Special Guest: My Mom! & What I Cooked Last Week

An Interview with My Mom, Spinach and Artichoke Crostini, Tanghulu, My Favorite Method for Chicken Parm

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. With Thanksgiving behind us, I’ve been getting into the holiday spirit by decorating our house in LA. The plants are decked out with red bows, nutcrackers have taken over the dining table, and yes—we’ve got a Christmas tree!

This week, I’m mixing things up with a special guest: my best friend and mom, Ann Sharf. While I was home for Thanksgiving, I sat down to interview her, and today, I’m sharing some fun tidbits from our chat. (Thank you for sending such great questions on Instagram—you all made this so fun!)

Mom at age 20 in 1981... beautiful then and now!

I talk to my mom at least three times a day, so I thought I knew everything about her. But even I learned some surprises, like the one food she flat-out refuses to eat. You’ll also hear baby Maxine stories, the secret to our close bond, and her skincare tips. (Seriously, can you believe she’s 63?!)

Since my mom is always juggling a million things and never slows down, I had to catch her in the middle of making apple pie. So, between peeling apples and rolling out dough, she answered all your burning questions…

First, a little backstory:

Ann: I was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1961. My mom is Chinese, and my dad is Korean. Both of my parents were pharmacists—my dad was a research pharmacist at Phillips Roxanne and my mom was a hospital pharmacist. (They came to the U.S. for pharmacy school and met there!) When I was in 7^th grade, my dad got a job with Abbott Labs and we moved to Deerfield, Illinois, where I went to junior high. Until then, my mom had been dressing me only in polyester dresses, but everyone at my new school wore jeans, so I felt very nerdy. I completely changed my style. This was the beginning of a rebellious stage in my life… It was a very tumultuous time for my parents!

[At this point my mom starts listing all the things she did back then, and both my dad and brother are yelling at her to stop! Don’t worry, Dad, I cut it out for the newsletter :)]

I started cooking when I was around 11 years old. Once a month, my mom was on the 3 to 11 p.m. shift at the hospital for a week, and my dad being Korean needed to have his dinner on the table. Koreans don’t eat just one thing—they always have a couple of small dishes along with rice. And because I’m the eldest of three sisters, I took charge of the cooking. My mom would prepare everything in advance for me: the meat would be cut up and ready for a stir fry, the rice measured out, so I’d just have to soak and cook it. I called myself a kind of latchkey kid because I’d come home from school, my parents were at work, and I’d take care of my sisters. I remember my mom paid me $20 to clean the house and help with meals, whereas my sister Susan sat on the couch watching TV. She didn’t care about money [laughs].

I learned to cook from my mom—I’d make beef pepper steak, lion’s head… And then later, I worked at Benihana for four years while in high school and college. Without even realizing it, I learned those recipes, like their famous fried rice, from all the hours of watching the chefs cook. 

Maxine: Do you remember what dish you first learned to cook?

Ann: A Japanese-style curry chicken with S&B curry, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, and other root vegetables. [One of our favorite family recipes!] 

On a career change:

Ann: I was always in furniture and clothing sales. After having kids, though, I thought about going back to school to become a labor and delivery nurse, but then found my way into real estate. I was already keeping track of all the houses on the market and helping so many of my friends find homes. And then one friend gave me a real estate course as a Christmas gift. I got my license just as Maxine was born and have been working as a realtor for almost 33 years!

On our relationship and what I was like growing up: