About

Hi, and welcome to BranAppetit!

I’m Brandi, the cook behind the blog.  I’m a list-making, caffeine-fueled worrywart and chocoholic trying to find her way around the kitchen. My husband and I live in a small town in the mountains of southwest Virginia with our fat cat Roxy and crazy pup Maggie.

If you couldn’t tell, we love to cook. But we mostly like to eat.

After getting married, I decided I should learn how to cook. Or at least be able to make something other than a grilled cheese and toaster strudels.

It was a good idea – I have fun in the kitchen, our jeans are gradually getting tighter, and we’re still going strong, 7 years later.

While I don’t have any formal training, I’d like to think that I’m a pretty good home cook. Sure, I still burn things and make messes and have complete failures in the kitchen, but those moments are what keep me going. Most of my cooking knowledge comes from family and cookbooks, but the most valuable is just trial and error.

We try to keep things somewhat healthy around here. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t eat pancakes or biscuits or cookies or cake – I just try to put a healthier spin on most of the recipes coming out of our kitchen.

I started this blog in January 2009 as a way to share food ideas and recipes with my family and it has grown in ways I never imagined.  I’ve cooked pumpkin stuffed French toast for hundreds of foodies, met a former White House Chef, and am now writing my own food column in a regional women’s magazine. And it’s all thanks to you.

Thank you for reading and for joining in the fun – I’m looking forward to sharing more of our life with you!