My mom is Egyptian with Syrian and Persian roots. My dad is American with Spanish/Native American roots (big mestizo family). I lived in Texas before moving back to Cairo. I spent most of my school years at a British school around primarily British friends. My fiance is Egyptian but he grew up around lots of Italians in NJ. My best friend is Egyptian, but she lived almost her entire life in Saudi Arabia. As you can see... I have lots of inspiration when it comes to cuisine! From persian to shami, gulfi to Egyptian, Mexican to Italian, and hearty British to gold ole fashioned American/Southern cookin'! Breads. Breads. And more breads. I also love Italian cooking Cinnamon raisin bread which my (very picky, very Egyptian) mother adored. Is it pathetic that pleasing my mother's taste buds is probably going to be my ultimate cooking triumph? Getting a six-braid challah right on the first try and making my own ciabatta bread from scratch. I tried to cook this steamed pudding mess I found in a cookbook and it turned out to be the most sloppy, tasteless stuff I have ever made.