When my mother was raising me, she moved us upstate to the Woodstock area. Our closest neighbor was a mile away. She planted all her own vegetables.

I wanted to come up with a hybrid show of sorts that wasn't your traditional 'dump and stir' type of cooking show.

I used to watch my grandmother make fancy, Julia Child-style beef bourguignon. And growing up in New York City, I was exposed to many cultures. I experimented with Puerto Rican and Jamaican food.

I was doing an hour drama on television and a Jackie Chan movie in Toronto, so I was on a plane every three days.

Being typecast is a great thing for an actor. I was considered one of the New York mob actors.

I live in Italy part time, and they're obsessed with what's happening in LA too. They make fun of Americans, but the world wants to know what's going on in Hollywood.

Some people in LA are addicted. They have to be here. My personal life is stronger than my professional life, in terms of priorities.