I am a PA Dutch-raised SAHM who now lives in the suburbs of D.C. I have two awesome kids who are now both in Elementary school and I am learning to balance home, school and community ... haven't passed that test yet. My favorite room in the house is the kitchen and I love to cook for friends. I am a displaced Recipezaarian and am making AllRecipes.com my new home and homepage. I love baking cakes in varying flavors. Unfortunately, being diabetic, I'm limited to baking cakes when I know there will be plenty of people to consume them! I have learned to love trying to copycat recipes from fine-dining experiences we have. I rely mostly on recipes but often step out of the box with substitutions to increase the "healthy" factor in the foods that I serve. My favorite cooking memories are making Christmas cookies at Grandma O's house(especially her Sand Tarts!) and having wonderful home-cooked dinners at Grandma E's House on Sundays with the best homemade bread, dried corn and real mashed potatoes. Two of my favorite Christmas offerings as I grew up were my mom's homemade chocolate-covered buttercreams and my Aunt Janice's "candy-cane bread". The most memorable dish I have made was a Peanut Butter Pie from The Common Grill Cookbook by Chef Greg Common in Ann Arbor, MI. It "WOWed" Mom's group and was a best-seller at the concession stand for the church plays. All of the dishes I made from Chef Common's cookbook have been hits but prep is sometimes a bit extensive so I save them for special occasions.