I love to eat. Eating is one of my very favorite things to do. Not eating just anything, however. I love eating made-from-scratch, expertly prepared, innovative yet not scary, delicious, artisanal food. But, what I love even more than eating, is cooking.

I haven’t always liked to cook. In college, I distinctly remember heating up a pot of Kraft Mac and Cheese, tossing in a few hot dogs, and calling it a gourmet meal. I didn’t really get into real cooking until I moved to San Francisco. It was in San Francisco that I tasted my first pork belly grilled cheese. My first blue cheese burger with bacon jam and frisee. My first beer-braised short rib tucked into a creamy, manchego polenta.

San Francisco inspired me to cook. To really, really cook. To buy whole, organic ingredients (when possible), to know where my meat comes from and what it ate, to experiment and push my limits in the kitchen. It’s a learning process, that’s for sure. I have filled my kitchen shelves with more cookbooks than I can count and have learned to use these recipes and cookbooks merely as guidelines, not as the end-all be-all. I have become a master of modification.

And I love every minute of it.

I love every minute of preparing a good meal for good friends. People come together over food and that’s really where my passion stems from. Food brings people together. Around the table is where some of my favorite memories where made.

My time in the kitchen is just that. My time. I look forward to cooking dinner (almost) every single night. It’s my chance to unplug and get lost in the fragrance of garlic and onions cooking in coconut oil. It’s my chance to experiment and be creative with ingredients. To test and to fail and to try again. To learn how to cook a chicken breast that isn’t bone dry. To learn what fresh herbs pair nicely with a rack of lamb. To get…saucy.

And I want to share that sauce with you.