Passion is what adds so much value to life. And if you think about the things that you do, there's so much juice potential for them if you do it.

I just signed to do my next book with Ecco Press, a new primer or encyclopedia. This will be my take on what classic Italian cooking is.

The tradition of Italian cooking is that of the matriarch. This is the cooking of grandma. She didn't waste time thinking too much about the celery. She got the best celery she could and then she dealt with it.

I really want to be a rock star.

When you use it in cooked foods, it changes [the Tabasco flavor] a little bit; it loses a little bit of the bright acid that you love on it, but you get that more cooked heat and chile flavor down.

I don't put cream in any pasta noodles ever. I would use a little butter, but I don't ever use cream.

Look at cookbooks with your kids and ask them what sounds good.