I think it's mainly that everyone in my family are really good cooks. My mom, my dad, grandparents -- they all love cooking and are very creative. My dad taught me the basics of cooking, like how to roast a perfect pork loin, how to sear and how not to burn your butter.

I have tons of cookbooks that I reference, and I'd probably say that I combine a recipes from all of them to form what I make. Plus I get a bunch of cooking magazines and I pay close attention when I go out to eat, trying to copy new recipes. And I have a couple really old cookbooks, like from the '20s, that have interesting techniques and flavor combos that are both timeless and creative. It's all a rich tapestry.

There are a few types of cooking that I'm not comfortable with, though. I can't make good chinese and I don't like middle-eastern/Indian food. I made Donovan couscous with chicken in a turmeric glaze once. He loved it, but I hated it. I had to follow the recipe exactly because I'm unfamiliar with what those spices taste like, so I couldn't put in any extra flare. Maybe that has something to do with it too - I know the background flavors in all the spices I use. Like you can smell the sage, raspberries, pepper or cedar in a good wine, you can decipher what spices taste like and match them perfectly with other flavors.