Well, here we go. I have never been a great cook, so after watching the movie "Julie & Julia", I was inspired to try something. I am going to try a new recipe every day that I am home. It doesn't matter if we get take out, or my husband cooks, or our daughter cooks, or we have leftovers, I will try a new recipe-appetizers, desserts, side dishes, main courses. It may not be 365 recipes as I am not always home, but it will be an adventure. I started tonight. I made a "Weekday Cassolet" courtesy of Melissa D'Arabian who currenty hosts 10 dollar dinners with Melissa D'Arabian. My family absolutely loved it. I was a little worried that I would screw something up and it would be horrible, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I guess I should explain a little bit about why I decided to take on this adventure. My mother and grandmother are/were excellent cooks. My grandmother has passed, but I love my memories of her feeding so many people at her house, and never being stressed if one more showed up! She was amazing. Her fried chicken was so delicious and always was prepared with love and always made me laugh. My grandmother wore glasses and had a habbit of pushing them up by placing her thumb and index finger on the inside, upper portion of the lenses, regardless of what was on her fingers. On fried chicken day, she always had to little circles of flour on her glasses. One of my most fond memories of such a loving person.

Now my mother, she can prepare a feast made for kings! She has never had any professional training, but is, by far, one of the most talented chefs I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. She, too, does not get stressed by an extra person showing up for a meal. Her culinary skills are amazing to me.

I, on the other hand, have not inherited the wonderful skills in the kitchen that both my mother and grandmother possess/possessed. My brother did. I am pretty much a sad case in the kitchen, but I have been doing my best to improve my skills. This blog, hopefully, will keep me on task and learning something new every day in the kitchen that I am home.

I will maintain this blog for 365 days and hope to learn a lot!