KelseyTheNaptimeChef

New York, NY
Home Cook, Mother, Food Blogger/Writer

I am a home cook who firmly believes that you don't have to give up being a foodie just because you are a parent. After my daughter was born I quickly learned that it is next to impossible to get anything done when chasing a child around the house. So I developed a new way of cooking my favorite recipes based on the down time that was available to me during the day - her afternoon naptime - and began calling myself The Naptime Chef. By planning well and employing smart prepping techniques I find that our family can always enjoy great meals without compromising quality or taste. I write about capturing this time in my life as I develop a new sensibility about cooking as a parent, and learn how to fit great food into family life. Sometimes I have plenty of time in the kitchen, and sometimes I cook on the fly. But, no matter what, I love feeding my family and the process of creating food we all can enjoy. I am currently writing my first cookbook, The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life (Running Press, 2012).

• What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
  Rattlesnake, during Outward Bound in high school
• What do you cook when home alone?
  Pasta Cacio y Pepe with extra Pecorino
• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  My KitchenAid mixer, I don't know where I would be without it
• Your ideal meal:
  Fresh Arugula Salad, Gnocchi with Roasted Eggplant & Tomatoes, Lemon Chicken, Profiteroles
• Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:
  I'd like to cook and eat authentic paella in Spain over an olive wood fire
• The number of bottles of wine you own:
  6 in NYC, a whole cellar at my parent's house - collecting is a family activity
• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  8
• Kitchen pet peeve:
  When my brown sugar dries out and becomes a hard brick
• Your favorite cookbook:
  Apples for Jam, Cooking for Mr. Latte, Park Avenue Potluck