Hot Mess In The Kitchen Intro
Hello Flavor Chasers,
Welcome to our new series, Hot Mess in the Kitchen!
Before we dive into the spills, laughs, and experiments, here’s a little backstory: J and I both come from families where cooking is practically a love language. Our roots trace back to the South, where food wasn’t just about eating; it was about gathering, sharing, and passing along traditions.
Funny enough, we didn’t grow up with any official “family recipes” written down or passed through the generations. In a way, that’s both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because it allowed us to explore flavors and cuisines beyond what we might’ve grown up with. But a curse, because, let’s be honest, it would’ve been amazing to carry forward those heirloom recipes and make them our own.
Still, our family gatherings never lacked flavor. Every member had their thing, a signature dish that made them famous at potlucks and holidays. And then there were the grandmothers. Granny and Grandma (on both sides) could cook anything. Why? Because they were from that generation, the one that cooked everything from scratch. No shortcuts, no frozen dinners, no boxed “helpers.” Just pure skill, patience, and love in every bite.
Our grandpas, sadly, passed away before we could really know their cooking styles, so we can’t say for sure what their specialties were. But our family's dishes are unforgettable:
Creamy, bubbling mac and cheese
Perfectly seasoned potato salad (no raisins allowed)
Slow-simmered greens (collards, mustards, turnips; you name it)
Sunday-style spaghetti - spaghetti that’s made as a slow, hearty, family-style meal, the kind of dish that takes a little longer, simmers on the stove, and is served for a big Sunday gathering.
Holiday dressing
Golden cornbread (including the old-school hot water version)
And even a perfectly grilled turkey (In our family, this tops a deep-fried turkey every time)
Every dish was made from scratch, infused with that extra touch of love that you could taste in every single bite.
We’re going to narrow this family story down to the woman who gave us life: Momma. And let us tell you…this woman can cook.
Now, we know, everyone says that about their mom. You could even deduct a few points since she doesn’t always cook from scratch. But here’s the thing: everyone in our family relies on her to cook. She may be a picky eater (trust us, the list of things she won’t eat is way longer than the list of things she will), but that never stopped her from feeding us well. She can whip up just about anything, but her grilling skills…well, let’s just say they’re open to interpretation depending on your palate. But here’s the question: have you ever had a turkey stolen off your grill? Not the grill itself, just the turkey? Because we have. Enough said.
One of the funniest things about Momma is how she cooks dishes she doesn’t even eat, and somehow nails them. She doesn’t touch onions (it’s a texture thing, she says), but her smothered chicken or steak with rice and gravy wouldn’t dare come without them. When asked how she knew to use onions, her answer is always the same:
“I don’t know, I was just trying something. I figured the onions would give the dish more flavor.”
She doesn’t eat spaghetti or any type of noodle, but she once served the family beef-flavored ramen noodles topped with filet mignon bites. Who does that? Our mom.
Lately, we’ve had friends ask us about traditional family recipes, and we’ve noticed so many cooking shows highlighting recipes passed down through generations. It got us thinking…we don’t really have those stories. On both sides of our family, recipes were never written down or passed along. According to Momma, if there were recipes, nobody asked for them, and nobody volunteered to share.
What everyone did pass down, though, was the art of cooking itself. In both Black and Southern culture, food wasn’t just measured, it was felt. You didn’t need a teaspoon to know how much seasoning to add, or a timer to know when the greens were done. You learned by smell, by taste, by instinct. Frying chicken until it turned that perfect golden brown wasn’t about directions; it was about experience.
So while we may not have Grandma’s handwritten recipe cards tucked away, what we do have is that spirit, the intuition, the flavor, the love that runs through every dish we grew up with. And in its own way, that’s even better.
Fast forward to us, E&J.
Our cooking style has definitely evolved over the years. As teenagers, we started with the basics: simple, easy dishes and the meals we grew up eating. Then came young adulthood, when we began experimenting, trying to re-create restaurant favorites or just inventing our own dishes for fun.
Over the last decade, though, our relationship with food has shifted. We still love dining out (and probably always will), but we’ve been cooking at home a lot more to make sure we eat as clean as possible. Health is wealth, and as we get older, our goal is to stay healthy, strong, and not limited in how we live day to day.
Our health journey started like most, through trial and error. After our chiropractor told us both we had candida (yeast) overgrowth, a friend introduced us to a sugar detox. Three months of no sugar: no sweets, no processed foods, not even fruit. We used a little stevia or agave here and there, but overall, it was rough. The sugar cravings were real, the mood swings were intense, but by the end, we felt different. Less inflamed, lighter, sleeping better, moods improved. That was our first real taste of how food could change the way we felt.
From there, Dr. Jeffrey Robinson (our chiropractor) introduced us to the concept of food sensitivities, which are different from food allergies. Food intolerance happens in the digestive system, while allergies involve the immune system. Through his muscle testing, we found our common sensitivities to, eggs and caffeine. For J, the adjustment wasn’t too hard. For me? It felt like he named everything under the sun. I struggled. But once we started eliminating those trigger foods, the difference was clear: fewer headaches, less brain fog, less fatigue. It wasn’t overnight, but after years of trial, error, and patience, we found our rhythm.
And that brings us back to food, our favorite topic. Building on the lessons from our family of natural-born cooks, we’ve learned how powerful food really is. It doesn’t just feed us; it shapes how we feel every single day. Now, we’re intentional about what we put into our bodies, and we want to share that journey with you.
We love cooking competition shows, and they’ve inspired us to get back in the kitchen more than ever. And that’s exactly where this series comes in. We can do a little somethin’-somethin’ in the kitchen, and that’s what Hot Mess in the Kitchen is all about. Come along as we cook up our favorite dishes, put our own twist on recipes we discover, play pretend as professional chefs (emphasis on pretend), and even let AI throw some wild creations our way. It’s fun, it’s messy, and it’s all going down right here. Stay tuned!
Now we want to hear from you! Do you have a family recipe that’s been passed down (or one you wish had been)? Drop it in the comments, we’d love to swap stories, compare traditions, and maybe even try recreating a few in our own hot mess way.
