About Donna

I’m not a professional chef, but I am an avid cook, foodie and collector of cookbooks (I have over 1000!)   Dad was a butcher in NYC and did most of the cooking (mostly grilling and roasting) when I was growing up.  Mom liked to cook vegetables until they screamed for mercy.  Needless to say, I did not grow up loving vegetables.  I could be happy with a slab of beef and some Italian bread.

I started cooking with dad when I was so little I had to stand on a chair to reach the stove.  Mostly I stirred.  The kitchen was small, and there wasn’t really room for two in there.

Fast forward to my first home ec class, cookbook in front of me, when I prepared my very first tuna casserole.  It was love at first bite, perhaps not so much because it was a tuna casserole but because it was prepared by me and tasted darned good!  From there it was a short leap to chocolate souffle and Beef Wellington (where I made my own pastry, duxelle….chopped mushrooms for the uninitiated, and pate.)  I started buying cookbooks, cooking magazines, and sending away for the little recipe pamphlets every company offered featuring their products.  I was hooked!  When “the internet” became accessible, I joined “food boards” food groups, and experimented and cooked, and hoarded recipes.

On a typical weekday evening, when my work day is done (I’m a life and executive coach http://www.coachingtosuccess.com and also do workshops and conferences related to coaching and personal development) I typically go to the fridge or my overstocked freezer to pull out the items I will use in that night’s dinner..and then I’ll consult some websites or cookbooks for inspiration.

I love to cook.  I love to eat.  I love to read and write about food.  That’s just a little about the foodie side of me!