Hmm... I seem to remember my mom making WAAAAY better Kraft Dinner than my friend's mom.

Yes, very differently. Getting the measurements correct is only part of the issue. Each of the ingredients come in different brands, which each have different characteristics. Plus, things like one person using sweet cream butter and another using margerine would make a big difference. Settings on stoves are a bit different as well, so that can make a difference in some things.

Yes completely differently.

Absolutely. It almost has to. Cooking is not just about ingredients (and within ingredients themselves there is so much variation, frozen, local, organic, top quality, cheapest. Not all things are created the same) Cooking is more about technique and method. I make these wonderful cookies in many different flavors. I used to give out the recipe but I quit because people would say I wasn't telling it all. I was, they just weren't paying attention to every little step. It matters how long you mixed something, how you cooled them in 3 different ways. Sorry it was so complicated but they made perfect cookies. And then there is the element that often gets overlooked but I truly believe makes it into a dish...intent and love. Yes, if you love what you are doing and if you care about the people, it WILL come out in the food. The Chinese actually believe that you cannot cook well when angry or not in a good frame of mind as the food will not taste as good or be as nutritious as when in a balanced state of mind. I have to agree. And it goes for eating and dining, too. Rushed meals are never satisfying or nutritious if you don't take the time to chew and digest and speak with friends and family.

It most certainly can, there is more to it then mixing and heating.

Trust a person that can't cook all that well. Yes!

Yes indeed. In addition to all of what Galeanda said, different cookware and different stoves and ovens can make a difference. I think the same person can make the same dish in a different house and it can taste different. We just moved a few months ago, and I have really messed up a few dishes that I have made for YEARS, because I was learning the nuances of my new stove. Pans can make a big differnce too. Cast iron, stainless steel, teflon...they are all different.

"No, it's even stranger than that." (classic quote) "It's funny because every person that cooks makes things taste differently. No two people can cook the same thing and have it taste exactly the same." Source: http://momtu-tu.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

It certainly seems to doesn't it. I think it's just because it is nice to sit down to eat something that you had nothing to do with preparing. Someone else did it and cleaned up after. All you had to do was sit and eat. Going out for dinner to a restaurant does the same thing to me.