From Ashley:
I am very spoiled. I have a mother who likes to cook good food and who recognizes the importance of using quality ingredients and good kitchen tools when cooking. My mom also enjoys collecting cookbooks. I am spoiled because my mom loves to share these passions with her children. Not only do I get to reap the benefits of eating her delicious culinary creations but I have an entire kitchen that has been created by my mother. Everyone should be so lucky. Every single cookbook I own has been given to me by her. My shelves are bulging with these books and are the envy of nearly everyone who walks through my kitchen. My drawers are filled with good kitchen utensils, pots, and pans, etc. that she knows will “make my food so much better” when I use them. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I heard a knock at my door the other day and opened it to find my very own copy of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home cookbook waiting for me.

Thank you, Mom, for passing along your love of cooking, and all that it encompasses. I’ve got a long way to go yet but if it weren’t for all of your encouragement I’m afraid take-out would still be my main form of “cooking”.