Cooking is like therapy for me...I throw on a jazz CD, then throw down in the kitchen!! I love to cook everything and anything, but I especially love to find, cook, and enjoy international dishes....desserts......and good ol' American favorites!!! As of June 2008, I am on the South Beach diet, so I'm always looking for ways to make recipes "South Beach Friendly". I still enjoy "regular" food on occasion, though. My "regular" favorites include *Anything Mexican (see my Pico de Gallo recipe to go with anything Mexican!)* Filipino lumpia * House Fried Rice * Portobello Mushroom Ravioli * Potato Skins * Filet Mignon*Bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef)*Korean Cucumber Salad * Southern Style foods (fried corn, my recipe for Down South Style Green Beans, Fried Chicken, Baby Back Ribs)* and of course, desserts like cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, etc.! ***The majority of these recipes can be found on this site.... I want to host big sunday dinners when I get married...and Christmas dinners....and Thanksgiving dinners...and 4th of July BBQs...and Memorial Day BBQs....and Labor day BBQs...and the list goes on.....these were always traditions in my family. One of the hardest things for me to learn how to cook was fried chicken...For some reason, I could not comprehend that it was NOT done even though it is brown on the outside. After twelve years of cooking (I started "cooking" at 6), I finally mastered DONE fried chicken at the age of 18! ***I also won 3rd place in a Girl Scout Cake baking contest when I was 9!*** ---I finally mastered cheesecake! Cook the cheesecake with a pan of water underneath. Also, let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the door open after cooking for at least six hours. These tips minimized the cracking of cheesecakes!!!-- ***It took me a while to master the "perfect" cheesecake, they always tasted good, but I kept getting the cracks! ...Oh, the cracks....that didn't stop me and my friends and fam from eating it, though...they still tasted wonderful!!!***