When did you start your blog?
June, 2006

How did you come up with the name?
I was having lunch with a friend and we were eating empanadas when the topic of blogs came up. I jokingly said I should call my blog-to-be Jumbo Empanadas and the name just stuck.

Does your blog have a specific focus or area of coverage?
Not really. I definitely feature more sweet than savoury recipes on my blog, but I think mainly because they’re easier to photograph. I generally write about whatever I feel like on that particular day.

Where do you get the ideas for the topics you cover in your blog?
Everywhere. I read food blogs, magazines and cookbooks and will try out recipes I see there, usually with a modification or two. But a lot of my ideas come from the things around me, suggestions from friends or walking around markets, like Kensington and the St Lawrence.

What is your favourite post that you’ve written?
I like all of my posts that feature Dorie Greenspan recipes, (there are currently 56 of them) simply because I adore her. I also really like my post on pierogies, because it’s a bit of a fairy tale story.

What is your favourite thing to cook? To eat?
Narrowing down either of those is extremely difficult. I love to make new things so I don’t really have just one. People often ask me what my specialty dish is and I never have an answer because I don’t usually like to make the same thing twice. I also love to try new foods so it’s hard to choose just one, but pasta, bacon and ice cream are all favourites (though not necessarily together…).

Favourite kitchen utensil/gadget?
My favourite utensil would probably be my microplane grater. I use it on a daily basis to make garlic puree, grate frozen ginger and zest citrus. And of course, I love my KitchenAid mixer.

Name a famous person you’d love to cook dinner for.
Curtis Stone. He can take me home anytime.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’m going to cheat with this one and simply choose ice cream without selecting a flavour, that way the possibilities are endless. Two of my current favourites are Prune & Armagnac and Kiwi.

Tell us about your best and worst dining experiences.
There are tons of great ones; having lunch with Dorie Greenspan at Jamie Kennedy’s is definitely one of the best, so was eating oysters for the first time in Australia. I’ve never had any really horrendous dining experiences. I’ve certainly left some places disappointed, but at least I’ve never had food poisoning, (knock on wood).

Name some of your favourite food bloggers.
I think my blogroll grows everyday, I can’t keep up with all of them but a few that I never miss are:
Jaden of Steamy Kitchen
Dorie Greenspan
Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice
Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Danielle of Habeas Brulee

Any other places readers can check out your writing?
I usually write an article about once a month for Paper Palate,  reviewing a cookbook or magazine.