I am a former caterer, specializing in appetizers,who had to "retire" due to some serious medical maladies at the age of 38.I still love to cook for my family tho it is down to 2 of us w/ our daughter away at college in NC & love to cook for friends. I love to go online and collect recipes from various cooking websites. I have subscribed to Bon Appetit since 1981 and don't make very many recipes from it, but I really love to peruse the recipes and read the articles. I love to bake especially anything with chocolate; cheesecakes; chicken and turkey dishes since we do not eat beef, pork or seafood; my manicotti made with individual crepes vs. those difficult to stuff macaroni "rollers"; fun snack foods for care packages for my daughter at college and also for her boyfriend who is currently (1/09) deployed in Iraq; Italian and Mexican food; my infamous carrot cake; bake Christmas cookies when I physically can for friends, dr's offices and lots of hubby to take to work. I am half Lithuanian (as my late Dad said, "A Polack with a penny in his pocket!"), a 1/4 German and 1/4 Irish. My husband is pure Polish and he and my mom in law have taught me how to make many different Polish dishes. We have to adjust lots of them, because we do not eat anything except poultry. Some of my specialty foods I love to make are Italian, so friends tease me that I must have Italian in me somewhere! As a caterer I catered a political fundraiser for U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D) of Connecticut at a private home which came out wonderful; I catered a picnic at the same private home for 50 southern law school students who were staying in the area (CT)for the 4th of July (and they knew what REAL GOOD fried chicken tasted like, so I was terrified!). Besides having Senator Chris Dodd come into the kitchen to thank us on his way out of the political fundraiser, and have him grab a piece of tempura veggie that had literally just come out of the deep fryer and been put on a platter, have him pop it in his mouth and then watch him roll that piece of veggie around and around and around in his mouth as his eyes watered more and more -- I don't think there is any other cooking tragedy worse than that!!!!!