I don't have a long family history of good cooks in my family.

An instant-read thermometer is your best bet for making sure that meat and fish are cooked to the proper temperature.

Don't try to be the next Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay, we already have those people. We want someone who is going to make their own mark on 'Food Network.'

In the end, your creativity -- perhaps even your outrageousness -- will determine the final result.

One of the things that happens in my house on the holidays is after dessert, we sit down to a very ambitious men-versus-women game of Trivial Pursuit. It's brutal. And there's a trophy.

Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course.

I can't grill vegetables, shellfish or steaks without tongs. Don't bother with those long-handled grilling tongs normally found in the BBQ section of your home store. Get intimate with your grill and opt for the regular stainless steel tongs.