I’ve spent the last few weeks furiously writing and testing new recipes for several magazines and other new projects. I love the creative process, but it can be such a challenge trying to find heirloom tomatoes or white peaches in the middle of February for a summer magazine story! Magazines work so far ahead, it can be challenging!

People often assume that I write recipes by going into the kitchen and improvising with different ingredients. Sometimes I do that but for me, the process starts much like this newsletter – sitting down at my computer all by myself! The DNA of a recipe is not complicated, at least not for me. When I was earning my Master Chef Diploma with Madeleine Kamman, I learned to take basic recipes, for example, a puréed soup or a soufflé, and master the basic steps of that particular recipe. With this basic foundation, regardless what time of year, I can take seasonal ingredients and come up with a recipe that will work. Sometimes I have to tweak it a little bit but that’s the fun part. That’s what I do in the kitchen when I’m testing the recipe. 

Recently I taught my students how to make a Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Soup with Spiced Crème Fraiche that was a riff on a simple Roasted Carrot Soup. I have to say, it was sweet and delicious! I did the same with an escarole salad by changing up the nuts and shaving Manchego cheese onto the top instead of Parmesan. Then I thought, hey, it might be fun to add some sliced kumquats to that salad? Or make my husband’s favorite homemade Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms with whole wheat egg pasta instead of white. Now you see how my brain starts thinking, getting creative and suddenly I have a new recipe!

If you’re excited about cooking and want to learn more, honestly I can’t wait to teach you. You’ll have to join me for a hands-on cooking class in my San Francisco kitchen, a villa in Provence or Tuscany later this year!