People sometimes think that to make great food at home, it takes a lot of time and cost. In this busy world, many of us do not have the time or the money to invest in planning and cooking a great meal. We end up cooking meals on the weekend. The rest of the week, we are going out to dinner, ordering take-out or heading to fast food. Eating becomes an afterthought.

I have been in this food rut, and I have dug myself out. I have been preparing gourmet meals at least five nights out of the week since the beginning of January 2009. My cooking skills and experience has grown in the past ten months to a point I feel comfortable making some of the more difficult dishes out there. I have been trying a new recipe every night. I have been pulling recipes from a variety of magazines and tried and true cookbooks.

It is true that it does take some time to gain the experience to become a good cook. It is also helpful to have a passion for good food and the whole dining experience. With this blog, I hope to help lower people’s inhibitions to cooking at home.

My aim for this blog is to illustrate how anyone can make great food with minimal cost. I will be posting recipes, explaining the time and difficulty, and also pricing the meal out on a per serving basis. I will be suggesting wine pairings with each dish. As you know, wine is food. In addition, I will be discussing how it turned out and whether it is worth making again.

As with any blog, it is a work in process. I am sure I will be refining the format of the blog as time progresses. I hope you enjoy this journey into cooking at home.

bon appétit