Welcome to “Add a Little Flavor”

Fall always reminds of back-to-school, of getting a fresh start. That has never been more true than this year. After a major lay-off at my company, I find myself kicking off fall looking for that fresh start.

While figuring out my next move, I’ve been thinking about what I am passionate about. Top of the list… FOOD! A college reunion weekend recently took me and my friends to the Music City Food and Wine Festival in Nashville and suddenly it hit me: this would be the perfect opportunity to dive into my love of all things yummy by creating a blog to share my perspectives, inspirations and my borderline obsessive addiction to cookbooks. I even chatted with Nancy Silverton about it as she signed a copy of “The Mozza Cookbook” for me.

As those who know me (including some who have worked with me) are aware, I can sometimes get a bit paralyzed by a quest for perfection and fear of failure. Not my best trait, but admitting it is half the battle, right? So … I found myself putting off launching a blog while I craft the perfect introduction. Then I had a day last week where the universe seemed to be telling me “Just Do It!”

There were many signs…

Vintage issues of “Food & Wine” in my doctor’s waiting room. I stumbled across three issues from 1991 and 1992 (Tom Colicchio was a Best New Chef in one issue and, let’s face it, Tom Colicchio in anything is always a good sign to me!). These were pristine copies from 25 years ago, and I had such fun flipping through them to see what was hot in the food world when I was still in college – including “Foodies Online.” Back then you could, assuming you had a personal computer that is, search services like Prodigy and CompuServe to find foodie tips and tricks.

Meeting a “Top Chef” as she was coming into her restaurant. I was having a pretty tough day and decided to take myself to lunch. Fellow season 6 “Top Chefs” Mike Isabella and Jennifer Carroll have teamed up in this great spot in the Mosaic District in Fairfax, VA: Requin. I was looking for somewhere new to try. Somewhere to take a breath, to get a bit of peace, and maybe a glass of wine or two. I wandered in to Requin for a bite. On my way out, Jen Carroll was coming in. I get giddy when I meet a chef I am familiar with, and I swear I think I would be calmer meeting George Clooney than I was meeting Jen. She was kind to indulge my goofy fangirl chatter and was encouraging when I said I was thinking of starting a blog. And by the way, the food at Requin was both beautiful and delish.

Those were the “food” signs. Then I was listening to the radio on the way home. A blogger was promoting his new book. The subject isn’t important: it’s what he said that hit me. He talked about when he first started and was telling a friend he needed to get the first post just right before launching. His friend told him “Just post it! You have to start somewhere, and your posts will get better and better as you go along.” That’s when I wondered what exactly I was waiting for.

So here we are… Welcome! What can you expect when you visit “Add a Little Flavor?” To start us off, let’s go back to that cookbook addiction. I read them like they are novels, and every book needs a review. I’ll be cooking from a different book in my collection each week. I’ll try a handful of the recipes and let you know what I think. From there, we’ll see where it goes!

First up, what started this whole thing: that signed copy of “The Mozza Cookbook”… See you next week!