I've always helped my mom in the kitchen and cooked for the family growing up, but it's been quite a few years since I've been serious about cooking. However, I've gotten the bug again in recent months and I'm discovering wonderful new recipes and techniques outside of my mom's kitchen. I LOVE making seafood dishes, they're my favorite. I've always been a baker too. I love the chemistry of the recipes. I really like making miniatures or individual portions over large cakes, and I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of pie... I most fondly remember making Christmas cookies with my mom! She would take a week off of work and just go nuts. Out of everything she made I liked the simplest of sugar cookies because my brother and I would get to frost and decorate them afterwards. Made Christmas cookies for the office a couple of years ago and my boss called me a regular Martha Stewart. That made me happy because they had no idea I could bake :D Thanksgiving dinner for my brother, dad and his wife a few years back. Microwave broke, turkey needed another 3 hours, didn't have a meat thermometer so my brother ventured out to find one and finally returned and hour and a half later because all the stores were closed! Everything actually came out really good after all though.