I don't talk about it much but I ran a cake business out of my home for a bit before culinary school. Those conversations don't come up much anymore because a lot emphasis is placed on my fitness. I lost a bit of time while traveling to different races and my husband watched me have anxiety about a few cake orders that went to hell.

Baking is a science and requires you to be much more meticulous about your effort than most stove top adventures. you haven't lived until you watched your cake make a big ass donut sized hole in the center or cried over an uncalibrated oven -- meaning one side might be baking at 275 degrees and the other at 350 degrees F.

With that said, I love cookies -- I cried less over a fucked up batch of cookies than an aggravating cake. These might piss you off but if you follow these steps, you might not encounter too many issues. To those who watched me experiment on Instagram and Facebook stories, thanks for riding out with me until 2AM: The Ungodly Quarantine Hour.
​

I don't know too many people who enjoy waiting for food to cook when they're hungry. If you have a pulse, all of us encountered a day or two where we've babysat an oven waiting for the meal to magically float into our mouths. If it's a chicken, quail, Cornish hen, turkey or anything of that nature, I got you covered.

To spatchcock a chicken - or most birds - is much simpler than you think And if you are wondering what the hell spatchcock even means, it is the act of butterflying a whole bird and removing the backbone. If you watched enough of my Instagram or Facebook stories, I've done it dozens of times right before sectioning off an entire chicken.

While I cannot recall what food I ate during my short time in private school, I can tell you a crap ton of stories about NYC public school lunches. If you grew up in 80s or 90s, anyone can tell you that you might find some questionable meals on your tray. For instance, beef patties were hit or miss and chicken nuggets always caught the side eye.

My best memories are associated with the infamous burger in a bag, Elios style pizza and stuffed shells. All of the legendary elementary school fist fights came to a halt on those days. Nobody wanted to be forced to eat at the teacher's lunch table and stuck with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

As an adult, I wondered how could I make those stuffed shells better. There were days that there was too much cheese or my prepubescent mind didn't know how to describe texture conflicts with my palate. If you're craving a taste of my childhood with an adult flair, test this recipe:

Recipe for 6 - 8 people (Depends on serving size)

• 1  1/2 pounds ground beef (or consider half ground beef and ground veal)
• 1 shallot, small dice
• 2 celery stalks, small dice
• 2 carrots, small dice
• ​3/4 cup of red wine (Aim for something dry)
• 3 cups beef broth or stock, preferably unsalted
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• dash or two of salt, preferably kosher or sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 12 - 16 ounces tomato sauce (or supplement with 1 cup San Marzano tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or 1 cup whole milk)

Recipe for 6 - 8 people​​ (Depending on serving size)

• 24 - 28 ounces of tomato sauce
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (prefer to shred blocks of cheese over pre shredded cheese and whole milk mozzarella if you can)
• 4 cups ricotta, preferably whole milk
• 2 eggs, medium or large
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• dash or two of salt, preferably kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• dash of nutmeg
• 12 - 16 ounces baby portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, small dice or thinly sliced