About Us
Hello, we’re Kelly and Rita — partners in every culinary adventure we’ve taken for the past four decades.
Neither of us went to culinary school. We took a handful of cooking classes at our local community college about forty years ago, stumbled into a wine club that genuinely changed the way we looked at what was in our glass, and somehow never looked back. What began as weekend dinners for friends grew into a full-blown obsession with good food, great wine, and a well-crafted cocktail.
Where It All Started
Some of our most vivid food memories come from dinner parties that had a theme. The host would choose a cuisine — Italian, Moroccan, Thai — and take on the main course. Everyone else was assigned a role: someone brought the appetizer, another couple handled the sides, someone else brought the dessert, and the wine had to complement the whole menu. Those evenings were something special. The planning, the anticipation, the moment when everything came together around the table — that’s where our love of themed entertaining was born.
Both of those experiences live in everything we do here.
Our Food Philosophy
We cook from all over the world. Indonesian braised pork on a rainy Saturday. A Moroccan tagine for a themed dinner party. A simple French quiche for just the two of us on a Tuesday night. No cuisine is off limits — that’s the whole point of exploring. When we travel, restaurants and farmers markets are always on the itinerary — not the tourist spots, but the places locals actually go. Those discoveries come home with us and end up on our table.
Wine, Spirits, and the Art of Pairing
The wine club we joined decades ago started something we’ve never been able to stop. We’ve spent years learning which wines complement which dishes, which spirits enhance a meal, and when a well-crafted cocktail is exactly the right companion to what’s on the table. Every recipe here comes with a wine pairing and a spirits suggestion — honest, practical recommendations from people who genuinely love both the food and what’s in the glass.
Entertaining — From Two to Twenty
Whether it’s a quiet weeknight dinner for two, a themed potluck where everyone plays a role, or a full dinner party where we handle every course — cooking for the people you care about is one of life’s great pleasures. Every recipe on this blog scales from an intimate dinner for two all the way to a table of twenty. And every themed menu collection we put together is designed to give you everything you need for a memorable evening.
What You’ll Find Here
Recipes from every corner of the world, written for home cooks who want results that feel genuinely gourmet. Wine and spirits pairings that make meals better. Themed menu collections that make entertaining easier. And the occasional story about a meal we’ll never forget.