Monday, December 29, 2008

Why Im Blogging!

I can remember spending the summers in North Carolina with my Nana and Papa. My Nana always cooked a huge breakfast with eggs, sausage, toast and would prepare all day for the wonderful southern dinner. My first cooking lessons began in her kitchen.  I loved to flour the meats for frying... as you know you fry everything in the south.


When my family moved to NJ I found a huge passion for Italian. Before I only thought of spaghetti and meatballs and pizza as being Italian. I became best friends with a girl named Christina Barbato.  I loved her Italian family; they all are were wonderful cooks. Her dad owns a catering business! I can still remember eating roasted peppers with crusty Italian bread soaking up the olive oil and balsamic-so simple; yet so delicious.

My biggest cooking tragedy was spending hours and hours of making fresh pasta and filling for ravioli.  When I put them in the pot of water I watched while they separated and fell apart. I was 16 and balled my eyes out because I had worked so hard.




I named my blog Prida Foods because well, Prida is my last name.  But it's Spanish and it means pride.  So, Prida Food's it is as I take much pride in the food I make.
Im now 23 and live an hour away from my family. As I don't cook every night; I do cook meals that I can make into other meals. Now, that I have my own kitchen and can buy my own food I have been creating meals one after another. That is why I have decided to start a blog so I can keep all of my recipes together instead of written on manila paper scattered around the house.
I then started cooking for family dinners. I'll never forget my first meal. I love using garlic. I use it in everything. I guess I added too much because my mom thought she was having a heart attack but turned out to be heart burn.
I started a job as an Nanny for a Jewish and Italian family in NJ at the age of 17. The mother went to culinary school and had the freshest ingredients and I loved going there to eat! We would cook together and she gave me some good pointers that I use today. She also led me to love baking. I became great at sugar cookies. I made them for gifts one Christmas and had people calling me asking if Martha was out of jail.
I then began making things in the kitchen at home when I would cook for my brother. I would make simple things but would never follow directions and would always add different ingredients. Sometimes it was awful but my brother still ate it. One of my greatest memories is when I'd act as if I was on a food show by telling my brother how to make what I was making-then he would clap as my audience then sample the dishes!

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