More about how I got here

This is Jim, that handsome red-headed devil who swept me off my feet in 2007. He helped me make my mom's lasagna recipe the first time he came over for dinner. I have never stopped cooking for him.

Together, Jim and I are raising our two greatest gifts (and mini-mes), Harper (8) and Bryce (6). They gave me my most favorite title in the world, "Mom."

For over a decade, I have taste tested recipes with my family and shared them on my blog, Home With Mandy, as a personal archive of my trials and successes. This web site is a rebirth of my passion project.

I love simple, family-friendly food and hope to inspire home cooks to break out of their dinner rut.

On most evenings you can find me dancing in our kitchen, loosely following a recipe and entertaining the kids saddled up to the kitchen island.

Hey there!

As a native Texan, I grew up enjoying authentic Tex Mex, BBQ, and fresh-caught seafood from the Gulf Coast. My love for exploring deeply rooted Texas food and drinks has been a part of me since birth.

I'm the granddaughter of Houston's famous Talley's Barbecue House on I-10 East, a family-owned and operated restaurant serving damn good que for over 25 years.

When the restaurant closed in the 1980s my grandmother began to pour into me all her love for preparing food and serving others. From the fellowship hall to the dining room table on South Drive, I never recognized how much I was absorbing and how much I am like her.

I believe that good food doesn't have to be complicated, but sometimes that is fun too. I believe deeply that magic happens around the dinner table or while huddled around the kitchen island. The marriage of food and wine (beer or cocktails too) can create experiences and memories to last a lifetime. I chase those moments and want to recreate them over and over again.

I love hosting others in my kitchen, folding everyone into the meal prep with stories about our Texas culinary history. Whether you sous vide on the weekends or are learning how to boil an egg, I promise to make sure you feel comfortable around my table. Nothing I do is too difficult for you to replicate - that is my commitment.

Monthly scheduled Supper Clubs are cooking demonstrations I hosted pre-covid. The purpose was to introduce you to approachable meals that end in family-style dining. These dinner parties are cooking classes that involve lots of drinks, of course, and fun conversation. I'm working on moving these to a virtual platform.

Things I love:

Jesus
Family
Food
Wine
Bunco
Orangetheory Fitness

Cooking may be my platform, but hospitality is my calling.