In the Kitchen!

There's a running joke that catastrophic weather conditions occur whenever I am in the kitchen. I tell my friends that I have recipes that guarantee your husband will do the cooking. Although I am a pretty good cook, I had to become the queen of jiffy cooking when I worked full-time and had young children. My first job with a pay check was preparing the chicken for frying. Later I also worked as a short order cook. So people have paid money to eat my cooking. But these days I mostly do the all-out extravaganza type meals when the weather keeps me indoors or I am depressed. And usually those two conditions co-exist.
I watch cooking shows and read recipes, but I never follow them. Usually these just give me ideas for a different twist on something I make or get me out of the rut of making the same tired recipes. I cook in anticipation of the "wow" and "that tastes great" comments. I do stay within a range of familiarity: Cajun, Italian, Mexican, South American. I am really not fond of Lebanese or Creole food.
Whenever traveling, I like to try out the local flavors for ideas to bring back to my kitchen and feel like I have truly experienced the culture. Food is such an important part of my culture. I have learned to never order anything from the menu that has "cajun" in the name or description if I am outside of south Louisiana. It usually means that someone dropped the pepper in the dish. It's such a misrepresentation of all the melding of wonderful flavors that are truly cajun. I especially am surprised when a dish is described as cajun creole. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean. Those are two different cultures. Although we co-exist, our recipes and origins are quite different.
Since spring is still not quite here, I'll be in the kitchen a while longer.