I love to do both. I collect cookbooks - have over 1,200 of them and have read them cover to cover. I like to make recipes from the books and then experiment with the recipes to create something different. I do that with cooking and baking.
However, I don't like to make a mess in the kitchen so I learned a long time ago how to clean up as I went so that when we are ready to sit down to a meal, the only things to be cleaned are the dishes we are eating on and the skillets and pots. All the prep dishes are already taken care of and the counters are all cleaned. I find that works so much better plus DH and I have a deal - I cook and he washes the dinner dishes afterwards. I take care of the dishes for the other two meals. And I don't like to leave a lot of dishes for him so I just find it easier to clean as I go.