My passion for food came from watching my Dad, who was a Chef do all the cooking. He and my Mom loved to feed our family and any friends that happened to drop by. I love to try new things. I am always looking to expand my horizons when it comes to food. I find that as I get older I enjoy trying foods I've never had. I love making Mexican and Italian foods. I love Southern cooking for it's "comfort" aspect, not to mention how delicious it is! TAMALES!! My Dad and my Aunt made Tamales every year for Christmas. I helped out every chance I got. 15 years ago my Dad suffered a heart attack and had to change his eating/cooking habits. He perfected his tamale recipe using canola oil rather than lard in the "masa". They were "gourmet tamales" in my opinion. I just lost my Dad on September 25, 2008. This will be my first Christmas with out him. The tamale tradition must go on... It would have to be the day my Father and I were cooking a meal together and I asked him to marinade some "carne asada" (which was his recipe to begin with!) and he said, "No, you do it. You make it better!" That was thee best compliment ever! Also, my best friends, Ernie and Karen, have named my refried beans "AnaBeans" because they love them so much. I can't say that I have had any.