Recipe 1: Butternut Squash Risotto

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

When I decided to take on this recipe challenge, I kind of assumed I’d start on page one of the cookbook and work my way through. But when I started mapping things out, it just wasn’t realistic. I’m very intentional about the meals I prepare for the week. But then I realized, working through the book in a way that fit into my life was a better plan anyway. That IS the whole point of this project after all – to show you how you can incorporate indulgent recipes into your life in a healthy, realistic way. Anywho, once I decided to choose my own order, I knew exactly which recipe to start with: Butternut Squash Risotto.

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2019 Recipe Project

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

My 2019 Recipe Challenge is officially underway! I know I’ve already shared the concept with you all but figured I’d dive a little deeper.

When I first became a health & fitness coach, I knew I wanted to help people understand that weight loss and/or a healthy lifestyle didn’t have to mean giving up all of your favorite foods. I created the Foodie Turned Fit brand to share my weight loss journey (I’ve lost and kept off 45 pounds) but also to share how I did it in an enjoyable, sustainable way. This challenge takes that to the next level because it’s more than me just TELLING you that eating healthy is/can be gourmet … it’s me SHOWING you.

Every recipe that I’ll share this year will come straight from the family cookbook that my mother made for me. Some of the recipes have been passed down by generations, some were made up at home and some come right from M&D.

As we move forward in the challenge, I’ll share both the original AND the modified version of each recipe as well as the corresponding video. My hope is that you can get a picture of how I’m tweaking things as well as get to know myself and my husband, Matt (aka my official taste tester) as we eat our way through 2019.

See you next week! We’re making butternut squash risotto.

Food For Thought: A Cooking Challenge

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Tonight, I’m taking it way back to 2012, my senior year of college. I wanted to be a food writer/blogger. I was julie and juliaminoring in journalism and writing a food column for a local paper (thanks to my favorite professor for connecting me with his contacts). I loved it! I was able to sample menus before restaurants opened, eat for free (sometimes) and write my opinion in a column of my very own. I was thrilled to be 22 with a newspaper column – even if it was in a small local paper. Anyway, I wanted to do more so I approached my  father and asked him if I could write a monthly newsletter for his business. I could include updates and business stuff but I could also write in some family history and stories from the kitchen I grew up in at home. The newspaper column and my column in the newsletter both held the same title: Food For Thought.

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How to Make the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

By the time you put down the Halloween candy, it’ll be time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Here at how to cook turkeyM&D, we’ve got your covered in terms of apps, sides and desserts but you are on your own when it comes to the turkey. But fear not, this post has your back.

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