I am an American currently living in Northern Italy. My husband is a Southern Italian. Growing up int he States we ate balanced meals, but very bland food with butter added for flavor. Example: dinner typically was a slab of plain chicken breast, a pile of broccoli, a spoonful of cooked squash, and a scoop of plain white rice. After college I started learning to cook using recipes. It wasn't until I moved to Italy that I learned to put flavors, herbs and fresh ingredients together on my own. I still use recipes when I am learning a new dish but I don't HAVE to have one, and I can improvise any time. My husband (Italian) taught me how to cook using the base ingredients of tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil, hot pepper and parsley--ingredients that a Southern Italian kitchen is never lacking. He now LOVES my cooking and so does his family. I consider that a huge accomplishment! Pasta dishes are the easiest and most versatile. I'm also a decent beginer baker, but must follow recipes for cookies and doughs. I would say the Thanksgiving turkey, but unfortunately it hasn't quite become a tradition in my family because my husband sadly doesn't like most American food. However, when I was growing up, turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Christmas, and lamb at Easter were the traditions. Pasta and Fagioli is one of my best. My Pesto is famous and shhh! don't tell anyone but I got the recipe from the Betty Crocker cook book and have just put some personal finishing touches into it! HaHa! Didn't know how to use my new oven correctly and spent 3.5 hours roasting a chicken for my husband, his brother and their family. We all waited at the table for over an hour eating appetizers and side dishes until finally, my brother in law who is an electrician and installs ovens suggested using the fan setting. I didn't believe him and told him so, but took his advice anyway. 10 minutes later the chicken was done and I was so embarrassed! It was really good. Probably because it was slow-cooked!