Hi. My Name is Susan, and I'm a Blogaholic...

I have been an Internet junkie ever since the day I got my first broadband connection. It amazed me that, with just a few little clicks, I could transport myself across the continents. I could learn about anything I wanted to know. The mating habits of the Black-necked Red Cotinga? Sure, no problem! Cliff Notes on Great Expectations? Absolutely! The latest Britney/Paris/Lindsey debacle? Certainly! An authentic recipe for duck confit? Mais, oui! The sky was the limit...and that was before I'd ever even heard of a blog.

My blog obsession all began a little over two years ago. It was right after that poor, unfortunate Natalee Holloway disappeared off the face of the earth. It seemed like you couldn't turn on the TV or open a newspaper without being bombarded by coverage of the case. I had always been fascinated by true crime cases - probably due to my past life as a lawyer. So, one night, I Googled Natalee... and discovered blogs. After that, nary a day went by when I didn't visit Riehl World View, Scared Monkeys and a host of other crime blogs, each with their own interesting take on the Holloway case, as well as a myriad of others. I was hooked!

It was only a matter of time before I realized that there were millions of bloggers out there in cyberspace, blogging about anything and everything that I could possibly be interested in. From my own little corner of the world, I could have access to it all. From true crime, I graduated to music blogs, beauty and fashion blogs, travel blogs and, dare I say it, food blogs!

Since then, I have been clamoring to start a blog of my own. "Why not?" I asked myself. I'm a pretty good writer. (I've even had a few things published.) I'm a well-rounded individual. I think I'm a pretty interesting person. Then, the doubts set in. What would I write about? What if nobody read my blog? What if people did read my blog and they thought it sucked? What if I'm really not that interesting? What if people left snarky comments on my blog? Could my fragile ego handle that? Round and round I went, until it seemed like I was destined to be a lurker forever. Then, the lights went on and I realized that I wanted to blog for myself - not to please anyone else. I had something to say and it didn't matter if no one else read it, although, that would be nice. So, here it is...my own little slice of the blogoshere.

I chose to write a food blog because cooking (and eating) are two of my greatest passions. Growing up in an Italian family, food was always center stage. No important decision was ever made without a cup of strong espresso and some fresh biscotti to dunk in it. No milestone was ever celebrated without a tray of lasagna and my grandfathers homemade (and delicious) wine. And, no Sunday was ever really Sunday without a huge pot of ragu simmering on my grandmother's stove, brimming with meatballs, sausage, pork skin (yes, pork skin) and brasciole. Oh, how I miss those wonderful times!

I have many interests in my life, but I've realized that food is the fabric that holds families together. The memories of preparing a meal together and then sitting down to enjoy with my own family are my most treasured. Although I am merely a humble home cook, I hope that, through this blog, I can inspire some of you, as I have been inspired, to make some memories of your own.