About Recipe4Living
Recipe4Living is dedicated to fostering an online community interested in cooking, thinking, and living. Through reader feedback and contribution, we strive to create a meaningful space for people to come together and communicate about important topics ranging from the best cheesecake recipe to grilling tips to current trends in dieting. Recipe4Living understands that the best ideas come from a diverse community working together.
Since Recipe4Living is community-driven, please feel free to contribute your own recipes and tips for thinking and living healthy with the submission link. We also appreciate any feedback, questions, or concerns.
Thank you for visiting,
Recipe4Living Editorial Team
Meet the Recipe4Living Team
Dan Kamys, Editor
Dan Kamys is a lifelong Chicagoan who recently graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations. He is an avid animal lover, blogger, car enthusiast, and foodie. A lifelong class clown and theater geek, Dan has always loved to entertain people. Before joining Recipe4Living, Dan worked as a Marketing Communications Manager at Oakley Industrial Machinery Inc. and served as a Millennial Brand Consultant for General Motors.
So, can he cook? You bet. My first memory of being in the kitchen was sticking my index finger into the blue flame of our stove when I was four or five. You’d think a severe burn would deter someone from spending time in the kitchen, but not me. I started with scrambled eggs and worked my way up with the help of the Food network and my mom’s cookbooks. I love the informality of cooking; you do what you feel will work, no measuring, just gut instinct. If the question was “Can he bake?” that’d be a different story…
What is the best meal he has ever had? Coming from a large Hispanic family, the half and half Thanksgivings are always delicious. A roast turkey sits next to a smoked leg of pork and mashed potatoes become neighbors to Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican rice and beans). I don’t even mind the food comas that they send me into afterwards.
Favorite restaurants: Sixteen at Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago (order the unlisted Mar-a-Lago burger, they’ll looked shocked), Pequod’s pizza, and any Brazilian steakhouse
Favorite Cookbook: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten and Martha Stewart (Buy it on Amazon.com)
Jennifer Jensen, Editor
Jennifer Jensen has lived her entire life in suburban Chicago. After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2011 with a degree in English and experience writing for her college newspaper, it was only fitting that Jen would join Recipe4Living as an editor.
So can she Cook? Jen grew up in a family of traditional American chefs. Well, they’re not officially chefs, but Jen is confident in her abilities to make many different foods with specialties in grilling, stir fry, and baking.
What is the best meal she has ever had? Jen’s dad often cooks on the barbecue, and one of his staples is salmon, asparagus, and squash. He marinades all three in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and grills it outside for an amazing meal.
Any favorite restaurants? Because she loves creating her own masterpieces, Jen especially enjoys the stir fry of Mongolian BBQ.
Favorite cookbook: Jen turns to the Essential New York Times Cookbook for inspiration on a variety of topics.
Hillary Marshak, Editor
Born and raised a suburban Chicagoan, Hillary has loved editing since the day she was taught to read and write. She would even edit her brothers’ writing assignments before she was in the third grade. She plays word games for fun, anything from Boggle to Scrabble, but especially Wheel of Fortune. Prior to joining the Recipe4Living team, Hillary was a copy editor for her college newspaper: The Daily Illini. So, if you haven't guessed, she graduated from the University of Illinois (Urbana, Champaign) with a degree in news editorial journalism. Hillary could not be more excited to venture into the online publishing industry with Recipe4Living.com!
So, can she cook? A self-proclaimed unusual cook, Hillary's college years left her able to bake brie cheese at 2 in the morning, but unable to master a simple stir fry. She is quite passionate about making the perfect crème brulee (and has come close) but cannot, for the life of her, correctly bake a potato. So, needless to say, Hillary has much to learn in the pragmatic cooking realm, but she plans to improve with the help of Recipe4Living. In the meantime, she wants to tell every beginner cook that you don't have to be able to cook everything to be a great chef!
What is the best meal she has ever had? TOUGH QUESTION. Some may call it a fad, but there is definitely a great deal of enjoyment to be had while eating fresh-cut sushi. A piece of white tuna or salmon nigiri = gold. But, while I haven't been all around the world to try every exotic cuisine out there, I'd have to say the best meals I've had have been closest to home. To me, there is something overly comforting about a warm bowl of matzo ball soup, a dish of sweet and sour meatballs to dip challah into, or my grandmother's cholent (a stew of meat, potatoes, and barley). So, if I had to pick, Jewish and Japanese cooking top my favorites.
Any favorite restaurants?: Big Bowl (Ideal meal: lemon chicken, chicken satay and hibiscus iced tea), Cheesecake Factory (crusted chicken romano) and you guessed it, just about any sushi restaurant out there.
Favorite Cookbook: Creme Brulee, a compilation of recipes carried by Williams Sonoma
