I'm a registered nurse working in surgery. I really enjoy cooking for my friends, family and co-workers. I'd love to own a bakery/coffee shop......maybe if I win the lottery. Nothing gourmet, just good old fashion southern cooking, except I rarely fry food. I'm sure Paula Deen would say "how can you be a southern cook and not fry?" It's just too messy! My specialties are cheesecake, cookies, casseroles, meatloaf, party foods Thanksgiving is my favorite meal to cook. I think I make a pretty mean cheesecake. I experiment with many different flavors and they almost always turn out great. In my very early days of cooking (I was 19), I was making beef stroganoff for a new boyfriend and the recipe called for a minced clove of garlic. I had never used fresh garlic before and I used a whole BULB instead of a clove. When he got to my apartment my eyes were burning like crazy and we had to toss it out and go out for pizza.