Most people are surprised that I enjoy cooking and am fairly good at it and I guess they're right- most 20 somethings can't cook their way out of a paper bag, but my Mother, Grandmothers, and now Mother-in-law, are all fabulous cooks and have schooled me well! I try to make something new for dinner at least twice a week and I'm always experimenting with the things I bring in for potlucks at work. Sometimes the results go over very well, other times...not so much. I'm entering a chili cook-off for the first time this year and am determined to master the art of a good chili! I love food. I even love reading about, looking at, and cooking food that I know I'm not going to eat (I'm a vegetarian, my husband is not)! Lasagna and garlic bread always has been and always will be Christmas Dinner (if it's not broken, don't fix it!) I am of Russian descent and learned from my grandmother to cook traditional food like pirog, piroshki, and varenyke. Time-consuming, but definitely worth the expended effort!! My husband tells me that my meatloaf is even better than his Mother's I tried my hand at making oyster dressing for Thanksgiving dinner one year. I don't know if it was an error on my part or if something was wrong with the recipe, but it turned out just absolutely awful. Rather than being moist and delicious, it was sopping wet, soggy, and was literally standing in about a half an inch of juices. It's a tragedy I STILL have not lived down.