I grew up in upstate New York with a family of great Italian cooks. I love cooking for others, whether it be a relaxing dinner for two, or a huge holiday dinner. I love baking - cookies, cakes, cheesecakes. I also love making lasagna with hot Italian turkey sausage. Lately I am into salads. My favorite is my couscous spinach salad, yum. I don't eat beef or pork, so I am always looking for new ways to prepare poultry and seafood dishes. I love foods with Italian or Asian influences. Baking Christmas cookies with mom and grandma. My uncle's Jamaican rum cake, my aunt's cream of mushroom soup, my grandmother's rice pudding, my mother's twice baked cheddar potatoes, and her zucchini quiche. Two of my biggest crowd-pleasers I found on this site: Florentine Artichoke Dip, and the Kisses Peanut Butter Pie. People also love my version of the Gooey Butter Bars - I use a pound cake mix, not a yellow cake mix. I once dumped an entire container of dill into the potato salad I was preparing - I thought it had the shaker kind of top... oops!