Tension translates to your guests. They'll have a much better time having chili and baked potatoes than they would if you did roast duck with a wild cherry sauce and then had to lie down and cry for a while.

Sometimes it's good just to be seduced by the particular cheeses spread out in front of you on a cheese counter.

On the whole, I prefer Christmas as an adult than I did as a child.

I am not sure about facelifts because I wouldn't want to be someone who just looks like she's had a facelift.

People who have fabulous childhoods have this sense that nothing is ever going to be that good again. With me, I have the sense that nothing is going to be that bad.

In fact I am quite snappy and irritable, and I don't know if I'd like to make myself worse in that respect.

Good olive oil, good butter, milk - they give food taste and depth and a richness that you cant reproduce with low-fat ingredients.