I have received commercial food preparation training as a part of my bachelor of science degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management. I worked for over 15 years as a restaurant and bar manager. Now, cooking is my hobby rather than my profession. Currently, I am experimenting with ethnic cuisines such as Indian and Mediterranean cooking. Also, I am brushing up on my skills in baking breads and cakes. I have a friend with celiac disease and food alergies, so I am working with recipes for her dietary needs. My mother taught me to cook when I was a pre-teen. I frequently think of her when I make dishes she served to me. We used to tease her about one dish. We called it "green chicken" because it was indeed a yellow-green color. This was a curry dish. I can't replicate it because I can't get the right type of curry powder. I believe I need to find a certain herb to give it the greenish color. I have adapted the recipe that she made with a stick of butter to be very acceptable with much less fat. Christmas dinner 2008 for visiting relatives included prime rib, Yorkshire Pudding, balsamic glazed carrots and two pies. Everything came out perfect! This year, I made a rum layer cake and developed a filling made out of marscapone cheese. Yum! I am attempting to refine this recipe for submission, but there is only so much cake I can eat. Christmas 2000 - I live in a flood plain and my basement flooded with about 14" of water during what should have been dinner. My sister helped me move things out of the basement and bale the water. Dinner suffered from neglect.