I teach Baklava classes to make money to send girls to Math and Science (Techtrek) camps for AAUW. Banana bread, sweets, experiment with all sorts of breads, meats, pies, cakes roasts, I love to try complicated things and then see if I can "fix them" into new flavor I like better. We through big Noor Ruz partys (Persian New Year) with full dinners for as many as 150 people. We cook all the food from scratch. My first year of marriage I through a party for 40 people at Thanksgiving. I thought they'd come and stay the night (most were coming from very long distances). Our water pipes froze that morning and I had to bring in bottled water. But it all came off beautifully-only to have everyone stay...for 3 more days. It wasn't til I totally ran out of food that everyone finally left. Yet we had a great time and everything went wonderfully. We just didn't have ANY water! Not mine but a favorite family story is about my grandmother who was a terrible cook-she substituted Sweetened condensed milk for concentrated in a chicken casserole-think carmel and chicken! We would take a bite and ask to be excused then meet at the restaurant on the corner leaving her to eat it alone. We were kids and she grew up in the depression! That kind of explains all!