I absolutely love to cook. My mother, grandmothers on both sides, and my dad are my greatest cooking influences. My greatest influence with the grill is my Aunt Sara. While I have been told that I am a really good cook, I know it will take me years to even touch them! I love to have people over for dinner and cooking for my mother when I visit her, since she spent 18 years making delicious meals for me. I really love to cook anything Mexican...especially interesting enchiladas and burritos. I also love Asian and Italian cooking. Since moving to Virginia, I have had fun learning to cook traditional regional food, like crab cakes, corn pudding and collard greens. I also love to bake various breads. Preparing food on the grill in an unconventional way is also really fun to experiment with. I like to make things special for all the members of my very large family, especially on their birthdays. In my family, holidays absolutely revolve around food. I love Thanksgiving especially. My mother makes the most delicious dinner imaginable, and my father makes dessert an absolute event...usually he bakes at least 5 or 6 fancy pies, cakes, and tortes. He has even done a truffle tree! At July 4th, my grandmother would always make her specialty chocolate cake, and Bubbe always makes her signature spaghetti at family get togethers. When I mastered my mother's homemade lasagna, I truly felt like a real cook. Preparing Thanksgiving turkeys and large holiday meals that make my family happy is a big success. My husband has NEVER complained about a single meal I've fixed for him. I have never had a cooking "tragedy", only small goofs. Once I made a chocolate meringue pie that tasted awesome but was really really runny. Sometimes it takes two or three tries to get a recipe perfect, but I have never had anything catch fire other than an oven mit.