I was kind of an innocent hayseed from a middle-class, utterly nonintellectual background.

Ye gods! But you're not standing around holding it by the hand all this time. No. [...] [T]he dough takes care of itself. [...] While you cannot speed up the process, you can slow it down at any point by setting the dough in a cooler place [...] then continue where you left off, when you are ready to do so. In other words, you are the boss of that dough.

Forget the cheap white wine: go to beef and gin!

Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy.

Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it.

I'm a beet freak. I put them in the pressure cooker.