Work hard. Laugh when you feel like crying. Keep an open mind, open eyes and an open spirit.

When I do a 30-minute meal, for instance, on Food Network, that's my food you see at the end of the show and it's not perfect. And if sometimes things break or drop or the pasta hits the wall when I'm draining it, they never stop tape. They just kind of let me go with it.

It only looks like I get to eat a lot of food on TV. I really just get the one bite and the crew and guests eat everything else.

You can laugh or you can cry. It is up to you which one you do.

Decide what it is that you are and then stay true to that thing. My brand is based very much on how I live my day-to-day life.

I felt I'd earned the Good Housekeeping Seal when I designed an oval-shaped spaghetti pot, because spaghetti is long.

I write in freehand equivalents because measuring, to me, takes away from the creative process of cooking. Two turns of the pan with EVOO is about two tablespoons.