I grew up in Franklin Square, NY (aka Long Island) and attended Syracuse University where, in 2003, I received my BFA in Acting with a minor in Nintendo’s 1990 classic, Dr. Mario. My hobbies include playing the piano, cooking and baking, and then going to the gym to work off the calories. I currently live with my boyfriend Jack and my dog, a gorgeous Australian Shepherd named Remy right outside of Washington, DC. I began cooking in a tiny little kitchen in my apartment on 68th and Madison in New York. The apartment was a 400 square foot 1 bedroom in fifth floor walk-up. The kitchen was roughly 4'x6' (no joke) with an oven that burned anything after 10 minutes and stove burners that would sear the countertop because the flame would shoot out from under the pan -- if the flame even ignited in the first place. There were only two cabinets to for food so we had to keep our dinnerware in the living room and there was no counter space, so I did most of my prep work on a dresser in the living room (only one person could fit in the kitchen at a time). Some may call that absurd, I call it life in New York. As much as my boyfriend will tell you otherwise, I secretly loved it. Needless to say, upon my relocation to Washington, DC, I have been lucky enough to have an enormous (by my standards) kitchen with counter space where both my boyfriend and I can stretch our arms (again, no joke. You couldn’t in my previous kitchen) and hone our culinary skills as much as one can without attending culinary school. Alice Waters “The Art of Simple Food” is our current culinary bible. I've realized in my time here that although I still love acting, and even being a marketing coordinator has it's cool moments, cooking in my true passion. So I’m here in DC for one more year and I’ll make the most out of this kitchen before I return back to the infamous New York closet kitchens (or, as real estate agents like to sugar coat it, the “kitchenette”) - and hopefully, begin a career in a more food-centric field.