Hi, I just started cooking in March 2009 when I was laid off from Merrill Lynch as an investment banker. Am cooking seriously for the first time in my life and have found this site to be amazingly helpful! So far, I've only tried 'Clark's Quiche' and 'Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette' and give thumbs up to both! I can also do a little bit of Asian stir frying, but my repertoire is extremely limited as of now. Gee, my parents owned Chinese/Mongolian restaurants for as long as I can remember. Ironically, as they successfully kept me out of the kitchen, I know much less about cooking than the average person my age. I realized that the secret to good cooking is in the sauces. Fresh, high-quality ingredients come easy these days; technique doesn't make a whole lot of difference below the world-class level; fancy cookery of all kinds are also readily available. So wander down the sauce aisle in the international food markets or even your local supermarket, and google those sauces, learn how to use them, and you'll be amazed how you can whip up those restaurant meals that you used to order from Seamlessweb 8pm at work! Too many to name. Just yesterday, my boyfriend chuckled like a hyena when I managed to burn the almonds to a crisp in the toasting process...twice...in a row!