Never let 'em see you sweat. Guests feel guilty if they think you've worked too hard to make dinner for them - which of course you have!

I don't like sitting at a table that's too large, where everyone is too far apart. That's a party killer.

You can be miserable before you have a cookie and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie but you can't be miserable while you are eating a cookie.

I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. It's the only holiday I insist on making myself.

You don't have to do everything from scratch. Nobody wants to make puff pastry!

The most overrated tool: a pasta maker. Why make it when you can buy it? It's a lot of work!

The dirty little secret is that I grew up in a household where there were no carbohydrates allowed, ever. No cookies, no bread, no potatoes, no rice. My mother was very extreme in terms of what she served. Since I left home more than 40 years ago, I've been making it right for myself.