apartmentcooker

Apartmentcooker is a recent graduate of the CIA -- the famed culinary school in Hyde Park, NY, not that other one. Since graduation, she's been writing a terrific blog about adapting the aspirational cuisine of the CIA to her first apartment kitchen and a tight budget, which she does swimmingly. Her recipes on food52 tend toward simple comfort foods with smart, modern flair -- like her winning Sweet Potato Gratins with Creme Fraiche, Onions, and Bacon and her Herb Crusted Pork Chops with Balsamic Onions -- but she's also adept at turning takeout standards into approachable at-home recipes (see her Garlic Cilantro Naan and Curried Chicken Soup). We're big fans. See apartmentcooker's profile page and fan her here.

Read her profile Q&A below:

• What do you cook when home alone?
  Anything and everything I can think of.
• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  My first set of pots and my santoku knife
• Your ideal meal:
  Something fresh from the farmer's market or garden. With butter on top.
• Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:
  I'd like to taste and have access to more spices...sometimes I feel I'm stuck using the same few, and I love looking at a tantilizingly full spice cabinet!
• The number of bottles of wine you own:
  Since I'm poor, I'm a one at a time kind of gal. Two at a time if it's been a really hard day.
• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  The more the merrier!
• Your favorite cookbook:
  All of them.