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What makes you laugh the most?

Watching my puppy, Cali, innocently and sometimes mischievously play makes me laugh. She’s a riot to watch! I also love watching how she playfully enjoys her own company and discovers her strengths. It cracks me up! She’s such a joy to be around and brings me immense joy.

What is your favorite family recipe?

This is a tough one as a I have so many favorites. I wrote and published a cookbook a few years ago which has many of my favorite recipes. Hands-down 5-cheese mac & cheese with a homemade cheese roux and sauteed red peppers is one of top classic favorites. As a family favorite, I would have to choose my 79-year old Aunt Katie’s Corn Pudding Casserole, it has a consistency similar to Creamed Corn Souffle. It’s loaded with cheese and beyond savory. Each time I visit my hometown of Albany, New York she makes this for me. It’s in my cookbook and I’m happy to share it with you. It’ll be a hit at your next family gathering.

What is your ideal way to spend your weekends?

Over the many years, I’ve learned to appreciate relaxing, uneventful weekends. The weekends provide me with an opportunity to disconnect and reset. Usually this means a nice drive, a walk with my husband and dog along the marina, lunch at the beach, or binge-watch Law & Order on Sundays. Now that it’s the holiday season, I try to just relax around the house, cook Sunday-dinner on Saturdays so I don’t have to cook on Sundays, and simply watch a marathon of Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel.

What is your favorite breakfast food?

Another though one because there are so many amazing breakfast dishes to choose from. I love creole shrimp and grits topped with a creamy cheese sauce, or salmon croquettes with grits, hash brown casserole, and homemade buttermilk biscuits.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime”. – Lao Tsu .

I love this passage because it’s a great reminder that life brings so many teachable moments. It basically means it is much more beneficial to the person in the long run to teach them how to do something rather than do it for them.

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Latif Legend - 12/19
Fatima Julien - 12/21
Sarah Madgic - 12/24
Hosai Omran - 12/25
Mike Devlin - 12/25

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Share Your Favorite Holiday Traditions Here! 

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Share Your Favorite Holiday Traditions Here! 

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14 Recipes to celebrate Karamu Ya Imani - a feast that takes place on January 1, the seventh day of Kwanzaa

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14 Recipes to celebrate Karamu Ya Imani - a feast that takes place on January 1, the seventh day of Kwanzaa

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Kwanzaa is an ever-evolving celebration of Black American heritage and culture that links African traditions with African American customs. Observed December 26 through January 1, it culminates with a feast called karamu. The meal usually takes place on the final night of Kwanzaa as an alternative to New Year's Eve celebrations. Traditionally, the karamu might include dishes from across the African diaspora, such as Jollof Rice from West Africa, Jamaican Jerk Chicken from the Caribbean, or other traditional offerings from the American South. Scroll through for those and more delicious recipes to celebrate the holiday.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

In 2018, we named this recipe one of our 40 best, and we stand by that decision. There are as many takes on jerk chicken in Jamaica as there are cooks on the island, but most share the same method: Chicken is coated in a seasoning mixture dominated by spices and chiles, then grilled. This version comes from Paul Chung, a self-taught cook of Chinese-Jamaican descent who worked in the mail room at Food & Wine. It's wonderfully spicy, smoky, and fragrant - everything we want jerk chicken to be.

Okra Gumbo with Blue Crabs and Shrimp

In this recipe from the iconic The Dooky Chase Cookbook, the late chef Leah Chase used okra (and lots of it) to thicken the dish.

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Delicious Kwanzaa Recipes to Make This Year

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Kwanzaa is an ever-evolving celebration of Black American heritage and culture that links African traditions with African American customs. Observed December 26 through January 1, it culminates with a feast called karamu. The meal usually takes place on the final night of Kwanzaa as an alternative to New Year's Eve celebrations.

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Looking for easy Christmas dinner recipes for your holiday menu? From ham to turkey to sides, these tasty dishes will give you even more to celebrate.

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What makes you laugh the most?
My friends can make me laugh regardless of the situation. Looking back, some of my fondest memories are about how we would make each other laugh despite the challenges that we had.

What is your favorite family recipe?
I really like the way our family makes kimchi – our secrets are to make a slice in the bottom of each head of cabbage as a salt reservoir and to salt each leaf individually before mixing everything in a spicy pepper moshpit.

What is your ideal way to spend your weekends?
If I’m not with my friends, then I love to read in my spare time. I finished reading a biography on Winston Churchill before the start of REA, and next on my list is Don Quixote.

What is your favorite breakfast food?
My favorite breakfast food is a crepe; I love how you can have sweet or savory depending on the morning’s mood.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken
Oscar Wilde

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Saturday December 24 - Sunday December 25

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Saturday December 24 - Sunday December 25

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Unit-wide Holiday Luncheon - December 15! 

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Unit-wide Holiday Luncheon - December 15! 

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Don't forget to wear your Ugly Holiday/Christmas Sweater for our contest on December 15!

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be announced!

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What makes you laugh the most?

Watching my dogs be goofballs! I’m pretty strict with them in public, so getting to watch them play at home, at a friend’s house, or on a hike brings out the deep belly laughs. Ask me for a video, I have tons 😃

What is your favorite family recipe?

Ooh so tough. My favorite recipe of my mom’s is her Vietnamese chicken salad. It hits all of the buttons – crunchy, tangy, herbaceous, savory, filling, a little funky. I could eat buckets of it!

What is your ideal way to spend your weekends?

My life revolves around my dogs. I love to take them on long hikes, to sniffspots for some off leash time, to training sessions, on doggie play dates, or picnics. My best weekends are just hanging out with my dogs and my husband.

What is your favorite breakfast food?
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so ALL breakfast food is my favorite but if I had to choose.. A good loco moco with an over easy egg or a chicken fried steak. Something that will keep me full until dinner!

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions”
The Dalai Lama

I try to remind myself that happiness and a good attitude is something I opt into.

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Hannukah Sunday December 18 - Monday, December 26

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Hannukah Sunday December 18 - Monday, December 26

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Happy Work Anniversary Kelvin Lee - Assistant Director of Visitor Relations

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Happy Work Anniversary Kelvin Lee - Assistant Director of Visitor Relations

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Kwanzaa - Monday, December 26 - Sunday, January 1

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Kwanzaa - Monday, December 26 - Sunday, January 1

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What Is Kwanzaa and How Is It Celebrated?