hello, bloggosphere...

In the cacophony of the blogging universe, why am I adding my voice?  The simple answer is that I love food. I just can't help but share this love beyond my ever-so-patient inner circle (inner circle, you have convinced me that my opinions are worth sharing- I guess we'll see if you are correct!).

Sharing a meal with someone (or yourself) is one of the most generous and heartfelt things anyone can do.  Food lends comfort when a family mourns, evokes memories of happier times, brings family together, celebrates joyous milestones.... The list of what food can do is probably infinite.  Food is more than mere nourishment, it is the soul-filling, heart-mending, inspiring, energizing fuel of a modern life. 

My love affair with cuisine started when I was the first filet-mignon-and-shrimp-cocktail-eating toddler that my parents had heard of (I'm sure there are many of us out there, but parents always think their kids are impossibly unique, right?). In fact, filet and shrimp were my favorite foods growing up (they still rank pretty high on my list). Also contributing to my love of food was my unspeakably indecisive mother.  Allow me to explain.  Since she HATED deciding what to cook and serve for us as picky little kids, we had the same 3-5 dinner menus constantly. This was unacceptable to my palette, so as soon as I was old enough (fourth grade), I taught myself how to cook using good old PBS.  This was the era I nostalgically call BFN (Before Food Network). Graham Kerr, Pasquale, and the one and only Julia Child were my teachers.  Lucky me! To this day I consider my food curriculum among the best in the world, albeit unconventional. At the age of 9, the flood gates had been opened, and I simply couldn't get enough. I would make grocery lists, shop with my mom, and use my family as guinea pigs nearly every night at dinnertime. Mostly they loved it (I wasn't the only one sick of mom's cooking), but of course there were several misses- an ill-advised fat-free "fried" chicken comes to mind. Lesson learned!

In food as in life, trial and error rules.  I quickly became proficient at some things (making a tasty meal from random stuff in the fridge, for instance), and still struggle with other things (baking is still not my forte, as patience is not among my stronger suits). I have been good at making wine reductions and pan sauces from the beginning.  Since I grew up in an alcohol-free house, it did take my mom some convincing to buy that dry white wine for buerre blanc when I was 9!  Anyone who knows me knows the implications of my successful persuasion in that area- wine has become a life-long journey for me.

So.... what will this blog address?  Food, wine, many restaurant reviews, notes on how to eat inexpensively, nutritiously, and only God knows the rest. There will also be wine notes, community events, foodie experiences to try, and plenty of anecdotes to share. My foodie friends will contribute, and you will love what they add! There may be the occasional recipe, but this won't be a recipe blog.  My hope is that this will be a tool for everyone to enjoy food and wine as an everyday celebration. Who doesn't need that? I know I do! Cheers...