Food has always been an important piece of any family gathering that I experienced growing up. Growing up in the South introduced me to delicious regional specialites such as Tex-Mex, Seafood and Southern cooking. Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, my culinary interests have broadened to more Asian and fusion types of cooking. Salmon, fajitas, burgers, roast chicken, steaks and salads. Each year for Christmas, my sister and I try and come up with a deluxe gourmet feast. Usually they turn out pretty good, but there have been some missteps! Cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time by myself a few years ago. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and it turned out to be quite delicious (much to my surprise). One year I made a carrot cake for my husband's birthday. Let's just say the presentation was a bit lacking. My husband said 'at least it tastes good'!