Native New Yorker living in Vegas since June 2007. I work a lot of overtime, so my Crock Pot is my best friend! I'm always looking for something new to try. Anything in my slow cooker! I am still looking for the perfect chili recipe--I will let you know when I get there. I like to bake cake and cookies, but I am not very good at it yet. Lots of Italian and Italian-inspired dishes. Huge pots of sauce with meatballs, sausage and shredded pork, served over rotini. My family has always made small pasta shells with a "sauce" of softened butter/cream cheese/parmesan cheese and herbs--still a favorite quick dinner of mine. I consider it a triumph whenever I manage to cook something without burning it. "Blackened" is my middle name! I used to make a killer apple desert with a yellow cake crust and yummy crumb/sour cream/pecan topping. It always came out so perfectly. Of course I lost the cookbook that contained the recipe and I don't remember how to make it. My life has not been the same without my delicious apple treat!