Jenny Flake - The Picky Palate Cookbook

Introduction

Had No Idea Id Become Such a Foodie!

I will never forget standing in my brand-new kitchen late 2001 in Gilbert, Arizona, with my husband. We had been married for four years and were so excited to be in our first new home. I remember looking around, admiring my shiny new appliances and clean cabinets, when all of a sudden a feeling of panic came over me: I realized... I dont know how to cook anything! OK, maybe a grilled cheese and a can of tomato soup, but that was it. It was actually a horrible feeling. With the New Year just around the corner, I made it a serious goal to teach myself everything I could about cooking.

I was not messing around; I bought dozens of cookbooks, read them like novels, and watched Food Network religiously. Recipes and flavor combinations were intriguing to me. I was like a little sponge soaking up everything culinary. Tyler Florence, Paula Deen, and Ina Garten became household names. Cooking was becoming a true joy in my life, and I was even playing around with creating my own recipes. Amidst all of my cooking, I was also working as a dental hygienist and had our first son in the summer of 2002. Life was great.

One late night, I was watching Food Network as usual and saw this exciting commercial for the Pillsbury Bake-Off. They talked all about home cooks who would compete for a million dollars. I was intrigued, to say the least. The thought of creating recipes and possibly winning money for it sounded like fun to me. I jumped off of the couch, ran over to my computer as the rest of the family slept, and researched all about this cooking competition. Over the next couple of months I had a blast creating my own recipes that I entered into the Bake-Off. I entered dozens of recipes in hopes that one of them would get me into the contest. The deadline passed, and five or six months went by. I was still cooking, working, and enjoying being a new mom. Ill never forget the night I got the phone call that, little did I know, would change everything.

A very nice woman on the other end of the line informed me that my Taco Ranch Chicken Sandwiches had made it as one of the 100 recipes and would take me to the 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off in Hollywood. I was speechless and could hardly believe I really made it! All of my hard work playing around in the kitchen had actually paid off.

To make a very long story short, I did not win the million-dollar prize that year but had the time of my life competing and meeting wonderful people. I continued a journey of competitive cooking for three-and-a-half years, which are some of my favorite memories. My little family traveled all over the country, and I was even on Food Network a few times when I competed on The Ultimate Recipe Showdown and Build a Better Burger Competition . Some of my best wins were from my Coconut Macadamia Shrimp with Warm Tropical Salsa that won $10,000 in the Southern Living Contest and my Chicken Taco Cornbread Wedges with Ranchero Cilantro Drizzle that won $5,000 in the National Cornbread Cook-Off. Such fun times we had.

After I had been competing for three years, my boys were getting older, and I just knew it was time to take a break from competition, but that didnt mean I stopped cooking. I remember one late night chatting with my sister on the phone talking about this thing called blogging that was popping up all over the web. She started a family blog and I loved the idea. It wasnt long before I figured out I should start a blog where I could share the recipes I loved creating. I thought Picky Palate was a catchy and fitting title for my blog, since my young family is definitely composed of finicky eaters. In October 2007, Picky Palate was born, and what a journey it has been.

In 2010, I decided that I would make Picky Palate not only my hobby, but my business. It was the best decision I could have made, because now I get to create recipes for busy families for a living and I could not be happier. Picky Palate has become my passion and I couldnt ask for a more perfect job. I get to create recipes, capture food photography, and share it with those who read my blog; I truly love it.

I have learned a thing or two about feeding little picky eaters. Here are some of my favorite tips.

Slowly introduce new foods to your little ones. Dont expect them to jump up and down with excitement the first or even second time you give them a new food. Persistence and patience are the key.

Make your vegetables and fruit that your little ones may not be very excited about into fun shapes. Use small cookie cutters and cut their fruits and veggies into something new and exciting. Play What can we make out of our food? Chances are theyll love it.