I spent a college semester in a small town in Italy - and that is where I truly tasted food for the first time.

Cooking is an observation-based process that you can't do if you're so completely focused on a recipe.

I've learned that you shouldn't have preconceived notions about anybody.

'Outlaw Cook' was a revelation. Folks like Jeff Smith and Marcella Hazan got me interested in cooking, but John Thorne pushed me into the path that I follow to this day. This is the only cookbook I've ever read that understands how men really eat: over the sink, in the dark, greasy to the elbows.

My advice: write down everything you eat. It's amazing what that "self honesty" can do for you. (Do you really want to have to confess that doughnut? I thought not.)

I never rated my cuddle factor, but I expect it's pretty low.

I am firmly in the lard camp. It must be what we call leaf lard, which is a specific kind of lard that resides around certain internal organs in the pig.