I grew up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. My mom and I lived with my Grandparents from the time I was a little baby. I grew up learning to cook from my little Irish Grandmother. The fun part of that was that she was cooking Italian! My Grandfather was from Sicily, so we ate Italian frequently. Those times in the Kitchen, either with my Mom or my Grandmother were always a blast. Not only did I learn how to cook and bake, but I learned quite a few things about what my Mom got into as a kid, now that was fun! LOL :) Obviously learning to cook Italian, those are my specialties, but since then I've had to learn to cook Healthy. But I love to cook and I'm always trying something different, although I'm a reallllly picky eater, go figure! I've had such a blast searching recipes on this site, I can hardly wait to try the ones I've stuck in My Recipe Box! I LOVE cooking Italian, but do cook other things as well. Chicken is a favorite of mine as well as Tilapia. And almost everything I cook has to have mushrooms in it, I just Love mushrooms! I don't know where I picked that up, but I'm soooo glad I did! When I was young, my Mom, Grandmother, Aunt and I used to hole up in the kitchen during the Holidays and make Rum Cakes and Booze Balls. The unfortunate part of that was with both Kitchen doors closed, the fumes from the alcohol made me "drunk". I remember my Grandfather coming into the kitchen and he had to take a step back or be overpowered by the fumes. He wanted to know what was so entertaining as we were laughing and giggling very loudly. He took one look at me and just shook his head and laughed. He made sure we left the doors open after that! When I first was living away from home, I was in Philadelphia with 3 roommates. We each took a weeks turn cooking. It was my week to cook and I decided I would try making a Baked Chicken. I had never made one before. I remember calling one of my roommates at thier work for some last minute instructions. I was so proud of myself! I seasoned the chicken, cut my potatos had everything going. I sat at the kitchen table and couldn't shake this feeling I had forgotten something. I went to the oven, opened it and realized I had not but any water or broth in the pan. Oh Boy! Quickly I grabbed a cup of water and put it in the bottom of the pan and then opened a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and poured it over the top. At dinner that night everyone just raved over my dinner, telling me it was the BEST baked chicken they had ever had! I just laughed myself silly thinking how I had avoided disaster! :) The only tragedy right now is that my roommates kitchen is being remodeled and cooking isn't exactly an easy thing to do. I look forward to being able to buzz around the kitchen again, cooking to my heart's content.