Our story
The story behind the recipes
50 states and a lifetime of eating the best food this country has to offer
Hi, I'm Pudgy.
I've been to all 50 states and lived in 12 of them. That's not a brag — it's just how my life went. And along the way, I ate. I mean really ate. Live Maine lobster straight from the boat. Dungeness crabs on the Alaskan Ferry. Brisket in Texas so tender it fell apart before it hit the plate. Char-grilled oysters in New Orleans that changed the way I think about fire and shellfish. Crawfish étouffée so rich and buttery I had to sit down after the first bowl.
I've had dry rub ribs in Memphis, deep dish in Chicago, full plates of KC barbecue with burnt ends, fried chicken in Knoxville, Lexington-style BBQ in North Carolina, pulled pork in Nashville, Maryland blue crabs on the Chesapeake Bay, compared Pat's and Geno's cheesesteaks side-by-side in Philadelphia, a New York slice folded in half on a sidewalk, Italian hoagies stuffed so full they barely closed, shrimp n grits in Charleston, SC, fish tacos in San Diego that ruined every other fish taco for me, kalua pig on the shores of Kauai, and a carne asada burrito in California the size of a small child. Every one of those meals taught me something. About technique, about regional pride, about what food means to the people who make it.
But the recipes on this site? Those come from home. From my mom's kitchen, from years of cooking for family, from trying to hold onto the flavors that matter most. All that traveling just made me a better cook — and a lot more grateful for a good meal made from scratch.
How I think about cooking
Low and slow wins
With brisket in Texas and ribs in Memphis. The lesson is always the same — patience is the secret ingredient nobody talks about. The best things in this kitchen take time.
Cook for people
Every great meal I've had — from a crab shack in Maryland to a kitchen table in the Midwest — was made by someone who cared. They cook to impress. I cook to feed.
Write it down
My mom never wrote anything down, and I've spent years reconstructing recipes from memory and instinct. This site is my way of making sure nothing gets lost — for my family and for yours.
Context is key
It's not about what's on the plate. It's about who you're with, what you're doing, and where you're at. A sack of White Castles under the stars with good friends beats the finest steak in Chicago with a bunch of suits every single time (mostly).
Family traditions at the table
Sunday dinner is a tradition in our house. It doesn't matter what's going on during the week — Sunday means a real meal, at the table, together. Pot roast, roast chicken, something that fills the whole house with smell before it hits the plate.
The meal plan on the homepage is how we actually eat. Biweekly staples, monthly favorites, the big-occasion dishes we save for when they mean something. It's not a diet plan — it's just how a family feeds itself over time.
Pull up a chair
The food I come back to is the stuff made at home, for people I love. I hope you find something here that earns a spot in your regular rotation. These recipes have fed my family for years. Now they're yours too.