I grew up in So Cal and have in the past few years moved to Lynchburg, Virginia where the cooking is very different! I much prefer the variety of culture that food in southern CA typically consists of, so I haven't crossed over to the high fat, fried this & that of the region... and I don't intend to! I like to cook with lots of seasoning, I enjoy spicy food, and I don't make a lot of sweets. Chicken tortilla soup is simple and everyone loves it, so we make it a lot of the time when we have people over. Grilled chipotle-lime fish tacos are AMAZING, Cajun-chicken pasta is delightful, and my mom's sweet & sour meatballs on rice is probably right there with it. My favorite family cooking traditions would consist of turkey on thanksgiving, ham on Christmas and Easter, eggnog (non-alcoholic) while decorating the Christmas tree, and chinese food on New Year's Eve. My hispanic side of the family usually has tamales on Christmas day, and I think I might make it my goal to find a really good tamale recipe and do the same, even though I'm all the way in Virginia! Most things I make turn out just as they should. I always test everything and I frequently add extra spices to compensate. Most importantly, I ask my public (aka husband and guests) what they think of any new meal, because nothing helps improve on a recipe better than some good feedback. -Never travel in a car with a crockpot full of Chicken Tortilla Soup on your lap... unless you have a cool snap-shut lid. Yeaah.. -Don't turn on the front burner when you mean to turn on your kettle on the backburner. Especially if you have a pan sitting on the front burner with a perfectly good plastic stirring spoon! -Remember to adjust for the temperature of your oven if yours has a habit of cooking 70 degrees too hot. You will make delicious chocolate peppermint cookies into something with the texture of a gingersnap.