"What are you making for dinner?" My dad and I almost always ask each other this one our long distance phone calls. He is a great, creative cook, and I learned a lot of cooking from watching him and eating the results.

My mom was always a good cook, but she didn't relish the process, so she gave me the freedom to take charge and experiment in the kitchen. So in that way she also helped me love cooking.

I also have to give a shout-out to my husband, Anthony, who loves to eat my cooking and is an enthusiastic fan - he is a great audience to cook for. He also nearly always cleans up the dishes. Being creative can be quite messy.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is my attempt at a food blog. From my other blog I know that it is as much a personal diary for me as public forum. I do not intend to extensively research or publish recipes, and I do not seek fame or linkage. I hope at least I will have a record of what we ate, even if you don't care what I had for lunch.

BTW, the title means "my cooking from Texas," in Italiano. Buon appetito!

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Sunday we ate Thai-Spiced Pork Tenderloin w/Orange Curry Sauce. It was a great departure from the usual way I cook pork tenderloin. Anthony really liked the rub on the meat, but felt the sauce was too sweet. Why do they ALWAYS pair a sweet sauce with pork? I also didn't cook it until it was 160, grey, dead, and dry in the middle. I just seared it and briefly baked it until it was done to the touch. I served it with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli from the garden.

Monday Anna requested Hamburgers. Since we were at Central Market, I picked up some of their pre-mixed patties. I think they are so tasty, and had a hard time choosing for myself. I ended up with a lamb patty with feta and mint. For the rest of 'em, I got "Cowboy Burgers," beef mixed with sausage, bacon, and spices. Too spicy for the wee ones, in fact. Anthony was nonplussed on his and said he'd prefer and plain beef patty.

Tonight we had Hoisin Noodles with Beef and Edamame. Anthony is very picky about his beef (something about only thinking tenderloin is worth eating?) but was satisfied with the lean flank steak that I sliced thinly across the grain. I thought I had buckwheat soba noodles in the pantry, but they were gone, so I settled for whole wheat spaghetti. I purposefully left out the spicy stuff with the wee ones in mind, and Anna slurped hers down. However, Colin refused to eat any of it, wailing it was too spicy. I refused to cook him more plain noodles, so he had gorgonzola and crackers.