I enjoy cooking ethnic foods like Czech/Bavarian, Mexican, Cajun, Italian and Old World style foods. I'm always on a mission to find true authentic recipes. When I wanted to learn how to make tamales, I read books, gathered recipes, watched videos, and in the end, I paid to take a class from a Hispanic lady who gave me her grandmother's recipe and showed me all of her secrets. Needless to say, my tamales are perfect and my greatest compliment came when my neighbor, who is also Hispanic, asked me for the recipe. Making kolaches. It wouldn't be Christmas without them. It's my mother's tried 'n true never fail recipe. I'm best known for two things: My chocolate truffles and cajun food. After many, many years of trials and tribulations, I finally mastered the art of chocolate. I make my very own candy shop style truffles, English toffee, caramels, etc. Someday I hope to make a business out of it. My friends also call me the "Cajun Queen" because of my cajun cooking. The funny thing is, I grew up in the mid-west, never had cajun food, and I don't particularly care for it. I made a pot of jambalaya after my husband traveled to the south and told me how much he enjoyed the cuisine. That marked the beginning. I have an annual Mardi Gras party every year. I HATE tragedies! While I've had a few, I've did my best to avoid them and offer this advice: Always plan ahead and have a back up plan in case something goes wrong.