If there’s anyone I love to cook for the most, it’s my family. They shower me with praise and love when I really nail a dish (and when I royally screw up, they let me know, too. You know, ’cause they’re family).

And now that the holidays are present (ha! see what I did there?), my whole family is together again (my sister calls Colorado her home and my brother stays hot over in Arizona.) Here’s a dorky Christmas picture from last year:

I’m the raven-haired beauty in the middle. Aren’t we so festive?? (Totally missed out on the red memo)

I cook for my family every night and I’ve even turned my picky brother onto some amazing things. Here he is scarfing down this shrimp recipe:

And me and my sis swap recipes left and right. Stacy even sends me pictures her of her delectable dinners almost every night via text. And I got her a subscription to Food Network magazine last year for Christmas and she’s been in love ever since.

My mom and dad reap most of my cooking benefits. Dearest Dad really appreciates having a home-cooked meal every night and he’s even lost some serious lbs since I’ve been cooking for him (I’m still waiting for a personalized letter and compensation from his MD.) I really love cooking for him.

I’ve gotten to teach Mom a few tricks in the kitchen and we even make meals together about once a week.

And, of course, I love watching my SO [Max] scarf down my various creations. He always tells me how lucky he is to have a gourmet cook as a girlfriend, and each time I keep quiet cause he hasn’t eaten at George’s before. I dread the day he finds out that there’s people out there better in the kitchen than me—they’re called chefs!

Anyway, thank you, family, for scarfing down my food and giving me praise (even if it is sometimes false). I will cook for you always.