I love to cook, and I love to eat. I just returned from a three week tour of Italy and am now convinced Americans do NOT know what Italian food really is because I have never eaten here what I had there! Amazing! So now I am working hard to replicate some of the great dishes I had there and suddenly when I say I'm making dinner, my house becomes VERY popular! Any true blue cook needs to take a trip to Italy; Rome, Florence, Venice. You'll be amazed at the gastronomic changes it makes! I love to cook dishes that incorporate what I grow in my garden. I grow tons of herbs, and peppers, and tomatoes. I also love to create meals that combine unique tastes and flavors from one course to the next. Once a week my husband and I enjoy a romantic meal all alone, I feed the kids early, and I try out new recipes on him! Another fave is introducing a new Italian dish at our Christmas dinner each year. My husband is Italian so it allows us to share his heritage as well as provide a little color to the same old turkey dinner, and after my recent trip to Italy this tradition is seriously going to get kicked up a notch! I consider it a triumph when I get asked for a recipe or when I invite folks for dinner and they can't wait! Last year I made candied sweet potatoes for the first time. I put in double the amount of sugar the recipe called for. The only ones who could stomach this super sweet mistake was the kids; they loved it!