I come from a long line of family cooks...I learned to cook from my dad, he never used a recipe! He cooked by taste, sight and smell, just like his momma and I cook the same way! I was in Texas, but raised in South Louisiana and have grown up on Mexican, southern and Cajun cuisines. I love to cook, it is like artwork for me...creating a respresentation of myself! I love trying new foods, flavors and texture combinations! I am most comfortable and expierenced with Mexican, Southern and Cajun/Creole dishes...but I love trying new things! I don't think you can get more traditional than Thanksgiving at my house...it's pure magic! I don't enter many cooking contest other than the occasional church chili cookoff...I consider someone getting seconds a triumph! Once I fried chicken...it was beautiful on the outside, but raw on the inside! Such a bummer