Christie Profile

Cooking Influences

Growing up in an Italian household, I learned to cook at a very early age. I expanded my repertoire through Home Ec in high school (showing my age, do they even teach that any more?!), specializing in baked goods; making bread, rolls, pastries, and fancy cakes and pies for my family and whenever company came. A few years ago, I discovered Xanthe Clay's Ten Minutes to Table, an online webcast put on weekly by the U.K. Telegraph, and I developed an interest in taking it to the next level. Xanthe prepares an entire meal - entree, veggie, carb, salad - in ten minutes flat, WITHOUT advance preparation; nothing has been pre-cut or measured for her. The first meal of hers I prepared took a bit longer than ten minutes for me, but turned out beautifully, and I was hooked. I quickly learned that one cannot cook like a pro with inferior tools, and began my wonderful collection of high-quality knives, pans, etc. I started my own herb garden, and now boast a year-round garden of 24 different varieties. I enrolled in a course at the local culinary academy to learn those all-important knife skills, and that's made a world of difference. My next goal is to turn out a beautiful crepe without using a non-stick skillet!