I have been cooking since I was 8 years old, mostly desserts. I love to experiment, find a good recipe and then try to improve on it. Cooking is my way of relaxing. I have a busy work schedule so I try to find great recipes that take fresh ingredients and little time and have found tons of great unique dishes on this site. My more challenging meals are done on my days off. I love pasta dishes, but since I have been dieting,I have been making more dishes with lots of herbs and vergetables. We have Thanksgiving at our house every year and I have been doing a garlic rosemary turkey recipe from this site that is incredible! It smells heavenly and make the greatest gravy. The first time I made Christmas dinner for my boyfriend's family, 20+ people, I decided to make prime rib. It was huge and barely fit in the oven. It turned out perfect, everything was done at the same time. It got rave reviews! Back when I was 8, I tried making my first pie. The crust called for lard and I didn't know what it was so I asked my 16 year old cousin. She said it was bacon grease. Yuk! It was the nastiest thing I ever saw, wouldn't roll out, was brown and smelly. That went straight to the trash!