Welcome to My Kitchen With THE View!

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my first blog. For a long time I’ve looking for a venue to “share” information about entertaining , and this seems like a fantastic way to get the word out!
A little about me…I was brought up in a family where most of our social events revolved around food. I have been helping my mom entertain since I was old enough to stand on a chair to frost cookies or cut gnocchi at the counter. As I got older my duties included setting the table (I was 14 when she finally let me touch the crystal) and making the pizzaleas (God forbid if they came out too small). Every Christmas Eve we would have open house with over 50 guests. Sunday dinners and countless birthday celebrations were also large entertaining events. All in all, my mom molded and shaped me (and my younger sister) into a “hostess machine”. I was always looking to prepare for and conduct events in the most efficient way possible. As time went on and I moved out on my own I started experimenting with food, cooking for my friends and family. Even with the help of my mother and sister, entertaining and keeping a home is A LOT of work! I scour the internet for new recipes, ideas and gadgets that will make my life easier, or make cooking and entertaining fun. Currently I live in the Oakland Hills in the San Francisco Bay area. My husband and I entertain almost every single weekend we are home. We have a perfect house for entertaining, so it’s hard NOT to hang out with our friends here.
I believe that there are two types of hosts: there is the host that starts to cook when their guests arrive, with everyone hanging out in the kitchen cooking together and watching their host cook; and then there is the host that does everything they possibly can ahead of time so when the guests arrive there is minimal to do in order to prep the food. I am the latter. I want to hand my guests a glass of wine when they walk into my home and I want to sit down and give them my undivided attention. Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t ask my guests to help me out in last minute preparations because I certainly will.
I plan on using this forum to post great recipes I come across from the internet or cook books, and to share some family recipes. I also want to show you how to do the work efficiently beforehand, teach you tips and tricks I have learned over time, and also show you things that didn’t work so you can avoid mistakes that can ruin (or at least dampen) an event.
I would ask that you bear with me as I develop this blog. I suggest subscribing to this blog since I will be posting intermittently. This is all new to me and it will be exciting to see how it evolves. Please let me know what you want to know, what you like to cook or eat, and what you enjoy reading about and I will do my best to make this valuable to you!
Susan