Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I try to sit still for about 15 minutes each morning without making lists or running in overdrive.
I learned so much from 'Iron Chef' about ingredients, about the courage to put yourself out there.
I love it when a few simple ingredients come together on a plate, and I think, 'Wow, that's a dish.'
I love using hummus as centerpiece and then making different containers of vegetables for fun dipping.
I didn't cook that much as a kid. My mother was cooking, and I was her helper. We made dishes together.
I love watching a single pork chop seasoned with garlic and shallots cook and see the fat bubble around it.
One of the most practical utensils I can't live without is my 'Joyce Chen' Scissors. They cut with precision.
My father always said, 'If you love what you do, you won't mind slogging through it for several hours a day.'
There's a freshness to the approach of teen chefs. They're lighthearted, and they're not afraid to take risks.
Repeatedly opening the oven - or worse, taking out the turkey to baste it - slows down the momentum of cooking.
I really cringe at the sight of pattypan squash. So pretty and cute and having no taste or exciting texture. Dull.
I used to sleep with the phone right by my pillow but I'm getting better. Now it sits on the table a few feet away.
I feel very passionate about maintaining the same level of standard and respect for the food as an Iron Chef myself.
People in professional kitchens may love what they do, but sometimes it's just something that puts food on the table.
If you want to have a relationship, at some point you have to let yourself get caught. That's what I did. I got caught.
As a chef, a mom, and a member of Team No Kid Hungry, I believe that every child deserves three meals a day, every day.
Sometimes I look up a recipe for chicken and tomatoes and end up cooking pork. The inspiration gets lost in translation.
I love the whole process of making, serving, and eating hearty soups like lentil, potato leek and carrot, to name a few.
Ganache is a mix of chocolate and cream. Warm cream, warm chocolate, they want to get to know each other - they're happy.
If it's not messy and it doesn't drip over the sides, it's not a holiday hot chocolate -it's just an average hot chocolate.
I am driven by ingredients. My Italian heritage and French training inevitably poke through as well, guiding my techniques.
I think that cakes should have touches of candy bar in order for it really to hit all those childhood notes on the keyboard.
I know that some people use lavender, incense, and cake as sedatives, but for me, a 'nose bath' in an old book just does something.
Understand that nutrition plays a huge role in athletes' lives, and one of the most nutritious ways to eat is to cook your own food.
When we talk about chefs, we often talk about their love of food or their passion for it, but cooking is also about making a living; it's a job.
My mom is a self-taught home cook, so books that offer guidelines on how to organize menus are critical to 'cook from the book' people like her.
I grew up in a house where I was a spectator to the sport of cooking. In that way, I just learned so much about what it really takes to make food.
To make fluffy scrambled eggs, the best trick is to whisk in a splash of water and nothing else. Cream, milk, and other liquids drag the eggs down!
The better the ingredients, the more farmers I can buy from, the closer I feel to the food I want to make that represents what I care about as a chef.
If I want my daughter to try something, I eat it in front of her repeatedly without forcing the issue and, with some trial and error, the world is our oyster!
It's essential to make sure you have proper kitchen tools for food storage - like cling wrap, bags, and containers - because they help keep food fresher longer.
I find myself hoping I can get on a TV show, and then people from Oklahoma will come to my restaurant. Then I'll be able to make enough money to open my own place.
I woke up on May 15, 1991, the day of my Barnard graduation, and I said to myself, 'By the end of today you will decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.'
Make dinner with the goal of stretching it out for lunch in the back of your mind. Making more of one thing is cheaper than buying more varied ingredients for each meal.
Make a stir-fried rice dish with some cut-up chicken and any vegetables folded into the rice for a 'one pot' meal lunch that has it all - protein, starch and vegetables.
My reasons for becoming a chef are somewhat of a cliche. I always loved to eat but it was watching my parents cook that really served as the impetus for my career choice.
If you're making a salad of any kind, cut the herbs, stems and all, and toss them into your mixed greens salad, a Romaine salad, iceberg, Bibb - it just adds a special touch.
I love 'The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook' by Dione Lucas. A huge source of information and inspiration. The book is organized by menu, and the recipes are unusual and exciting.
I watched 'Iron Chef ' for years, and I thought, 'That's playing for the New York Yankees.' I made that my version of being Derek Jeter, and I worked really, really hard to win that.
Every time I feel like something is missing from a dish, I think, 'Oh, I know, I'll add a pinch of dry ginger.' If it's not salt and it's not vinegar, it's probably missing dry ginger.
'Iron Chef America' is so real. Imagine putting on television the whole process of making that food, the technique. It's all about technique. It doesn't even matter if you show the faces sometimes.
Freeze herbs by stem and all - don't just freeze the leaves. It's better to keep them sturdier. Put the stems and the leaves together into a plastic bag, and just wrap it up and freeze it like that.
The best place to use vanilla beans is anywhere where they won't be mixed in with a million other flavors. Anything with dairy, yogurt, milk, cream, or eggs - any custard or flan - how can it be bad?
I really love muscle cars. I don't think people might realize that about me. I really want to go to an auto auction and blow my life savings on a Camaro. They have such design around them, such panache.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Make something simple a few times until you 'master' it and move on to the next thing. Take a cooking class! Buy a cookbook that specializes in foods or a cuisine you enjoy.
Walnuts are so rich. I also love that you can chew them for five minutes. Then I eat a couple of golden raisins as a palate cleanser because they are really tart, and then more walnuts. It's a great snack for me.
Stuffed cherry tomatoes are satisfying without being filling and make a great alternative to bread-based starters. You can assemble these appetizers ahead of time and refrigerate them until you're ready to serve.
It's amazing the relationships you forge in a kitchen. When you cooperate in an environment that's hot. Where there's a lot of knives. You're trusting your well-being with someone you've never before met or known.
It stuns me how effective children can be in their messaging, and I believe that every child should enjoy that basic right to become an adult. Getting rid of childhood cancers is one effective way to reach that goal.
I'm interested in food and sharing my passion with a community of like-minded people. All of the celebrity stuff that comes along with that is just an incidental byproduct of being able to do what I love for a living.