My husband and I recently built a new home with a gorgeous kitchen. We love to have friends and family over for dinners, appetizers and games! I spend a majority of my time in the kitchen, it is where I am the happiest! We have our first baby on the way, due in March, and we couldn't be happier, we will start some cooking traditions of our own. I like to make what I think my company will love. I will try absolutly anything. My chicken parmesan is really good, as well as my orzo salads. I love to experiment with all sorts of different recipes. Planning the menu is as much fun as cooking for me! My mom and dad shared in the cooking responsibilities growing up. We ate dinner as a family most nights and we all looked forward to it. I always liked to be in the kitchen helping. We always baked cookies together for Christmas, and had chicken marsala for the holidays. My husband and I hosted Christmas this year at our new home and made dinner for 15 people. I made pork tenderloins, gravy, roasted asparagus and mushrooms, greek salad, my dad's homemade rolls and hot cider (with rum!). My number one rule is to keep things simple and delicious and to enjoy the party as much as my guests do! I like to make things ahead of time and make sure I am ready to entertain, not exhausted! When i was younger, I made chocolate chip cookies and added way too much salt, they were horrible! Maybe that explains why I don't like to bake! My dad bakes bread often and shares it with us...I don't have a sweet tooth, so I tend to stay away from baking cakes/pies, etc. UPDATE, for some reason I have been baking a lot more lately- it's so special to make someone homemade cake for their birthday!