Growing up I wasn't allowed to do much in the kitchen, so, by the time I was out of college I realized I didn't know how to cook and considered it a chore. Every time I had a dinner party - what should have been fun turned into a stressful event for me. I followed recipes, but, it seemed they never turned out. When I got married , I learned my husband is one of those cooks who never follows a recipe and just seems to "know" what goes together and it turns out wonderful. After watching him, watching all those cooking shows, and this site I suddenly discovered what used to be a chore was now something I loved to do. I found a style of my own and discovered it really is ok to put your own spin on a recipe. My husband used to do most of the cooking and now I cook every night and love it! I like to cook just about everything. Probably my favorite things though are pasta (so versatile) and desserts. Most of our family food traditions revolved around holidays. It was the time of the year when everything on the table was a casserole of some sort. They were always good though and we all looked foward to having them. I love to bake - particularly cakes! It's very rewarding when someone takes their first bite of something you made and has the "Oh, yum" face! Probably my biggest problem is with red meat. I used to be a vegetarian, so, trying to cook something very basic like a steak or even a hamburger is very difficult for me. I seem to always overcook them and then they are dry, dry, dry. For now - that may have to stay my husband's job!