My name is Jason and I'm living in upstate New York where I really enjoy cooking for my family and friends. I originally started cooking out of enjoyment, but being the oldest child in a house of five, with two working parents I soon found myself doing nearly half the cooking and all the grocery shopping. I work in government social services for the elderly and so working full time leaves for a busy schedule but I enjoy sharing meals with family - the dinner table was always where all of us converged and spent time together. I'm heavily influenced by the southern cooking I grew up from my mother, however I can also attribute a great deal of my cooking style to the Italian influence I grew up with in New York. I'm always looking for new things to try, while trying to lighten not only the fat in our food, but the weight of our grocery budget! I'm a jack of all trades when it comes to cooking from season to season. Up here we have a hot and humid summer, chilly winters and seasonal fall and spring all of which come with certain things to cook and eat. In the summer I've taken to really enjoying making picnic salads, and always welcome new ways to make, mac, potato and pasta salads. In the spring and fall I enjoy cooking pasta dishes and casseroles. And in the winter I enjoy toying with soups. I'm also very into the whole concept of quick cooking, I love the desperation dinners cookbook, and weeknight meals like soups and casseroles that can cook in the midst of a hectic schedule. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for cooking as a family. Everyone has something delicious to share, and my contribution is a spinach casserole found on this site and also my homemade stuffing which I stuff in a pumpkin which is a recipe I got from Tyler Florence. I have a southern side of the family, so any get together that doesn't have food in abundance, isn't really a get together. My cooking triumph each year is the delicious greek dinner that I make on Christmas Eve. It has become a family tradition for us to sit down, and the whole process although easier each year, is involved and takes a lot of effort on my part. I use all recipes from this site for that evening! (Pastitsio, Spanakopita, Tzatziki Dip) Well toying with the recipes on this site I have definitely had hits and some big misses over the past five years! My biggest blunder yet has been making homemade Hungarian goulash, I had painstakingly prepared the meat and vegetables, and everything was looking delicious. Unfortunately I made the error of buying hot paprika instead of sweet, needless to say, when I went to sample it, my whole mouth was scorched. That goulash went into the trash, much to my disdain. My later effort was worthwhile though.