To anyone who knows me, it’s no big secret that I carve out time on Wednesday nights to watch Top Chef. I’ve been addicted to that program since the very first season. This season - my favorite to win is Trey. I think he is a really talented chef!

I do like Howie, though - but I think I like him more for his no-nonesense approach to things. The guy is there to win - he makes no bones about it. And he’s not about to let personalities get in the way of his goal. I’m uninspired by his cooking, though.

I was happy to see Joey go last week. The guy is a hot head and overly emotional. Check out his departure scene:

I’m pinning this one on Trey - I think he’s going to be this seasons Top Chef.

Getting some introductory stuff out of the way - welcome to my blog!

I started this blog because I love to cook. It doesn’t get much easier than that, does it?

I am a big fan of wine. I consider my wine education to still be a work in process, however I think it’s really fun to discover new wines and explore how to bring out the essence of the wine with different foods, spices, herbs and tastes.

I’m also a big fan of Tuscan and Mediterranean style cooking. I’m an olive oil FREAK! I use olive oil in everything and you will probably see that reflected in many of my posts here on this blog. I don’t skimp on cost when it comes to olive oil, either. Only the BEST Extra-Virgin will do in my kitchen!

I’m also a crazy nut for kitchen appliances, cookery, utensils and any other type of kitchen gadget I can get my grubby little hands on. I have at LEAST three of everything. I simply drool over Williams & Sonoma stores and books!

One of the things I’m working on currently is food plating. I just love when food is presented well - - it just makes it seem to taste better, doesn’t it?

I’m an addict of shows like “Top Chef” on BravoTV and absolutely ANYthing on the Food Network.

Big, HUGE thanks go out to Lisa Sabin-Wilson of E.Webscapes Design Studio and Blogs About Hosting! That girl has got IT going on - that AND a bag-o-chips! She put together this very nice design for my new home, and helped me get started with domain registration, hosting and WordPress. She’s real good - - she literally wrote the book on this stuff! (WordPress for Dummies). . so, really, how could I go wrong with someone like her?

Phenomenal!

I hope you enjoy my blog - - it’s a hobby blog, at best. I’m no professional over here, just someone who really loves cooking!