I grew up in a house where food was our one luxury. My mom was the down-home southern cook (from North Carolina) and my dad was more of a gourmet, so I got the best of both worlds. I am fearless in the kitchen, and I firmly believe recipes are a great starting point....but I always add my two cents worth. I LOVE spicy food, and most of my dishes reflect that. A friend from Thailand has given me some lessons, so my dishes often have a thai flair. Breakfast was a big production when I was little, so I have continued that tradition. Every weekend I enjoy the slow pace of fixing breakfast...cooking bacon or sausage, cutting and sautéing vegetables for a fluffy omelete or mini-cassarole....what a great way to start the day! My stuffed jalapenos are a real hit, I have even sold them at the county fair. I am also famous among my friends for my apple dumplings, and for my cheesecake...but perhaps my personal favorite is my pan-seared sea bass with poblano sauce and mango pico. Life is just so darn good! Being fearless means tragedies happen occassionally. One time in college, I was out of money with very few ingredients left in the house, with two days left till pay-day. I decided to cook some gnocci, then put it in the blender to make "dough" for a pizza, since the only other ingredients I had in the house were cheese and two fresh tomatoes. It was just awful. Turns out, gnocci does not make good pizza crust. Who knew?!