About

Hello, I’m Sara. Pictured below is my family and the reason that I Cook What Matters: my husband, Gordon, and our three children, Emma, Mikey & Cooper.

I have always loved anything and everything related to food!  Reading about food, eating food, cooking food, and the conversations shared around food.  Some of my earliest childhood memories are sitting in the kitchen watching my grandmother as she breaded and delicately pan-fried thin strips of chicken or staring at my mother’s hands as they dried long strands of ribboned noodles on giant towels sprawled out on the counter for her lasagna. Decades later, I can close my eyes and almost smell those moments from my life.  

So, it seemed like a reasonable decision when I changed my studies in college from Early Childhood Education to focus on all things Culinary.  In 2009, I graduated from the Midwest Culinary Institute with a degree in Culinary Arts and with Certification as a Personal Chef.  My aspirations of working my way up in a restaurant or being a private chef were soon outweighed by my desire to start a family and my hopes of being home to raise my children full-time.  

I knew that my choice to pursue Motherhood rather than a culinary career would not offer the accolades of people who dined at whatever dream restaurant I could have possibly worked my way up in, but I believed being at home with my children, making meals daily, sharing in food, memory and in time together that the recognition from my family in our kitchen would be enough for me.  

The pressure a chef feels in a busy kitchen is strong no doubt, but I would be willing to argue that with little kids surrounding you in complete and utter chaos as you try to create what even slightly resembles a gourmet meal…that’s some intense sh** too! Trust.  Kids are food critics and may be at times, the harshest.  But turned-up noses and plates of untouched food didn’t stop me from continuing to serve whatever dish I dreamed of cooking and plating to perfection on a random Monday.  I was and still am determined to create a vessel of memories through the food that I cook for my family.  Just as my grandmother and mother did for me growing up. 

Over the last 15 years, I have been building upon my culinary foundation.  While some skills that I practice, are more advanced than others, all are equally as important to me.  From the crustless, Nutella sandwich triangles for my 7-year-old, Coop, to the dinner parties that I have hosted for our large extended family and friends, each experience gathered around a table of food has been what matters most to me and why I feel inspired to share all that I have learned.

Here, you will find tried and true recipes for everyday meals, as well as tips for planning and hosting meals for special occasions. My recipe collection is a medley of dishes that I have created, ones passed down from family, and some that I have made and/or adapted from my favorite foodies.  Thanks for joining me, I hope can inspire you to Cook What Matters for you and yours.  Happy Cooking!

-Sara