I'm not pompous enough to say I'm an expert, though enough to say I've never made anything bad. I like to entertain. And I like things with the least amount of ingredients possible. I find those turn out the best. It's all in the technique. Of course, I'm very into trying new things, so I'll bring home weird, weird things from imports stores. I'm second generation ital on my mama's side, and pre-revolutionary on my dad's side, so I guess you have both! The flavors of napoli and new england. I made my own tagliatelle by hand, no machine. It was much better than any pasta I've ever had, not even in 5 star restarants or italy, though I've only been there once. I guess not dying from ceviche was also a triumph. Oh, and this scallops oscar was amazing. Too bad I really can't afford to buy fish. My boyfriend says this peanut sauce I made sucked, but I thought it was great, and lived off of it for a while. To each her own. My own. We broke up. No we didn't. I lied.