Member Since:
Mar. 2005
Cooking Level:
Intermediate
Cooking Interests:
Baking, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Mexican, Italian, Southern, Mediterranean, Healthy, Dessert, Quick & Easy
Hobbies:
Biking, Walking, Reading Books, Music, Wine Tasting, Charity Work
I live in Jax, Florida with my loving, foodie boyfriend. I'm currently working as a full-time librarian while enrolled part-time as a Graduate student (English literature). In short, I live a busy life! My dad is a cook/baker in the Merchant Marines, and has been for 20+ years. I'm absolutely *addicted* to the Food Network, and have been for years, though it wasn't until I studied abroad in England during my Junior year that I had to give up my Americanized, fast food ways, and try cooking on a regular basis. Surprise, surprise, I actually enjoyed it!
My favorite things to cook
I'm half Mexican, so my tastes definitely tend to lean towards tasty comida. I'm also a big fan of pasta dishes, because they're so flavorful and yet so simple to put together. But my real love is for baking, most probably because of my infamous sweet tooth. Cakes, cookies, pies -- I do them all!
My favorite family cooking traditions
The holidays come to mind, since my parents would actually allow me into the kitchen to help, especially when cookies needed to be decorated. When I grew older, I was put in charge of the pumpkin pies and Christmas cookies, which is something I still look forward to every year.
My cooking triumphs
The first time I made biscuits from scratch while I was in England, I was so proud of myself. I invited a few fellow Yanks over for a truly American meal of fried chicken, mac and cheese, and buttery, flaky biscuits. After six frustrating months of fish and chips, you would have thought we'd died and gone to heaven.
My cooking tragedies
Also while in England, and still honing my new-found talents, I tried a microwavable, mini-chocolate cake recipe. What was I thinking?! It took days for the smell of burnt chocolate to leave the kitchen. Bleh.
What's this?