I grew up in El Centro, California, a small but rapid growing farming community. My summers were spent in Montana where my love for baking began at about the age of 10. I moved to Orange County, California at 18 and this is when I was dealt the realization that cooking was more to me than I had ever imagined: comfort. After meeting my husband I began to dabble more into Mediterranean cuisine which lately has encapsulated my recent experimentation in the kitchen. Morrocan Tagine, Spanish Tapas Christmas Candy trains, making Thanksgiving dinner with my mother and father working together in the same kitchen, this is more of our yearly challenge than the actual yearly tradition: 20 years and counting, sharing a kitchen with so much being done at once should only be done once or twice a year :) Every month or two my husband and I host a dinner party. The theme varies by country every month, e.g Monaco, Ireland, Greece, Belgium, etc. We usually will pick a classic film, a variance of beverages, and cuisine relating to the country of choice. The center usually always being the cuisine. It's a challenge to incorporate culture, food, and flair into what usually always ends in a whirlwind of compliments from our guests. My grandmother passed away two years ago, before Thanksgiving. As part of her Christmas gift to each of our families she would send a box filled with homemade fudge, caramels, almond roca, peanut brittle, ginger snaps, and tons of other candies and cookies. In an attempt to revive one of the many things that we miss since her passing, I decided I would take a crack at candy making myself. I followed her cherished hand written recipes letter by letter, line by line: NOTHING CAME OUT RIGHT. I later realized what had gone wrong...it was raining that day and for those of you that have any experience in candy-making, realize why.