The Beginning

It's only natural that Fieldhouse Kitchen’s very first blog post starts where it all began: Maine.

Returning to Maine from New York City, even if only for a weekend, is a welcome escape.

I remember the feeling I felt a few weeks ago when the plane made its final approach toward the Portland airport.

You know that feeling?

You’re suspended in the air, quietly hovering in the clouds, somewhere between the sky above and the ground below. And then, all of a sudden, the wings shudder slightly and duck below the overcast. The place you love starts to come into focus.

Slowly, at first, you start to recognize cars gliding on grey ribbons of pavement, cutting their way through the greenery. You spot the lighthouse on the point. You see the long stretch of I-95, winding along the coast, filled with all the promise of another summer up in Maine.

And then, as you step off the jetway… You see a small but humble sign: Welcome Home.

I spent my summers on a small island in mid-coast Maine.

The house belonged to my grandparents and sat on a hill. The front door was swung open on July 4th and closed for the season come Labor Day.

It was in this house where I began to cook and entertain for friends as I grew up, finding joy in late-night meals where we’d linger around the table long after the meal, laughing over barely tolerable wine and making plans for a bonfire on the beach.

When I moved to the city, these meals were always what I missed most.

But who says you can’t take it with you when you go? Turns out, food has a funny way of transporting and connecting us all to the places and people we love.

So I started to assemble recipes that I’ve made for friends over the past few years. I’ve been posting them here, on FieldhouseKitchen.com, so that people like you may share them with others and hopefully have similar experiences.

And keeping in mind that not everyone has a chef’s kitchen, or a spatula, or a culinary degree, or even know how to uncork a wine bottle (it’s true, one of my best friends doesn’t know how to do this  —  I still love her).

And I love you, too, for not knowing anything or knowing everything about what happens when you bring people together around a table for good food and conversation.

So pull up a seat. Welcome to Fieldhouse Kitchen… Cooking with minimal space, supplies, and money in a New York City studio since 2013.

Life is indeed a most moveable feast.