Several years ago, I had a harebrained idea for a restaurant—a bistro/café kind of place—to serve simple, yet elegant dishes that would take guests back to a happy place in their food memories.

My little diner would have no paper menus—only a chalkboard to list the daily items of various categories: pizza of the day, soup and salad of the day, “blue plate” combo of the day. I envisioned using fresh, seasonal ingredients, and supporting local farms and products as much as possible. The closet philanthropist in me wanted to have one very special table set aside for guests who could not pay.

The name of this joyous place of my imagination would be Comfort du Jour, a mash-up between comfort food and fancy cuisine. My mission would be taking nostalgic favorite dishes and jazzing them up a bit, as well as occasionally tackling an exquisite dish to make it more approachable.

Alas, my dream came at a time when opening a restaurant wasn’t economically feasible. In the back of my mind, I also feared that turning my passion into a business could dampen my joy of cooking.

Somehow, it took years for me to realize a better way of sharing my deep love of food with all of you. With this blog, I look forward to opening my kitchen to you virtually – sharing my recipes, kitchen tips, successful dishes and things I’ve learned from my many failures.

Thank you for being willing to join me in this adventure!