Allow me to introduce you to Cheater Bites, a mother-daughter dynamic cooking duo. This lovely blog is chock full of recipes with tons of pictures – everything from caramelized onion gruyere bacon spread to too-pretty-to-eat cupcakes and cakes! Be sure to go check out the blog. Who knows – maybe you’ll find something wonderful to whip up for dinner tonight!
Q. Cheater Bites – an interesting name! Where’d it come from?
A. I grew up in a family that loves food and always gathers in the kitchen. Holidays were always spent with extended family and everyone would help prepare the meals. Just as the food was almost ready to be served, my uncle would yell “hey, come get a cheater bite” since we’d been dying to grab a taste. My cousin and I loved it and would come running in for several cheater bites, much to the dismay of our mothers who had been slaving in the kitchen for hours. So it stuck; it’s a common practice while cooking and a family saying permanently in our repertoire!
Q. Tell us about the dynamic duo behind Cheater Bites.
A. Both born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, I’m a twenty-something working in the non-profit world and Mama Cheater Bite does event planning. When we aren’t working, {grocery} shopping or socializing with girlfriends, you can find us in the kitchen entertaining those we love, and eating some delicious food along the way. My mum is pretty awesome and inspirational, so I’ve always wanted to make her proud and learn from her in every way possible, especially in the kitchen, so it’s been a real blessing for the two of us to spend so much time together since I moved back home from the DC area this past summer.
Mama Cheater Bite and Ali
Q. Cooking is kind of your thing, so I’m sure you’ve whipped up more recipes than you can count. Which is your favorite?
A. That is pretty much the most impossible question to answer because I am so indecisive. I’m really loving homemade salad dressings, like ranch or lemon-honey. I also have a soft spot for cupcakes and my all time favorite recipe that’s ever come out of my kitchen is almond-pear cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream. I’m drooling just thinking about them!
Q. Describe Cheater Bites in three words and one quote.
A. authentic, fun & tasty – “Life’s too short not to eat while you cook!”
Q. What celebrity chef would you most like to spend an afternoon sharing a kitchen with?
A. I would have to say that my two favorite celebrity chefs are Mario Batali & Ina Garten, so it’s sort of a tie. But if I absolutely had to pick one, I’d go with Mario. He’s Italian, talks with his hands, is super passionate, and loves food – just my kind of guy!
Q. I once flooded my teensy kitchen sink in my ancient apartment, causing water to trickle through the ceiling light of the apartment below me. What’s been your biggest kitchen fiasco?
A. Yikes, an overflowing sink sounds intense! I am an immensely messy and unorganized cook/baker, so it generally looks like a bomb went off in my kitchen at all times. With this sometimes comes very poor timing when preparing meals. In our last apartment I was heating my skillet to sear a pork loin, got distracted with something else I was making and let the skillet get way too hot. It started smoking and burning, resulting in the smoke alarm going off in the apartment complex. We had to open windows and prop the door to air everything out. Neighbors were coming out to see what in the world was going on… talk about embarassing!
Q. Tell us a joke. Bonus points if it involves food or cooking!
How fantastic!
Going to Check out Cheater Bites right NOW!
-bB