About Me

My grandma, 93 years old and still cooking!

When I was a little girl I would go with my grandparents to “the country” every Sunday. We would wake up early, pack the car, and drive about an hour north to the country where my grandparents grew up. My grandma cooked Sunday Supper in the same house where she was raised. Everything was fresh. We did not eat vegetables that were frozen or biscuits that came out of a tube. My grandma never wanted us under foot when she cooked. She always said, “Go outside and play,” but I hung around the kitchen and watched her cook. This is where I learned the secrets to good fresh country cooking.



When I was not in the country I helped my mom cook Sunday Supper at home. After church I would wash my hands and would be ready to go. This is where I learned the secrets to Italian cooking. Unlike my grandma, my mom let me help cook. Our spaghetti sauce did not come from a jar and we did not call it spaghetti sauce. Instead it was made with fresh tomatoes and was called “red gravy.” To this day I never order pasta with red gravy in restaurants because nine times out of ten it came from a jar and I can taste the difference.


My father’s parents came from a Louisiana French heritage. They were from a small town in Southern Louisiana called French Settlement. Both my paw-paw and maw-maw could cook. Here is where I got to know the flavors of Louisiana cuisine. My maw-maw did not measure anything. When my father was growing up she had a small restaurant which was known for miles for its great food. But she never shared her recipes with anyone. What I learned from her came from my mom who studied her as she cooked. White onions and lots of them was her secret. Her jambalaya was the best in the state of Louisiana. No one could match her unique balance of flavoring. The rice would just fall off your fork. I don’t eat jambalaya anymore because it is compared to her jambalaya and no one even comes close. My paw-paw made the best green salad. It was nothing fancy really but he knew the exact ratio of oil to vinegar for his dressing. Growing up we never had salad dressing from the grocery store. Our dressing was simply olive oil and vinegar-red vinegar for Sunday’s and special occasions.


A lot of my memories growing up in Southern Louisiana revolved around the kitchen table. It is my hope to pass on these food memories to you and create some new ones along the way. As my great-grandma Noto would say, “Mangia, Mangia!”