my backstory and how i became a creator

I recently asked you for your questions, feedback, and topics you want to hear more about and you gave me a ton of great ideas.

One of the most common questions was a version of, “So what’s your deal? What’s your background, and what exactly do you do now?” Good question. How did I wind up as a recipe developer/cookbook author/whatever-I-decide-to-call-myself-that-day? You’re about to find out.

In this first solo episode, I share my “villain origin story” along with, of course, a few of the things I’m into right now.

I talk about where I come from, how I met my husband George, my crazy idea to start a catering company in San Diego, working in a test kitchen, and how that evolved into what I do today.

Next solo episode, I’ll get into the nitty gritty of what my day-to-day looks like as a full-time creator, including how I make money, what I love about my job, what I don’t love as much, and my goals for 2024 and beyond.

I also get into:

* Is a few days apart occasionally a good thing for married couples? (yes)

* The small but *wonderful* change I think you should make to your kitchen (possibly my favorite part of the renovation…?!)

* How I learned to write recipes that people can clearly read, understand, and cook from

* The story behind my “Just Married” cookbook

* How COVID lockdowns inspired What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

* My weather-related So Out On and my IRL LOL of the week

* How to make an egg quesadilla with chili crisp

* My cookbook… coming soon!

Links:

* Kate Hutchison, the interior designer who designed our home

* Red Clay Chili Crisp (code CARO15 should work)

* Book Lovers by Emily Henry

* Food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark

* My fave former boss, Ben Pote, has a restaurant in Greenwich, CT called Wildacre Rotisserie. Go visit him!

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