Kitchen Counter Sisters

When you grow up in the southern Arizona desert, you eat big, bold flavors. My sister Sandy and I ate bean burros and taquitos for lunch, not PB&J like kids in the rest of America. And we both loved to cook. Even when we were too small to see over the top of the kitchen counter, mom got a step stool for us.

Like many large families – there were six siblings – we all had assigned chores at dinner time. I was The Salad Maker. When I was very young, all I could handle was a pre-mixed dressing that you pour in a jar and shake with vinegar and oil. But later, I began to whisk my own vinaigrette in the bowl, and a whole new culinary world opened up to me. My sister Sandy was The Cheese Grater. She was the maker of the “Cheese Tower,” that tower of cheesy goodness that results when you grate huge quantities of cheese on a box grater.

My sister and I grew up side by side, cooking and creating and experimenting under our mom’s watchful eye.  Mom passed down her passion for southwest cooking fused with Julia Child’s influence to us long before there was such a thing as “fusion” cooking and we have been sharing the deliciousness with loved ones ever since.

We have continued to cook and create in the kitchen for many decades now (I refuse to say how many!). Our food blogs are evidence of that. I blog at apronstringsblog.com and Sandy is the genius behind everydaysouthwest.com. Because life just wouldn’t be worth living without creating delicious food, after all.

When I was invited to compete in the WFC 2013 competition, I knew who I wanted by my side. Sandy and I have a great synergy in the kitchen – I am a little wilder, more adventurous, but Sandy is the master of perfect taste and technique. I swear she could make a piece of leather taste delicious!

When Sandy and I arrived in downtown Las Vegas last November, we stood in speechless awe. Huge boxes everywhere. Hundreds of people. Cameras and microphones all around us. Rows and rows and rows of stations as far as our eyes could see. Shiny stainless steel everywhere. Ovens and food processors and equipment I couldn’t even name. It was just the two of us competing against teams of up to 10, and mostly professional chefs in the other teams. But it didn’t matter at all, because few teams can match the power of sisters united in a cause! Our sisterhood was our secret weapon.

Instead of being intimidated, I was surprised to find myself having fun. In a way, not being a professional chef had its advantages. After all, our careers weren’t riding on winning this event. We were thrilled just to be competing when other competitors felt pressure to win.

We rolled up our sleeves and went to work. With every little success, we were energized. Pasta rolls out perfectly: High Five! Sauce is velvety: Woo Hoo! Plates look pretty: Yee Haw!

We were giddy when we had a few fangirl moments with Jeffrey Saad. And we did a victory dance when he tasted our Shrimp Scampi Mac and Cheese and – miracle of miracles – he oooh’ed and ahhhh’ed! We can now die Happy Cooks – just for that one moment.

And so went the day.

There was a flurry of dicing, flouring and sauteing. And Yes, it’s true that 90 minutes flies by as quickly as 90 seconds of time in my own kitchen.

But in the end we were still standing – a victory in itself. And then, wonder of wonders, we made it – TO THE TOP TEN.

So, to sum it up: Thrilling. Exhausting.  Stressful. Joyful. Invigorating.

Bring on WFC 2014! And watch out chefs: two Sassy Southwest Sisters are coming for you!