I have learned a lot from my mother and grandmother about cooking but believe it or not I have learned just about as much from my wonderful husband. He is a better cook than I am. We enjoy cooking with each other and sharing with one another our own cooking styles. We love to try different ethic foods and to experiment and make our own signature dishes. I love to make good ole southern foods, such as pinto beans, greens, cornbread. I also like to bake and experiment with chicken. But my husband and I REALLY enjoy searching for and making recipes from different cultures. We get such enjoyment trying these recipes and experiencing just a small portion of that culture. I for the holidays I always get up earlier and make a new breakfast dish, something we never have had. Then we will begin to make our dinner. We like to have music playing such as Christmas music when it is Christmas time. For Thanksgiving we play American Indian music. For Thanksgiving this past 2 years I have gotten a white cloth table runner and before dinner is served I ask everyone to write on the runner what they are thankful for and to sign their name. Also included on the runner is the menu for that year and any special recipes that were used. Everytime I make one of those recipes from a different culture I feel as if that is the greatest triumph. When cooking from a different culture you use food that you are not use to cooking with and also different techinques. I can say honestly that the Chicken and Dumplings is the only oops I can think of. I made this for the first time when I was 16 and proudly served it to my family and they all looked at me like I was nuts so I asked my mom what was wrong and she told me that I was supposed to take the chicken off of the bone. OOPS. Needless to say I have never been able to live that one down. But because of that I now do a lot of research on a recipe before I begin making it. I have made plenty of recipes that didn't turn out but that was due to the kind of recipe nothing that I screwed up. Now if I talk to my husband later I am sure he will have a whole list of, Oops I goofed stories about me