I've just returned to the Bay Area (Discovery Bay) after living on Maui for the past 6 years. I'm from a large family and we didn't have a lot of money growing up so I learned at an early age to make things stretch food wise. You know that 101 things to do with Ground Beef? I think I've had most of them. Because of this when I can get my hands on top quality ingredients, I am in heaven. Cooking for my man and my friends is my favorite thing to do. I would cook and feed people all day long if I could. I'd very much like to make a career out of it if I can. I love to do HUGE appetizer parties. In Hawaii, they call appetizers "pu-pu". I know, sounds silly but I picked up a ton of great ideas and recipes while living on Maui. Those people know how to have a party and how to eat. A lot of their food can be heavy so I lighten it up when I can. But pu-pu's are my favorite things to cook. I would do a whole appetizer restaurant if I could! Besides that, I would call my self a comfort food cook. I love the basics but with updated twists. Oh boy, my family on my moms side is Italian and Portuguese and on my dad's side Danish. But I definitely have a Mediterranean slant on my cooking. Lot's of pasta and home made sauces. Hosting a Broker Open House and cooking ALL of the food that fed about 80 people all on my own. All appetizer stuff with a few salads. I actually ran out of food. It was a ton of work but very rewarding and that's when I thought maybe I could actually do this for a living. Oh, we all have them. The worst I think was when I had about 6 people over and had marinated short ribs for a whole day and put them on the bbq and then, well, got distracted. They burned into charcol! Smoke was everywhere. It was awful.