I live in the country outside of Austin, TX, with my husband and our 2 dogs and 3 cats. I love to cook and to bake! I do not have any formal experience at all. I just happen to come from a family of amazing cooks - my mom, my grandmothers, aunts. Plus, I love to BBQ and all the men in my family did that, so I just love it all. That's a tough one. I became a vegetarian about 6 months ago, so I am still figuring out my new favorites. But my favorite meals are breakfast, so anything from pancakes to french toast to (soy)chorizo and eggs to standard eggs and potatoes. I love to bake even more than cooking, so cookies, cakes, pies - I love it all! This would have to be holiday cooking. My husband and I do not really celebrate the holidays, but we do enjoy the food and I love leftovers, so I usually cook the whole shebang. My family always went all out for the meals during the holidays, so I love to recreate that. The first time I try a recipe, I can usually do it successfully. The first time I made the sauce for the eggs benedict, it turned out amazing. Before I became a vegetarian several months ago, I made corned beef hash in the slow cooker for the first time and the recipe called for a bottle of ale. I used Guinness and it turned out amazing! I tried following a coffee cake recipe recently and it didn't turn out that great. Way too dense!