I wouldn't call being a chef gratifying in a lot of ways. It's an act of love.
I love roasted beets with goat cheese. I am also a fruit addict.
I like Bobby Flay's attitude and his approach towards food. I think he's just passionate and very honest. I find him very honest about food and cooking and ingredients and I admire that because I think that it's easy to get away from that for various reasons.
I like to take a day off and enjoy fast food for what it is. I have to say that in New York, I'm really partial about taco trucks. I mean, I really can't handle it. There is something about catching all those ingredients piled on top of each other: it puts me in a tizzy. I love it. I'm kind of a taco truck junkie.
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.
Mashed potatoes with stuff in it? That's '90s.
A splash of red wine vinegar can pull things together like a pinch of salt.
I baked the coffee cake recipe from 'The Joy of Cooking' over and over again when I was a kid.
I think we love bacon because it has all the qualities of an amazing sensory experience. When we cook it, the sizzling sound is so appetizing, the aroma is maddening, the crunch of the texture is so gratifying and the taste delivers every time.
We have to get out there and explain that imperfect tastes just as good.
People don't take enough advantage of the refrigerator door.
I think unadulterated products and smaller portion sizes mean consumption of less food overall. Portion is everything. The first time I bought a scoop of ice cream in Paris, they weighed the ice cream on a scale before putting it on the cone. It was so small, it fell into the cone as she handed it to me.
The hardest thing for me is restraint. I see fresh beans and ramps, and I start to quiver.
For me no good food is illuminated without acidity.
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!
You have to be disciplined about being in the kitchen.
Food is ever-changing and ever moving forward and getting more and more complex.
I have a daughter who has taught me a lot along the way.
Repeatedly opening the oven - or worse, taking out the turkey to baste it - slows down the momentum of cooking.
It's amazing how meaty cauliflower can be.
