Welcome to my blog. I am Angela, the petite mom behind The Short Order Cook, and I am happy you found your way here. I started this blog in 2018, as a community for families to come together through all things food including, easy family recipes, kids learning to cook, travel eats, and adventurous palates.
Whether you are a novice or a foodie, and no matter your budget, I hope you and your family will feel right at home here. Please pull up a chair and I will grab my step stool - let’s dig in.
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My Food & Recipe Focus
While I enjoy cooking and eating various cuisines, my preference consistently leans towards recipes evoking memories of my childhood. Fondly, I recall the distinct cooking styles of my two grandmothers, both of whom prepared dishes I continually crave.
One, an Italian grandmother hailing from Brooklyn, introduced me to pizza even before my first tooth appeared. Sunday dinners often featured sausage and peppers, while breakfasts might comprise of leftover spaghetti with eggs.
The other, my Portuguese grandmother, was raised in Hawaii and experienced Southern cuisine as a military spouse. She passed down a love for poke nachos and collard greens.
I hope you enjoy these timeless recipes that reflect my Italian, Hawaiian, and Southern heritage, passed down through generations. From my family to yours, enjoy the culinary traditions I share throughout this blog.
ALL my recipes are tried, true, & thoroughly tested so they are the best they can be to help you succeed in the kitchen. I never use AI to create recipes or fake images. Everything you see is how I made it & what it looks like in the real world.
My Experience
The Short Order Cook blog is a culmination of my cooking & writing skills, food experiences, & passion for travel --- all wrapped into one. Here are some of my past work & personal experiences that help me offer expertise to my readers in their cooking, recipe development, kitchen, & dining adventures.
- 7 years building this online website as both the content writer and business owner for this food & recipe digital company.
- 7 years of personal chef & event catering experience.
- 5 years professional restaurant & food industry experience as a cook, server, & manager.
- I'm a credited recipe tester in a published cookbook, The Good Home Cookbook.
- I' ve been featured in the following publications either online or in print: Sunset Magazine, Kansas Living, Cosmopolitan, Parade, MSN, Yahoo, Reddit, & more.
- Professional recipe tester for a brewery where I was paid with beer instead of money - fun.
- I passed the test for food safety & earned my Servsafe California Food Handler Certification Card in 2004.
- Companies I have worked with to promote products with honest reviews include ButcherBox, Farm Fresh to You, Just the Cheese, Choczero, Mary's Gone Crackers, Koe Kombucha, & more.
The Short Order Cook Story
In 2005, The Short Order Cook began as a personal chef and recipe-testing business in California. For 7 years I ran a successful catering, personal chef, & cooking class business. I enjoyed every minute of my time cooking for families and helping them eat healthily even with their busy life.
During this time, I started a family of my own with my husband. We welcomed micro-preemie boy/girl twins into our family and two years later along came another son. After many successful years behind other people’s stoves, I decided I needed to focus on my own family and my corporate job. I always knew that I would resurrect the business someday.
That time came in 2018, after a 6-year hiatus. The Short Order Cook has made a comeback now as a food blog where I hope to help others gain confidence in the kitchen, try new things, and involve family and friends.
All About Me in 8 Food Facts
- I do not have a sweet tooth but l cannot be trusted with anything salty that’s left unattended.
- My cocktail of choice is a very dirty vodka martini. (shaken not stirred)
- I loathe mayonnaise, oysters, and lamb.
- I cannot get enough cilantro even though my husband hates it (I always add extra at the end, like in my Watermelon Pico del Gallo recipe).
- Hollandaise sauce is something I have yet to master, to my husband’s dismay since he loves eggs benedict.
- My favorite cities to visit and eat in are Rome, San Francisco, Honolulu, New York, and Prague.
- When I read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain I knew immediately I found my hero.
- My most important kitchen tool is my stepstool!
All About Me in 8 Life Facts
- I'm born and raised in California (minus a few toddler years in New York).
- I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in my early 20s and have been honing my grain-free, paleo, and keto cooking skills to keep as healthy as possible.
- My husband and I met at a Raiders game and our love connection was featured in a Sunset Magazine article about my professional chef business highlighting my tips for tailgating (and finding love as a bonus)!
- My husband was a vegetarian before he met me and he has been making up for all those years without bacon, short ribs, and abalone ever since.
- My petite stature is a towering 4'7"(I have shrunk another inch)!
- My 3 kids have adventurous palates including escargot, creme brûlée, and sushi.
- Our terrier mix dog, (Princess) Leia, is happy to taste-test anything we cook.
- My favorite number is 8, obviously!
What About You?
Questions or comments? Please send me an email at [email protected] or comment below.
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