I didn't really learn about "gourmet" cooking until I got a job in a 4-star restaurant as a Salad Girl as a teen. I got to help the Pastry Chef make her desserts when I was caught up on my prep work, so needless to say I would rush though chopping veggies, so I could learn from her. I have been a wanna be Pastry Chef since then. I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, so now I am concentrating on desserts I can safely enjoy. I have a few great adapted lowered carb recipes under my belt, and am working on more. Besides baking, I enjoy working with Sculpy, and make and sell the little snowmen, like I have for my picture. By trade, I am a Tax Accountant. I love to bake! I would have to say cookies are my favorite thing, but I enjoy baking all types of desserts. I grew up with traditional Polish grandparents that went though the Depression, so they fed us constantly when we visited. I can remember watching my Grandmother baking and cooking all day long. My mother was great at what I lovingly refer to as "grub" food. She could make a mean pot roast or stuffed chicken. She was great at stretching her small food budget to keep all 3 of us kids fed and happy. My favorite tradition was helping my mother bake cookies at Christmas. I catered a friend's wedding as her wedding gift. 150 hungry people went though the buffet line, and it went off without a hitch! We didn't run out of anything, and didn't have alot of leftovers. No, I do not think I ever want to do that again. LOL I was going to Easter dinner to meet my Dad's new wife and her extended family, all 14 of them. I asked if I could make dessert, and spent the morning baking Strawberry Shortcake. I baked 3 9x13 shortcakes, & whipped up tons of creme. I picked out the very best strawberries. I put the first shortcake on the platter & layered it with whipped creme, strawberries. I did the next 2 layers the same. I had made this massive dessert that looked like a magazine was coming to photograph it. I was so proud of it. When I got it to my Dad's place everyone was oooohing and awwwing over it and I was walking on air. When it was time to eat it, my Dad set it in front of me to cut and serve. I got the knife and it wouldn't go though the shortcake, as it was like a rock. We had to chisel it into serving pieces. I still remember the crunching sound as everyone gamely tried to eat it. We laugh about it still.