I am much more experienced and comfortable with baking--eclairs, candies, cakes, bread pudding, you name it...cooking is a totally different story. I just don't seem to "get it." whatever is easy and i have ingredients for. i prefer dishes where i chop a lot of vegetables, saute them, then incorporate other food items--like etouffee, jambalaya, chili mac, etc. boring. my parents were from ohio and i wasn't a huge fan of meatloaf, chicken pot pie, or spagetti. salt and pepper were the only spices we knew, sadly. then i was introduced to French Mediterranean cooking, Middle Eastern, and Indian cooking--what an awakening for the taste buds! Eclairs, including the creme patissiere and pate a choux. Cake contest at work (Hummingbird Cake). basically i feel like my everyday cooking is a failure. i don't saute the vegetables long enough or add too much or not enough spices.....aah