I don't think there are any footsteps to be walked in. No one else has taken things that you can buy at the grocery store and put them together. I hope that I have a career as long as Julia Child.

Seventy percent store-bought, ready-made plus 30 percent fresh allows you to take 100 percent of the credit.

Instead of doing cinnamon, nutmeg, and all those baking spices I'll have one spice that's for sweets, and that's pumpkin pie spice.

I had to be frugal, thoughtful, resourceful. I didn't have anyone to tell me, 'You can't.' When you're young, you think you can do anything, and that was really a gift. That's why I can never understand someone telling me 'no' today. 'No' just isn't an option.

Lack of sleep makes me less productive. I need a good seven or eight hours a night.

I like doing food as a focal point on my table. It is not like going out and buying flowers or candles, which are expensive.

My most cherished possessions are my grandma's letters and my vintage Martha Washington cookbook.