My mother was the best cook I ever met. She cooked a full meal every evening and her Sunday dinner was a treat to behold. I was a big girl before I ever ate in a restaurant. Even though I knew how to cook "rural" food, my husband introduced me to "Haute Cuisine" and immediately I needed to experiment - to the point of buying items I had absolutely no idea how to fix, then experimenting like a mad chemist. My son grew up on meals such as Vichyssoise and Osso Bucco. I was surprised when I moved back to Oklahoma. I set out to stock my kitchen with basic ingredients I took for granted in San Francisco, and guess what? I couldn't find a majority of the items I needed! That has been a few years back and thankfully, things have greatly changed in Oklahoma since then. I have travelled quite a bit in the past and eaten at very good restaurants. These experiences are what gave me the "standard" for my entry into gourmet cooking. I bake all my own bread. Focaccia, Ciabatta, Italian breads. Baking my own bread makes it difficult to ever purchase store-bought again. I can be more creative with Italian recipes than say, French. I still like to make souffle au grand marnier and some of the more tedious recipes such as quenelles, but Mediterranean food lends itself to the sort of food I enjoy and I think it is healthier as well as more fun to prepare. My family were early farming pioneers bringing with them excellent family recipes. We had fresh milk, butter, lard, eggs, cream, vegetables, fruit, beef and poultry. Fortunately, we can find those items fresh today and avoid the rather anemic foodstuffs commercialism presented for the last 50 years. Canned tomatoes are about the only "prepared" food I tolerate in my kitchen.