What a great first thing to learn, Georgia! For me, I believe the first thing was likely some kind of hot cereal, scrambled eggs, or French Toast. I was cooking with heat at about 10.

By 12, I had made my first Thanksgiving dinner for the family. Instead of the big turkey, I made Cornish Game Hens. They're pretty easy, but at that age, I was so proud of myself for preparing the entire meal, right down to the dessert. My family was so accepting of all of the little flaws. The fact that their plates were clean afterwards made me feel so good. And my mother was particularly happy becuse she knew I finally had the ability to prepare a complete meal--an ability that came in handy, as a latchkey kid.

Not all of the meals were successes, though. There was the time that, as a teenager, I started ordering magazine subscriptions like "Cuisine" and "Food and Wine." By then, I thought I wanted to cook gourmet dishes. There was the infamous Spaghetti with Capers, a dish I made up and everybody else wanted to throw up! We learn by our mistakes, and that one was a lesson well learned!