Coming Around Full Circle

Being born and raised in the South, I was taught to cook from a very early age. Its our birthright. I started as any newbie in the kitchen would by shelling peas, snapping green beans, grating cheese, and the most important job of them all, watching the pots. There is nothing worst than burnt food. It takes forever to get the smell out the kitchen and destroys the rest of the meal, at least in my opinion. As I got older and bigger so did my jobs because now I could really reach the sink and the stove. I could even handle myself with the big kitchen knife. Before I knew it I had become your mom's sous chef, cleaning the vegetables, putting the pots to boil and even prepping the meats. I started off cooking side dishes and vegetables. During all of this, I never took my eyes off the master, my mother.

Please recognize my mother is a culinary genius and anyone who has tasted her cooking can testify to that fact. Hey, I have seen her do some pretty amazing things with a chicken. Being a working single mother, she would take scraps and turn them into feast on a daily basis. And all I could do was watch in total awe of her skills. Then one day she said to me what all sous chefs wait to hear from the master chef with great anticipation and dread, "Shea, I need you to cook dinner tonight."

Never one to disappoint my mother, I made dinner. And surprisingly to myself and little brother, I actually did pretty well. Basically, I didn't burn the house down and the meal was edible which pretty much made it a success. Now because of my mother's work schedule, cooking the week day dinners soon became one of my chores and I fully embraced this promotion. I started off cooking the basics, nothing fancy (fried chicken, pork chops and spaghetti). Everyone was satisfied but me. I was tired of cooking the same old foods, the same old ways. Then I stumbled upon my mom's cookbooks. I would read and stare at the pictures everyday like they were pure fantasy. They were like my romance novels, my porn. One day I finally worked up the nerve and decided to cook one of those great looking recipes. So I cooked the fruit braised pork chops and everyone loved it. I know you are probably asking yourself why this recipe. Simple, it was because of the fact it had a picture and the recipe was easy to follow. For awhile all of the recipes that I took on had to have a picture. Hey, I needed to see what the end product was suppose to look like.

And that's how it all started, my love affair with food. However, I just could not accept the fact that something I considered just to be a hobby could actually be a part of my destiny. See, I went to Tulane University to study political science so that I would eventually use it to go to law school. However my senior year, I decided I wanted to do something different. I wanted to help people. So after graduation, I moved to New York and enrolled in the forensic psychology program at John Jay College. Within a year, I was working for a huge nonprofit organization that helped survivors of domestic violence. I thought this was how it was suppose to be. Yet somehow something was missing. I was my happiest when I was hitting the city scene with my friends. They took me to all of these different clubs, bars, cafes, and restaurants. I discovered the culinary mecca that is NYC and could not get enough.

It was through this culinary venture that I found wine tasting. I have been wine tasting for 5 years now. I used the knowledge that I picked up from the wine shop sales reps to learn what I liked and how to pair with foods. Last year I took it even further and received my WSET Immediate Wine & Liquor Certification. Cooking and wine had become my escape from a mind numbing job, moronic boyfriends and some not so great friends. When I stepped into my little kitchen, everything just went away as I mixed, stirred and chopped. Every time I uncorked a bottle, I was transported to another land. Still for some reason, I could not yet see the connection until earlier this year.

I finally woke up and realized that I was surrounded by a cloud of negativity that caused me to continue to run into the same damn brick wall over and over again. I almost lost myself but with the help of my family and some kick ass friends, I was able to catch myself before I truly fell off the deep end. So it is now through food and wine that I am finding my way back, coming around full circle...

See this blog will be about my culinary journey back to sanity. I will share my thoughts and opinions on all things concerning food and wine. I might even share a couple of recipes, if you're lucky. Because I am a foodie and oenophile (wine enthusiast) who happens to live in one of the biggest culinary capitals of the world, I will talk about the wine events I attend and dining establishments I happen upon, be they big or small. Since I am also trying to breaking into the food & wine industry, I will also be sharing my trials and tribulations of entering this field. One of my biggest dreams is to have my own acclaimed cooking show and be able to rub elbows with Hubert Kellar, Susan Feniger, Jonathan Waxman, Bobby Flay and Paula Dean, that's only to name a few. My other dream is to marry the owner of a winery in Argentina. Well since my Spanish vocab is a little limited, I would be willing to settle down in Australia or Austria. I never really cared for traveling alone (even though it never stopped me) so anyone is welcome to tag-a-long. You just have to carry your own luggage, partner.

My best friend Shawn, the savvy techie, was the one who inspired (more like pushed) me to start my own blog. She is like a sister and second mother. Shawn truly believes that I should be the Next Food Network Star or Top Chef. In fact, she says it each time they start a new season. Gotta love her. I introduced her to wine tasting and she has become quite taken with it as well. Shawn has even been actively encouraging and supporting me to pursue my dream of working for a winery in Argentina or Australia. I think it also has to do with the potential of  having free cases of wine delivered to her doorsteps. The girl loves free. So, I think its only fitting that I launch my blog on her birthday.

To my best friend, sister and personal Tony Robbins...

Happy Birthday, Shawn!