"You must never introduce people to each other in public places unless you are certain beyond a doubt that the introduction would be agreeable to both."
-Etiquette, Emily Post.
Kathryn In general my style of cooking is plain, easy meals. Nothing that requires a lot of ingredients or anything exotic or hard to find. On the days I work it has to be something I can have on the table in 30 minutes. On my days off I will cook the kinds of meals that simmer on the stove for hours and make the house smell wonderful.
My favorite thing to bake is cookies. It may have something to do with the fact that I like eating them so much. Especially when they are still warm from the oven. Yum.
Nicole I am exuberant and perpetually hungry, and I’d like to think my cooking style reflects this. Casual and cheap are usually the most important parts of the recipe for me. However, I’ll try anything once, whether it be cooking or eating!Comfort foods are my favorite thing to make. Fried chicken is my security blanket, and what keeps my strength going when times get tough: crispy, juicy, with simple ingredients but still a challenge to get perfect. Plus, the frying oil lends itself nicely to battle scars!
Phyllis Being second out of seven, my mom could use all the help she could get and I was cooking at age 10. I learned from a good cook and have always collected recipes. As a young bride I watched Julia Child, The Frugal Gourmet and the other television chefs that have paved the way for today's generation of Food Network stars.I love cooking and finding new dishes to serve for family and friends. I also know the importance that presentation has when serving food or giving it as gifts so I have a keen interest in that also. Being on a budget, I always look for inexpensive, creative ideas for achieving this goal. I am a confessed Food Network and Cooking Channel junkie and what bliss... I have a library of resources at my finger tips!
Living in a household of picky eaters, it seems to work out that I am a bit reluctant at times to venture away from my comfort zone to try out new recipes.
Laura
It's an awkward dance getting everyone something to eat as nobody's metabolisms here are on the same schedule. We rarely sit at the table together so I rely upon foods that I can prepare quickly if I haven't thrown something into the slow cooker.
During this past holiday season, to help pass the time while doing circulating chores in library work room the three of us were discussing family traditions involving food. We were always sharing cookbooks and books with recipes when they fell into our hands during our daily routines. Soon discussions about Food Network and Cooking Channel chat as well as cooking blogs we loved rounded out our quest for finding tasty new recipes to add to our holiday fare and share with each other.
We all entered Ree Drummond's contest to win a weekend at the ranch to cook with The Pioneer Woman. Sadly none of us won but we decided to have our own day at the ranch, so to speak, and cook together at one of our homes. Plans were made, the date was set and the kickoff for our blogging venture was born. We busied ourselves with choosing books we liked or had read as well as cookbooks that were relatively new to be able to compliment each other's choices for test recipes for the dishes we would share.
We began at 11 am, cooked and took turns being sous chef and Kathryn did all the photography as we taste tested our way thought the day ending at 6:30 pm. We may not have been on the ranch with Ree but as we started we donned our prairie inspired aprons and toasted our venture with Ree's Sangria recipe that Nicole created. We had a lot of fun that day, learned a lot and made plans for the future.
At work, it is part of our job to provide Readers Advisory so what a great way to share our hobby, the love of food and cooking and combine it with books we love to read. It has brought much excitement to the three of us and we hope you will enjoy our blog. We hope it inspires you to check out some books and start cooking. Hopefully you will leave comments and share your experiences you may have had with the books you love.
Also, if you have any questions... you can always ask a librarian. Happy Reading and Cooking!
