My greatest cooking influence was probably my grandmother. She was an awesome cook, and I never saw her use a cookbook; everything was done from memory. She made the best soup, and also baked wonderful potica (a slavic specialty.....my family is Slovenian.) I can't think of specific favorite cooking experiences.....it simply makes me feel great when my extended family says I am a good cook! I love to bake, particularly breads and cinnamon rolls, cookies, and cakes. I also love to experiment, just putting together a stir fry or soup by taste, etc. I also teach Wilton method cake decorating classes, so I make a lot of frosting!!! In 2007 I also started baking for a local coffee house and catering company, which is a dream job! You want to PAY ME to bake?? Um, OK! I'm responsible for most of the baking for the coffee house, and for baking and decorating special order cakes, including for weddings. Cooking and baking were never really a strong interest for my mom, but both my sister and I are pretty accomplished. I enjoy cooking with my kids, ages 9 and 7, and am glad that they like it, too! I also love being alone in the kitchen (although that doesn't happen very often!) putting together a great meal or dessert, or cooking extra meals to put in the freezer for later use. I make an awesome homemade pizza, using our homegrown tomatoes and green peppers and other things. It is, in my family's opinion, the best pizza we've ever had. I also make some darned good cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies, using recipes I found here at Allrecipes! Of course, being a cake decorating teacher, I make a lot of cakes, and they always get great reviews. To me, the taste and texture of the cake is even more important than the decorations/how it looks. I once mis-read directions for a cheesecake and did not turn down the oven to a lower temperature after a short while as I was supposed to. We had a slightly overcooked cheesecake for dessert that holiday!