Born in Louisiana, lived in Dallas for a while, moved to Redondo Beach, California when I was almost eleven, lived there til age 29 moved to Cincinnati, then Cleveland, then a small town on the coast of Washington state, now back in So California -- my cooking has been influenced by all of these places. Something savory, healthy, and economical, of course!!! I find something super satisfying about a big pot of something on the stove all day, or in the crock pot. I love to bake, also, when I'm in that mood. My maternal grandmother had a lot of country and Louisiana cooking dishes that were wonderful; my favorite is probably her potato salad, which includes salty and sweet pickles, green and black olives, chopped onions and hard boiled eggs, and chunky-mashed potatoes. Oh my gosh, I can close my eyes, and taste it, when she'd hand me a big, still-warm spoonful to "taste." The mustard and mayo wouldn't be completely mixed, so every moment there is something slightly different to taste, and all so good! I actually brined a turkey, seared it on high heat in the oven, then reduced the temp -- combining two chef's ideas on how to make the most flavorful, moist turkey. It was so amazingly good! Felt like a science experiment, hahaha, but so worth it. Oh, man, too many, since I like to experiment! Like when you keep trying to put in more ingredients or spices to "fix" something gone wrong. ug. Sometimes, it works, tho'! Sure hate to have to eat it when it doesn't.