Cook
I love themed meals - any excuse for a party.
I use locally grown produce whenever possible.
I believe keeping kosher makes my home inclusive.
I use the good china & silver.
I prefer less processed ingredients. 
I make sure guests feel comfortable in my home.
I love to try "exotic" ingredients.
I think anyone can learn to cook for themselves.
I love family-owned businesses.
My favorite food to cook is food for other people.
I think food tastes better on real dishes. 

These are just some of the things I believe in.
I've been cooking for myself, my family and my friends for a long time. I learned from watching, reading and doing.

But my skills improved dramatically when I starting working in the kosher deli at Wegmans. I learned how to scale recipes up and down. I learned consistency.

At Congregation Beth El, I led a catering team to prepare congregational meals. Called Essen & Fressen (Yiddish for Eat & Eat A Lot), we hosted our own events including Steakhouse in the Sukkah, our annual Peter Luger style steak dinner, a real treat for the kosher keepers in our congregation who had to travel far from East Windsor, NJ to get a kosher restaurant meal. When we started cooking Friday night Shabbat dinners, attendance went from an average of about 30 to more than 100!

I learned how to run a team, cost out recipes, cook in large quantities and plan a menu that was both elegant and doable.

Partly as a result of Essen & Fressen, people starting asking me to cook for them privately, which led to me create Foody Fun, a meal delivery service. I developed a system for freezing individual portions of mains and sides, so I could quickly assemble complete meals just before delivery. 
At home I host gatherings - any excuse for a party.
Every two years I host an Olympic Opening Night party with food from the host country's cuisine.
In New Jersey, I was the only person I knew who celebrates the Kentucky Derby, which called for fried chicken, layered salad, Derby Pie and of course, Mint Juleps.
My biggest party every year, is my Black Friday Turkey Slam. Because I worked on Thanksgiving, the next day while most people are shopping, I host an all-day open house featuring a full Thanksgiving menu, but cold. So turkey sandwiches, Brussels sprouts Caesar Salad, Sweet Potato salad, Pumpkin Biscotti and Apple Cider punch. By the way, let's bring back Punch!

Here are some of my Recipes, Menus and Photos.