[1] She lives in Hudson County, New Jersey, with her cat, and believes that the medley of ethnic cooking in her neighborhood, combined with memories from her childhood in rural Pennsylvania, provided inspiration for her writing.
She later became a staff editor at Cuisine, and from there began freelancing, specializing in culinary writing.
Her expertise was called upon in 2004, when she was asked to contribute to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
Stand Facing the Stove, of which she is the sole author, was published in 1997 by Henry Holt and told the story of Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, the women responsible for writing The Joy of Cooking.
Mendelson served as contributing editor at Gourmet, and has been called upon as a cookbook reviewer for the New York Times Dining section.