Hi! I am a software engineer residing in Metro Detroit, Michigan. I grew up in a rural setting and now live in the suburbs but always in southeastern Michigan.

I love to try new recipes and I also have always had some sort of a website so food blogging turned out to be a perfect hobby for me and that’s how I stumbled upon the Daring Bakers. I’m married, love the outdoors, traveling, and entertaining. My latest activities to help me beat the winter doldrums have been cake decorating, learning to knit, and playing the piano.

The new Daring Kitchen has a “super hero” theme now.. when you were a kid did you ever dream of being a super hero? If so.. which one?

Well, I grew up in the 80s so I was thinking maybe She-Ra, but after some thought, I’ve decided if I had to pick a super hero, I’d like to be catwoman! She seems pretty saucy and svelte.

What’s your favorite family tradition?

My mother is Ukrainian so the last several years we have had a traditional Ukrainian
Christmas Eve dinner at my parents’ house where we get out all of the ornate china,
embroidered linens, and enjoy favorites such as homemade pyrohy (pierogies) and
delicious tortes.

What is your favorite movie? Book? Genre of music?

Picking just one movie is difficult, I love suspense and thrillers. My favorite TV show right now is Lost, I’m reading The Making of a Chef which is quite good, and I like a wide variety of music from hip hop to country to classical.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?

This is a difficult one, as any vacation is fabulous! Whether it’s Maui, the mountains, Munich, or the upper peninsula of Michigan, I love traveling to someplace new. The great outdoors and culinary adventures are always vacation highlights.

Who taught you how to cook and bake?

My mother! There was always a lot of good food coming out of my mom’s kitchen and she was way ahead of her time considering “back in the day” there was no internet, celebrity chefs, and photo-laden cookbooks. I also seemed to have inherited her love of party planning, making lists, and sifting through new recipes for ideas. Now I’m also taking up her hobby of cake decorating which she has excelled at for years.

What’s your favorite thing about being a Daring Baker and/or a Daring Cook?

I love the mystery of what will be chosen for the challenge! Trying something new and complicated is very rewarding, and I always learn quite a lot in the Daring Kitchen!

Who is your favorite chef? Can be celebrity, home town, family or friend.. or one of each!

I would have to go with Alton Brown as my favorite celebrity chef since his episodes are so humorous and educational. I always trust his recipes!

What’s your favorite holiday?

The Christmas holiday season is always my favorite. My birthday is two days before Christmas so I’m basically celebrating for two weeks straight with various friends and family, and even though all the baking and shopping can get hectic, I always look forward to it every year.

If you could pick a group of 4 other Daring Bakers/Cooks to spend a day cooking and baking with.. who would you choose and why?

I would pick Helen of Tartelette as it was her blog that kept popping up in my recipe searches and it was there where I first heard of the Daring Baker’s and was inspired to join. Her abilities are amazing! And why not invite our Daring Kitchen founders, Lisa and Ivonne, I would love to meet and learn from you and I bet you have some excellent Daring Baker stories to share. Last but not least, I would invite the most recently added Daring Baker/Cook – whoever you are – as it would be fun to welcome you to the group and learn something new together.

You can visit Anne on her blog Kitchen Bliss