I grew up in the kitchen helping my Grandmother any way she would let me... mixing cookie batter, pouring cake batter into the pans...eating that thin slice you take off one layer of the cake when its not quite flat enough... Grandma taught me all of her best recipes and tricks, and even a few strange habits... When I cook up one of her recipes it brings me back to those childhood days, and it always makes me smile Pasta, Roast, Steak,Fish.. Cookies, Cakes Making Spaghetti sauce the old-fashioned way... strating with whole tomatoes and fresh herbs and cooking a huge pot of it over a low flame for a whole day, letting it slowly simmer down to the perfect thickness Remembering my grandma's peanut butter cookie recipe that I hadn't used in years just in time to make them for a big birthday party (they were the guest of honor's favorites) one year for my birthday my husband decided to make me a birthday cake... sweet, yes - successful, no... instead of vegetable oil he used OLIVE OIL within 10 minutes you could smell burnt cake all over the house!