While I don't have a lot of extra time for cooking, I truly enjoy the process. My mom was a good cook and my dad was a gourmet style cook. Dad wasn't afraid to experiment and often tried new dishes. I am an adventurous person, so with the influence of my father, I've applied that sense to cooking. I get a kick out of trying new recipes. I was an athlete in school, so I've always been in decent shape, but the middle age years have brought a weight challenge, which I attempt to meet with healthy recipe choices. I'm a self-employed executive recruiter specializing in the foundry industry. My first career was radio broadcasting and I still do fill-in work for a local radio station. The most important things in my life to me are God and family. I have many interests besides cooking, including music, reading, writing, movies, travel, blackjack, and so much more. I love the challenge of finding and preparing healthy recipes--making something that is concurrently tasty and healthy. If I'm splurging I love preparing big meals with meat, potatoes, and all the trimmings, including dessert. I have developed into a pretty good pie-man. I'm learning to be a decent baker. I also enjoy appetizers. I don't like to take short-cuts or to scrimp on ingredients, so almost everything I prepare is "from scratch." I am a soup fanatic. I also enjoy casseroles, spaghetti with garlic bread, salad dressings, and most family style meals. I'm also a Chinese food nut--my very favorite food choice. My grandma made "sticky rolls," which were unanimously approved of by everyone in our family. My Dad made his traditional, famous oyster stew for Christmas Eve. Thanksgiving and Christmas always bring great memories of fabulous meals--turkey and all the trimmmings, of course. My mother used to make chop suey, which probably inspired my long time preference for Chinese food. Still looking for it! Seriously, I just love the process. My biggest triumph is the next meal. I love the process of creating. There something inherently artistic about cooking--and being able to immediately enjoy that which I've prepared, is truly enjoyable. The most recent was a prime rib tragedy. I used a marinade from this website, which called for using a two-pronged fork to punch holes in the meat. Unfortunately, I got carried away and evidently punched too many holes in the meat. The prime rib ended up shredded. And because my meat thermometer broke, the meat was overcooked too. My recipes usually turn out well because, 1) I follow recipes to the "T," (I'm not experienced enough to experiment much yet) and 2) I always read all the reviews for a given recipe before preparing it, so I know of the pitfalls and embellishments others have made.