My fondest memories as a child involve the kitchen. I can clearly remember pulling up a kitchen chair next to the stove so I could stand next to my mother and watch her cook. Her recipes were never written down. Meals were prepared with skill, as well as a well-developed sense for how the herbs, spices and the other ingredients blended together. And, then there are the memories of the gatherings around the table, from the simple dinners to the intricately prepared holiday fea