At age 20, I couldn't cook at all!

I don't remember what our first official meal was, but I'm sure it was something "instant." I was the first of all of my friends to get married--in my group no one got married so young--they all finished college and started careers and most got married around age 30. So learning how to cook wasn't something that was important to us. So when I married my husband in the early 1980's, our weekly menus consisted of boxed mac and cheese, hot dogs, boxed taco mix, spaghetti sauce from a jar, etc. I remember getting "The Silver Palate" cookbook as a gift from my aunt several years later, and I think that's when my love of cooking began. I do remember making the Beef Stroganoff recipe from the Silver Palate--that may have been my first "fancy" meal for us. Now I'm a cookbook fanatic and make most things from scratch. Guess I finally grew up!