A little (a lot) about me:

My first attempt at hosting was a Valentine's Day party. I was in college, living in a small rent house for $600 a month (this was Oklahoma in the early 2000s). I bought some chips and dip, a plastic clamshell of store-bought iced sugar cookies, and some cheap beers. The real event was the sangria I made...although to call it “sangria” is really quite generous. Is anyone familiar with Carlo Rossi? Enormous glass jugs of wine (spiked fruit juice, really) that is sold for $10. I emptied two or three of those jugs into a bowl, added a liter of sprite, cut up some apples and oranges, tossed in a few maraschino cherries, and there you had it! A cocktail that I would later see all over my bathroom floor as I gripped the toilet.

The lesson here is that anyone can host. The other lesson is that people should probably eat more than chips and cookies when guzzling gallons of sugared booze.

when you’re in college and hosting a valentine’s party (I’m on the left) (2003)

Both my parents cooked and baked, with my dad being more adventurous and a bit of a Francophile, and my mom leaning on family recipes and a love of spice. We grew up in Texas, but they were both from Louisiana, so the Cane River Cuisine cookbook was never far from reach.

my lovely parents at my wedding, 2010 (this is also how they dress every day)

My maternal grandmother “Nannie” had been raised on a farm in rural Louisiana, so she was masterful at cooking vegetables steeped in bacon fat, buttered homemade rolls, and sweet tea. Nannie had also married an Italian man, whose mother made sure to show her the family spaghetti recipe (while it's top secret, I can reveal that it is the best spaghetti and meatballs you'll ever eat).

Myrtis, aka “Nannie,” who just so happened to also run a successful clothing store in Shreveport called “Goldrings.” A true style icon.

My paternal grandmother “Mammaw” was also from rural Louisiana, and she and my grandfather Gordon ended up living on Cross Lake. Mammaw would fry up the catfish that we would catch (which was delicious), but she was really known as a baker, making cakes, cookies and pies that we still try (and often fail) to recreate today...how did she make such good fruit cake cookies??

Emma Lou, aka “Mammaw,” always had her hair + makeup + nails done. Another icon.

When I finally decided to learn how to cook, I was lucky to have some skilled parents and grandparents to call on. How do you cook chicken? Should I be making my own salad dressing? What is a pan?

One of the first meals I ever mastered, with the help of my dad, was how to grill a steak and make sherried mushrooms. I made it every weekend for a month until I felt I had a pretty good grip on it. From there, I expanded to serving it to a few friends. Then my parents politely requested that I stop treating everyone on campus to steaks on their dime.

By the time I moved to LA in 2005, I had a good grasp of cooking proteins and vegetables. When my husband and I got married in 2010, we had almost exactly $6 to our name. In order to cut costs, like most people, I started with our food budget, and began cooking every meal. When I say every meal, I mean even snacks. I worked freelance as a casting assistant, while also filming and acting in my own projects, which resulted in a very unpredictable schedule. Some months, I had all the time in the world to peruse recipes and try new things, while other months I barely saw my apartment. This was also an invaluable time of teaching myself through trial and error, on a budget, what works, what needs improvement, and what to never mention again.

Don't ask about the chili.

when you move to la (2005) (note the disposable camera)

On a typical Friday night, after a long week of driving around LA and working horribly long hours, we would just want to crash in front of the TV with a pizza. We would often order from the local Mr. Pizza Factory (if you lived in Koreatown, you know) which was right on the corner. Sometimes, we would even order from New York Pizza, which would deliver enormous wide boxes of large sliced pepperoni pizza that was so delicious, each week we would be blinded by the indigestion that would keep us awake all night.

It was a luxury to order food in, though, and often, the thought of spending $20 was just too much. Then I thought- we can make our own pizza! This will be fun!

It began with all store-bought ingredients. The crust and the sauce were okay. It just lacked that zing that we looked forward to from the other pizzas. But it was what we could afford most weeks, and we liked pizza on Fridays. We're big on tradition.

One day, I mentioned that we made our own pizzas to a friend, and he asked, “Do you make your own dough?” I was instantly embarrassed. Why don't I make my own dough? I thought.

our teeny tiny kitchen in koreatown, 2012

I started googling and looking around for different pizza dough recipes, mixing and matching. I knew I didn't love a thick crust, and honestly I don't love the blandness that a stone fire baked pizza produces...so when I tell you that my dough is the best dough, please know that I said what I said. Crispy, crunchy, the little pockets of olive oil providing an almost buttery experience.

Then the sauce. I knew I didn't like thick, heavy sauces on pizza. I have a thing about too much sauce, too much dressing...it ruins the food underneath. Sauces and dressings should be enhancers, not the main event (unless, of course, we're discussing the aforementioned family spaghetti). What I ended up creating is my favorite type of tomato sauce. Fresh, light, with a kick. Goes perfectly with a classic pepperoni, and really sings on a chicken and kale pizza. Very versatile.

On to the pesto. My best friend Holly has a lot of food allergies, but one of the most potentially deadly foods on earth to her is the pine nut. Why are people putting these little poisonous nuggets into pesto? I have successfully created the most garlicky, bright and bold pesto you'll ever love, and it's completely nut-free! In my home, we toss this pesto with fresh made pasta and sausage, we roll hot chicken wings in it, and of course, use it to create my pesto pizza. The olive oil from the pesto cooks into the dough at a high temperature to create almost a fried sensation, yet this remains my lightest pizza. It's truly out of this world.

I have always had a preference for white pizza, but it has to be done just right. I find nothing grosser than a jar of Alfredo sauce, and you can always tell when that's the base for a white pizza. No thanks! Instead, I have found the creamiest, most delicate whole milk ricotta, and when I stir in some fresh lemon zest, red pepper...lighter than air. This is also one of the few pizzas that you need to bake the dough for a few minutes before adding the toppings- no one likes a soggy pizza!

“The Ina” pizza

These pizzas are all baked on a heavy duty sheet pan (these pizzas bake at 475 degrees, after all) with ridges (gotta get that crispy crust!). These are the ones I prefer and love. I have about 10 of them on hand at any time. They last for years, and truly provide the best results.

You'll also need olive oil, salt and pepper. I'd recommend a good kosher salt (remember to break it up in between your fingers as you dole it out), and fresh cracked black pepper. I use a lot of black pepper to finish my pizzas before they bake (especially the pepperoni), it really makes a difference! A good idea is to buy a coffee grinder that you use exclusively for spices, and grind up a large amount of black peppercorns ahead of time, to keep in a bowl for ease.