When I was young, the last place I wanted to be was in the kitchen. I remember my mom yelling up to me to come down from my room and help her in the kitchen. Trust me, there was always something going on in her kitchen. My mother was born in Italy to a family of chefs…brother, father, uncles, grandfathers… all chefs. Being in the kitchen was in her DNA. But I had no interest in helping her make pasta, pizza, or bread. The last place I wanted to be was up to my eyeballs in tomatoes that needed to be canned, or fresh fruit that needed to be made into jams or jellies. I especially detested having to pick through the mountains of “highway weeds” (aka rapini and dandelion greens) before they could be blanched and stored in the freezer.

Fast forward thirty years (yikes!) and where do I spend the majority of my time? You guessed it..in the kitchen. It could be because I have two teenage boys who eat like today is their last meal. It could be that aside from talking, eating is my favorite thing to do. Or it could be that the “chef gene” is part of my DNA, too, and there is no escaping genetic programming.

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from preparing a meal and sharing it with the people you love. I am firm believer that good food does not have to be fancy or expensive. In fact, the simpler, the better. With this blog, I hope to share some of my craziness for food and cooking. So whether you have the “chef gene” or not, sit back, relax, and I will see you in the kitchen!