Hey, my name is Amy Brinkley and welcome to my site! I LOVE to cook and photograph food. I started this little food blog of mine in December 2011 and have so much enjoyed meeting so many awesome people along the way. I am self-taught in cooking and photography and enjoy learning something new every day.
My goal is to share simple, family-friendly recipes with everyday ingredients. I loathe hunting down exotic ingredients, so it’s pretty safe to say you won’t see any in my recipes.
My Story
I guess you could say I’ve done a little bit of everything in my 47 years on this earth. I started my first job at 14 years old at a local drug store (Beaufort Drug Company). I used to ride my bicycle there to buy snacks, magazines, and makeup. I harassed them so much, they finally gave me a job! My starting wage was $3.30 per hour and I was so thankful to have some spending cash that I earned all by myself!
After graduating high school, I attended my local community college and graduated as a respiratory therapist at the age of 19. I worked as a respiratory therapist for a combined 10 years.
At one point, I began waitressing in my mid-twenties to earn extra income. I worked at The Island Grille, Circa 81, and Beach Bumz Pizza. One of my favorite things to do was to watch the chefs creating recipes that I loved; then I’d go home and try to recreate them. That’s how I came up with my Creamy Tuscan Shrimp and Scallops!
I also obtained my real estate license and worked in real estate sales for 4 years. It was so rewarding to help people find their dream home!
How and Why this Website Started
I was hospitalized with severe flu-related pneumonia in 2009 and had to quit my job as a respiratory therapist. While I was bedridden, I refused to not be productive in some way during this difficult time in my life. I studied how to start a website on my laptop while bedridden, and that’s how The Blond Cook was eventually created.
Once my website was launched, I became obsessed with cooking, photographing and sharing delicious recipes…. and that has never changed!
My Recipes
The recipes I feature are my own, family recipes, or adapted from magazines, cookbooks or other blogs.
I have written for Parade Magazine, Our State Magazine’s Our State Eats Blog and SheKnows.com.  I have been a pork recipe developer for the North Carolina Pork Council and blog from my kitchen on the coast of North Carolina where I am proud to call my home.
Why did I name the blog The Blond Cook? If I knew I’d eventually work full time at what started out as a hobby, I probably would have named it something different, but am sticking with it.
It started out as a joke but has meaning. The first meal I tried to cook (baked flounder) turned out horrific. I asked my mama how to cook it and she told me to throw it in the pan with potatoes, onions, carrots, bacon and lemon slices. She didn’t tell me to cover it while baking or to season it. Needless to say, it was dry as a bone and had no flavor whatsoever.
After that, I asked her to make me a cookbook with simple, easy to follow and specific directions. It has always been referred to as my “blonde cookbook” and I still use it to this day. Thanks, Mama!
The cameras that I use are a Canon 5D Mark IV and a Canon EOS 6D with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens (affiliate links). To view my accomplishments around the web (that I am SO proud of!), visit my Featured In page.
Thank You!
I hope you find my blog helpful and inspiring. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me, or you can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest.
Thank you for being a part of my little corner of the web. Happy cooking!
~Amy
Photo credit: Ted Lewis Photography
Disclosure: There are Amazon affiliate links included within this page.
