in her world

LONG before Britney, there was the 1980s pop phenomenon known as Tiffany, who helped turn shopping malls into concert venues and herself into a chartbuster. Who can forget her remake of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now”?

But it’s not all about memories for the Tiff. Her new album, “Just Me,” arrives Tuesday. Now married to Benn George and living in O.C. with son Elijah, she says the new songs reflect her experiences and such influences as Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow.

Food and song

On Fridays I like having friends come over to hang out. I’ll have the evening catered by a place called Rosine’s in Anaheim Hills, which has a great Mediterranean menu. So we’ll have shish kebabs, chicken, hummus and tabbouleh, just tons of food.

Because a lot of my friends are musicians, we’ll have a jam session in my back patio until midnight. I used to have to spend the next day apologizing to neighbors for the noise, but now I’ve gotten wiser and just invite them over.

Mall crawl

On Saturday we’ll get up, hopefully with no hangover, and go to brunch at Champagne in Irvine. It’s a French bistro-style restaurant in a little plaza. You can get in serious trouble with their pastries and fruit tarts, but they also have great omelets. I love the one with roasted peppers, onion, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash and mozzarella. You can sit outside on the patio enjoying the atmosphere, drinking all the coffee you can handle and maybe balancing it out with a couple of mimosas.

After that, I’d go shopping at South Coast Plaza. Doing all those mall concerts, I developed a mean shopping habit, so my girlfriends and I get together and splurge a bit. Benn goes with us but takes off in a different direction, usually to the Apple store.

Then we’ll swing by our house and pick up our English bulldog Rocco (I named him after Madonna’s son) and take him for a walk in Laguna Beach. On a perfect weekend someone will then take care of the dog and we’ll browse the shops and just people-watch. Our friends and their kids will meet up with us at Las Brisas. We’ll sit out on the patio and have cocktails and finger food and enjoy the view.

Also, my girlfriend Anna has a boat in Huntington Harbor, and when offered, all the women get on board and do the wine-and-cheese thing.

The happiest place

On Sunday, I’d start by making fruit plates, pancakes and omelets for my husband and son, lots of godchildren and whoever else shows up. Then we’d head out to my favorite place -- Disneyland, and in a perfect world, no line would be longer than 15 or 20 minutes. My favorite ride? I’m a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. And I always insist on eating at the Blue Bayou Cafe.

After Disneyland, we’d go to Downtown Disney, where they have a great place called the Jazz Cafe. I’m a real garlic girl, and the bread there with fresh garlic puree, cut-up tomatoes and a sprinkle of rosemary is amazing, and the blackened ravioli and pecan-crusted catfish with dirty rice are off the hook. The place also has a courtyard where they usually have a three-piece jazz trio with a big grand piano. The whole experience is a wonderful taste of the South.