Cooking Cousins's interview

Interview by Rachel

We interviewed Cooking Cousins!

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Discover Cooking Cousins's favorite recipe: Kale Salad: A Cooking Cousins Feature Recipe

Meet Cooking Cousins, Sydney and Kristie.

They are a culinary YouTube sensation. Inviting you into their kitchens, the Cooking Cousins share their most prized family recipes over plenty of laughter and with a glass of wine always in hand.

Gourmandize is ecstatic to announce our new partnership and become the official hosts of the Cooking Cousins recipes.

Eager to get to know our new friends, we sit down with Sydney and Kristie to discuss their philosophies towards food, life and family.

Hello Cooking Cousins, so tell us...

Where did your love for cooking come from and how did it lead to the launch of the Cooking Cousins?

Growing up as cousins in a large Italian family, we began cooking with our mothers, nonnas, aunts and uncles from a young age. So, our passion and love for cooking and entertaining feels almost innate. We began to film our recipes as a way to document our memories and share them with our loved ones and friends.

What was it like growing up in such a large family, always entertaining and hosting extensive dinner parties?

Being a part of such a large busy family taught us to plan well in the kitchen and to always come up with new and creative recipes. It’s the way we bring our families close together, always over feasts of food!

What celebrity chef influences both your video presence and culinary lifestyle?

We love watching the Food Network, our favourite celebrity chef would definitely be Giada. We have similar cooking interests and love how she is always cooking for family and friends. She is such an inspiration!!

What is your absolute favorite meal? Is it something that you cook for yourself or is it a specialty best served by someone else?

I think we would both agree on the same meal and that would have to be chicken cutlets. They are such a staple in both our homes. We find they go with any side dish, salad or vegetable. We always make a bunch to freeze for quick and easy meal nights ☺

Do you remember the first time you tried to cook something?

At a young, young age, probably around five or six. We loved to help our moms make homemade cookies. Chocolate chip was our favorite!

Do you use any secret ingredients or products that you could not live without?

When cooking for a main meal, you will seldom find one of our recipes that doesn't include garlic, oil and hot peppers.

How has travelling influenced your recipes?

We both travel a lot and together for the most part. We love going to new countries and trying their local foods and spices. We then try to take what we have learned and use it in our own cooking at home.

How would you best describe your kitchen dynamic? Do you both always agree on what to cook, which ingredients are best or who gets to add the final touches?

Our kitchen dynamic is fun, light hearted and upbeat! If something doesn't go right, it’s ok! We find a way to quickly fix it and serve it as a new dish ☺! We move and talk so fast that our guests always laugh when they watch us cook together and we normally finish each other’s sentences. We each have a different style, yet we compliment each other really well. Kristie is very carefree when adding ingredients… and Sydney always measures everything preciously!

What is your top priority as a host? As dinner guest?

As hosts it would be to make sure everyone has plenty of food and drinks!! Growing up it was always “eat, eat.” Therefore, we have the same philosophy in hosting parties! And, of course, we always have tons of wine on hand. Never run out of wine!

As dinner guests, we always ask ahead of time what the party host would like us to bring. Whether it be an appetizer, dessert, or side dish, we want to be sure that it matches their menu …and of course we also bring wine ☺

Our biggest food flop was …

…when we tried to make a chocolate molten lava cake. Even though we managed to make it work, it was still a big fail. The inside filling of our chocolate lava cake did not quite stay in. Needless to say, we quickly added it to a martini glass, using the inside for a chocolate sauce, topped with raspberries, mint, and whipped cream. This is something we’ll definitely try again!

Thank you Cooking Cousins for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Rachel - 07/04/2014

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