Acerca de mí
Cooking has always been among my passions; now I hope to embark on a new one- writing about it! After years at country clubs and hotels in my native Illinois- I most recently just ended 13 years of cooking at wilderness lodges and remote-site, fly-in oil camps in Alaska. So salmon, wild game, fiddleheads, and wild berries are fresh on my lips!
My interests outside of the kitchen include: music/drama, design/architecture, the arts, collecting, flea-markets & junk-shops, travel, pets and family.
Influencias de Cocina
Like most of us, my Mom was my first and best influence; she was a simple country cook who prepared food that wasn't fancy- but it was delicious! Mom's formica kitchen table was always bountiful and over-flowing w/ fried chicken, catfish, pork-chops, meatloaf, all the usual sides- and spelndid, delectable sweets. Her meringue pies were sugary delicasies that were lofty enough to almost reach the sky! And her cakes and cookies kept me pudgy and satisfied, and developed in me a craving for flavor and richness that has so far lasted my entire lifetime.
Later as my cooking repetoire and enjoyment developed, I began to adventure between the covers of cookbooks for further learning. Throughout the span of my personal development and career, my cooking influences have included: Julia Child, James Beard, Edna Lewis, Lee Bailey, Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Christopher Idone, Patricia Quintana, Lidia Bastianich, Michael Chiarello, and many more...
And my list of most favorite cookbooks ever, ranges from Thomas Keller's "The French Laundry Cookbook" to Ernest Mickler's campy cult classic "White Trash Cooking"!