I've always felt comfortable in the kitchen, but am only now feeling comfortable throwing together my own ingredients rather than strictly following a recipe. My boyfriend and I enjoy dividing up cooking duties and occasionally staging our own "Iron Chef" battles using our favorite ingredients. Breads, GOOD casseroles (not those yucky ones I had to eat growing up), soups, fish It was tradition to make Chicken Kiev -- perhaps my favorite main dish ever -- every Christmas Eve, which I still try to do every year. It's not the healthiest dish but it IS good! Flourless chocolate cake (recipe from this site making some minor tweaks) that has become THE birthday cake request from several. Nothing truly tragic cooking-wise, though I have been known to make quite a tragic mess in the kitchen!