About Me

I am a private piano and flute teacher with over 50 students, so getting dinner prepared earlier in the day, while watching my 3-year-old grandson, is sometimes a real challenge.

I love to cook and I love collecting and trying new recipes. I was born and raised in Texas, and for most of my life have mainly cooked Southern and Tex-Mex, and also Italaian & Asian. In the past couple of years I have been experimenting with Indian, Moroccan, and other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. I have started to dabble in French, as Ina Garten has made some simple dishes I enjoy. I don't care much for other European cuisine other than Italian, but maybe there's something I don't know. I'm Irish, but that food seems a bit boring, especially because I love pungent spices and a bit of heat.

Crock-pot dishes are a lifesaver with my schedule, so I'm always on the hunt for something different that's beyond the usual chicken with creamed soups. However, most of the time I make my one-dish meals in my large cast iron pot with porcelain finish on the simmer burner.

I am most famous for my Southern Thanksgiving spread which family and friends look forward to all year. I am told I make the best gravy in the world, thanks to my ex's grandmother from South Carolina. Secondly, my family adores my chicken and dumplings.

I have wanted to write and publish a cookbook for years, but have yet to do so. I did, however, make sure that all of my recipes were on my computers, which took a good week or so back in 2001.