So, why a food blog?

Other than Bryan Schaaf suggested it, right?

My mother is Italian, and my father was a chef. The two are great cooks.

Whenever I have been out to eat at Italian restaurants and my friends raved about the food, I would say something like this, "It's OK. I grew up eating this stuff." The question du jour became, "Is it better than my mother's?"

My mother, Carmen Mercuri, is incredible at cooking Italian food, her specialty. My father, Bob Warren, was great at all sorts of American cuisine. I learned a lot about cooking and proper food prep and storage from him.

I ended up working for my father at Valle's Steak House in Daytona Beach and later at Girves' Brown Derby (after the company purchased Valle's building). Other restaurants included Lovece's Pizza Palace, the restaurant at Pelican Bay Country Club and Casa Gallardo's Mexican Restaurant. I had the opportunity to learn about cooking ethnic foods, American cuisine, seafood (even though I do not eat it), broiling steaks, deep frying foods, butchering, baking and more. I discovered I love to cook.

A former manager, Jere Main, told me that if I knew how to cook, then I would always have a job. Glad to say I have not had to cook in a restaurant for quite some time; it is hard work -- hot, sweaty, greasy, long time standing on your feet. I wouldn't mind cooking in a test kitchen or something, but I don't think I am up to restaurant work anymore.

So, let's have some fun. I'll share some recipes (but I warn you, I cook like my mother ... don't really measure stuff, pinch of this, some of that, check the consistency, if too thick, add milk, etc.

Tonight, I made some Certified Angus Beef rib-eye steaks. (Ordered them from Buehler's online). Now, they label them rib-eye steaks, however, I always thought if the cap was still on, it was a Delmonico; cap off, rib-eye. Sprinkled seasoned salt and cracked black pepper, and I cooked them in a moderately hot cast-iron skillet. Cooked them between rare and medium rare. They were incredible.

For a side dish, I threw together an al fredo dish using radiatore pasta; I like the way the curled pasta captures and holds the sauce. For the al fredo sauce, I heated a tablespoon of butter in a pan, and when it melted added about a teaspoon of minced garlic (I don't use fresh). Next, I tossed in about one-and-a-half tablespoons of flour to make a roux, and added one-and-a-half cups of half-and-half. As the sauce thickened, I seasoned it with about a teaspoon, maybe a little more, of salt and sprinkled in some cracked black pepper. I melted in about two teaspoons of butter and tossed in about 2 ounces of shredded parmesan cheese and about 2 ounces of grated parmesan cheese (yeah, the stuff that comes in a plastic container).

That was it. I should have taken some photos, but forgot. I'm new at this food stuff. I'll get in gear. The al fredo was OK; wished I would have had more shredded parmesan. Also, I generally add granulated garlic, too, but I did not this time. All in all, not bad. Steaks were great.