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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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 😃 

 

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?

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

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.