I was born in the Midwest and grew up eating southern cooking, which is mostly comfort food. My mother didn't allow me or my siblings to cook when we were growing up but she did let me watch her cook. It was a frustrating experience because she never measured any of the ingredients...only "eyeballed" them so how was I to duplicate any of her recipes??? Well needless to say I've had to come up with my own versions of her recipes. I love to cook traditional Italian and Mexican dishes, comfort food and bake desserts...mostly pies, cakes & cookies. I like to research recipes and put my own spin on them...kinda makes them my own. I have to start writing down the modifications because by the time I make them again I've forgotten what I changed. I like to bake cookies and desserts when it snows out...it gets me in the mood for cooking. I have some of my fondest memories of when my children were younger and we would gather in the kitchen to make cookies and later on as they grew up teaching them to make their favorites to cook on their own. Making Brasciole and Pignoli cookies that tasted better than what is sold in good Italian restaurants & bakeries and Carne Guisada that tastes as good as my ex-MIL (who came to the US from Mexico) used to make...all with recipes submitted on AR. I love to hear the o-o-h's and a-w-w's and see the smile of contentment on their faces when my family and guests take their first bite (of whatever I've spent considerable time making) and claim it's the best they've ever eaten and want to know if there are seconds or when I'll be making it again. The ultimate satisfaction is when they ask for the recipe or how to make it! I made two pumpkin pies for an office party and accidentally added 1 Tbsp of salt to each pie instead of 1 tsp...needless to say it was a little salty and most of the pie was left for me to take home. I haven't made that mistake again!