There’s something that separates me from everyone else. Growing up, I never had any pictures of those boy bands to swoon over, or high-fashion magazine ads pasted to my walls like the other girls I knew. Instead, I’d scurry to my room when the new issue of Gourmet magazine came in the mail. Shut the door, hopped onto my bed—and alone at last I was, drooling over the cover photo, taking time to bask in its glory before ravaging through the magazine page by page, wide-eyed over the titillating photos of fresh fruits glistening in the sun, or a perfectly seared roast I could convince mom to make instead of her watered-down brisket. Next to me was a pair of scissors, ready to carefully extract the pictures from their pages of recipes, and I would then strategically tape them to the walls. That’s what I wanted to do---not pose with perfume, not to become a famous pop star… I wanted to one day have someone else appreciate food the way I did. What made me so different?

Perhaps it’s because I had a grandpa who shared with me the absolute simple satisfaction of eating. He would so carefully remove all the seeds from his the segments of his Palm Springs summer-ripened tangerines before he gave them to me, so that its sweet and tangy pockets of juices would explode in my mouth. Or maybe its because I always got the first piece of bacon he cooked “low and slow”, and this perfect little ribbon of salty joy would make me so excited to eat the pan of potatoes and eggs that were up next. Or because I’d sit next to him Christmas morning with my little espresso cup next to his monstrous coffee mug, and we’d both dip grandma’s age old family recipe for Italian sugar-glazed Jeannette biscotti into it.

I've been blessed with an undeniable love for food. I find myself driven to share my passion with others, hence the creation of my blog makemehungry.com. Whether you visit it to check out some of my recipes and tips, drool over photos, or just share a culinary connection... I hope this site inspires you to look at food in a new way, or validate that you are not alone in appreciating this beautiful element of life.

A tavola, si sta sempre in allegria! (At the table, one is always happy)