Chocolate cake for dad, soups like Roasted Butternut Squash, Chicken meatball minestrone and chinese food like Ma Po Tofu. Trying trying trying to make veggies and whole grains my favorite things...not quite there yet. Somehow through the years, Christmas Eve has turned into Fried Oysters, Lasagne and Persimmon Pudding. I have often wondered (and probably rightfully so) if we are the only ones on the planet eating that combination for dinner! Homemade chocolate cake for my dad's birthday and Father's day. Making steak au poivre for my mom when I was a teenager - I felt so fancy! It's more a lesson in learning to read the entire recipe through before you start - I was making Cashew Chicken for my friends and the recipe called for raw cashews. This was before Whole Foods - I looked and looked but could only find roasted and salted cashews. So, I took those home and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed them. I then decided to read the recipe and step one was 'Roast and Salt Cashews'...a friend of mine hasn't let me live that down and it probably was 20 years ago!