When I came to the Food Network, I didn't want to do a cooking show. I told Kathleen Finch for nine months I didn't want to do a cooking show, I wanted to do a home-and-garden show.

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

I can certainly be part of the socialite group and walk those carpets every day, but I choose not to because I prefer to be grounded. You can't be at home and on the red carpet.

How do I cope with stress? I clean and organize.

One of the things I do in my cookbooks is I will do a conversion from outdoor to indoor grilling so you can do it year-round.

Give yourself permission to get the most out of your life. If you're spending all your time scrubbing corners with a toothbrush, you're kind of missing the point. Taking shortcuts doesn't mean shortcutting the end result.

Sure, you can mix the flour, baking soda, salt, shortening, and the whole nine yards, but why wouldn't you just pull out a box of Bisquick?