I grew up in the midwest eating "southern" food-- meat and potatoes. Now, I live in Ithaca, NY (home of Moosewood, and I've heard, the highest number of restaurants per capita in NY). I've gotten more creative in my cooking; it's one of my favoriate things to do! As for the "personal stuff," I've been married for just over a year, we don't have kids, and work full-time (and then overtime) for Cornell University. High-flavor and spicy foods. I like to cook Indian, Thai, Mexican. Upon looking in my fridge, my friend once called me, "The Condiment Queen." Last year, I made an Indian food feast for my partner and our young friends. There was so much food! I suppose it wasn't "traditional" (my mother said, "What?!? You're cooking what for Christmas?!?") but we had so much fun! When I have a dinner party, I pride myself on having everything "come together" at the exact same time. Everything should be on the table still hot, fresh, and looking pretty. When I put such a meal on the table, I'm so proud! My biggest mistakes have involved not being able to find a recipe and trying to "recreate" it from memory. Often, these concoctions aren't terrible, they just don't live up to memory, so they typically really disappoint!