I'm 26. I'm from southeastern PA, living in Newark, NJ and have strong PA Dutch, German and Polish influence. My favorite cuisine to cook is Italian, but I also like French and Chinese. I find it therapeutic to plan, prepare and serve a delicious meal. I am addicted to watching Food Network! I'm enrolled in the French Culinary Institute in NYC and begin classes in September. I can't wait to take my cooking to the next level and have a career involving my love, food! lasagna, spaghetti, fried chicken, chicken cordon bleu, (really any chicken dish or pasta dish or combination of the two), breads, crab cakes, soups, alfredo shrimp topped tilapia, broccoli, pierogies, pizza, cheese cake, cookies Thanksgiving - My mom, two sisters and I get together to prepare the meal. This was the first year I picked the recipes, planned and shopped for it and did most of the cooking myself. It was a great success! Thanksgiving. I made the best turkey I've ever tasted. I brined it in water with salt, sugar, citrus and herbs and roasted it with butter, olive oil and fresh herbs. The meat fell off the bone when it was carved and everyone loved it. The sides were delicious too, especially the sweet potato casserole recipe I got from this site. I tried to impress my boyfriend by making one of his favorite meals - spaghetti. Of course I tried a homemade sauce...and failed terribly. He later told me it would have been better had I used jarred sauce. I'm still looking for a good tomato sauce recipe and hopefully one day will master one.