I love to challenge myself with new recipes. I try to work with what I've got at home, but once in a while will splurge on new ingredients for a dish I really want to try. I like coming up with new things for dinner and especially like trying new desserts. I want to get better at soups and breads. I love to bake — particularly brownies and bread pudding. I like to make bars and cookies that are different than what people normally find. Three recipes I've tried (with hesitation) and was pleasantly surprised by in the end were chocolate lava cakes; white bean and rosemary soup; and seared sea scallops with an orange reduction sauce. Each recipe turned out much better than expected, and I've made them multiple times. My gazpacho was a failure. I hadn't had gazpacho before, so I went into it without knowing how it was supposed to taste. Lesson learned.