I Cook Everything. I Love Mediterranean Cooking,

Sesame Oil Is Probably My Favorite Condiment, Period.

I Had A Really Good Time With Martha Stewart, Who Also Is Somebody I Really Admire A Lot. I've Learned A Lot From Her And I Think All Of America Has, About Attention To Detail And Using Fresh Ingredients And Making Things Beautiful And Special.

People Who Hardly Ever Cook At All, Suddenly At The Holidays, Feel Like It's Their Responsibility To Not Only Cook Dinner For Large Groups Of People Suddenly, But To Serve Things That Are Fussy Or Fancy Or Formal. And I Don't Think That's What Anybody Really Wants, Especially If You're Not Good At It.

However, I Was A Restaurant Critic At Chicago Magazine Before I Worked At Esquire, And I've Been A Really Enthusiastic Home Cook For A Long Time. It's Just Something I'm Passionate About.

One Of The Smartest Things You Can Do On 'chopped' Is To Take One Of Those Ingredients And Make A Pickle Out Of It, Because Almost Every Dish Benefits From That. I'm Feeling Like Those Intuitions Are Becoming More Natural.