about me - faq

an interview of me interviewed by me:
where did you learn to cook?
I thought I learned to cook in my mother’s kitchen but the fact is, my mother hates to cook . . . I just found that out about a year ago. who knew? I’ve always loved to cook but when I went on a trip to france in 2002, I was hooked. soon after that, I enrolled in the culinary arts program at brigham young university-idaho. while the program definitely wasn’t the best in the nation (they’ve since closed the program), I’m still thankful I went there – I met my wonderful husband, david, there.

what’s your favorite thing to make?
I get asked this question a lot and my answer is the same, “it changes every day.” I love to make different cuisines, different combinations and different flavors. I’ve never been a creature of habit and can hardly stand to eat the same thing twice in one week (leftovers are a problem for me). however, on a recent trip to hawaii, david and I met a couple from canada on the airport shuttle. once they heard I went to culinary school, their immediate question to david was, “what’s your favorite thing that she cooks?” I was very surprised when he answered with, “chicken and dumplings”. so, since I love to please my man, that’s probably my favorite thing to make . . . until he changes his mind to something else.

why did you start this blog about food?
I first started blogging when I moved to boston in may of 2005. I was doing an internship at blue hill country club in canton, massachusetts and part of my internship assignment was to keep a daily journal about my culinary adventures. blogs were starting to become very popular, so I started one. pretty soon, I was getting all kinds of e-mails from my sisters and other friends about recipes and tips and general cooking questions. from there, I mixed my cooking adventures with my life adventures on one blog and it got to the point where I wanted to separate them. so, that’s what I did.

what is your favorite thing about cooking?
I love how it makes people feel. I love making something delicious, sitting down together and feeling a combination of accomplishment, comfort and old-fashioned togetherness. it's a balance that I hope I can make a tradition in our home for our children. I also hope to instill in them the same love of cooking or at least an appreciation for it.

what is your least favorite things about cooking?
the clean up.

if you could build your dream kitchen, what would it look like?
to fully answer this question, would take up too much time (and finger strength) so I’ll go with some basic necessities.
1. gas appliances
2. huge workspace
3. white, open cabinets
4. bosch mixers
5. marble

if I have a question about you that hasn’t been answered, will you respond to it?
I will (and even put it in this section) if your question is:
1. appropriate (don’t bother if you’re a pervert, racist, mormon-hater or anything else that is dumb)
2. e-mailed to me (at elizabethabryant@gmail.com)
3. interesting (i.e. funny, clever, unique, informative)