I think I started cooking at 2 or 3 - Mom has many pictures of me manning the mixer,etc. at a tender age. I've always loved cooking good things for family and friends. My husband is a willing guinea pig for the new recipes I love to try. Now a grandma to 8, I hope to pass the love of cooking on! I love baking - breads, pies, cookies! I also enjoy cooking family favorites and keeping alive the recipes passed on to me by generations of southern cooks. I collect old cookbooks and recipe collections and enjoy using my antiques and heirlooms when I cook or entertain. Our family has many traditional holiday recipes that I still prepare. Giblet gravy, cornbread dressing, a chocolate black walnut spice cake we bake at Christmas and many others. I watched and measured as my grandmother cooked so I could master these recipes she cooked from scratch. Be it as simple as homemade hot cocoa and sugar toast for Thanksgiving breakfast while we waited for the ham and turkey to bake - I try to keep these traditions alive for my children and grandchildren. I think my first triumph was learning to fry an egg over easy without breaking it so I could make breakfast for my parents on Sunday morning. My Mom didn't like baking so learning to make good pie crusts. Homemade bread was also big accomplishment for me! I'm sure my family suffered through many though they don't stand out in my memory. I've never been able to make good caramels and I recall burning both hands one Christmas trying a recipe that was supposed to be a sure thing! I threw away the hardened mess pot and all after attending to my burns.