Sally Siegel

"I literally didn't know how to boil an egg until I was in my 20s — when I tried to impress a guy by making dinner for him," writes Sally Siegel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "I didn't have much success with the dinner or the guy, but I regrouped and put together a repertoire of fairly elegant dishes I felt confident making. Over the years, my cooking style has become more casual; I make dishes that are not too demanding, but still special for company."

"I literally didn't know how to boil an egg until I was in my 20s — when I tried to impress a guy by making dinner for him," writes Sally Siegel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "I didn't have much success with the dinner or the guy, but I regrouped and put together a repertoire of fairly elegant dishes I felt confident making. Luckily, my husband, Loren, likes to cook as much as I do, so we really work as a team when we give dinner parties. We're both real estate agents, and we like to entertain clients — we've made some great friends by selling houses to them." Silky and light, this blender soup would make a delicate summer starter. Bonus: It comes together very quickly.