Alex Guarnaschelli

If you want to have a relationship, at some point you have to let yourself get caught.

Make dinner with the goal of stretching it out for lunch in the back of your mind. Making more of one thing is cheaper than buying more varied ingredients for each meal.

I love using hummus as centerpiece and then making different containers of vegetables for fun dipping.

Make a stir-fried rice dish with some cut-up chicken and any vegetables folded into the rice for a 'one pot' meal lunch that has it all - protein, starch and vegetables.

My mom, ever the Italian, made braised chicken with tomato.

I like all of McClure's pickles, but my personal favorites are the spicy ones.

I think I will never stop having mentors.

I feel very passionate about maintaining the same level of standard and respect for the food as an Iron Chef myself.

My last meal on Earth? The obvious answer is a plate of my mother's scrambled eggs.

One of the most practical utensils I can't live without is my 'Joyce Chen' Scissors. They cut with precision.

Buying food from farmers and people that I know adds that human element that I love.

I am driven by ingredients. My Italian heritage and French training inevitably poke through as well, guiding my techniques.

I love 'The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook' by Dione Lucas. A huge source of information and inspiration. The book is organized by menu, and the recipes are unusual and exciting.

I really cringe at the sight of pattypan squash. So pretty and cute and having no taste or exciting texture. Dull.

My most memorable meal was with my parents at Joel Robuchon's Restaurant Jamin in Paris. It was Christmas 1982, and the flavors - from cauliflower and caviar to crab and tomato - astounded me. It was the first time I remember thinking that I would like to really learn how to cook.

I baked the coffee cake recipe from 'The Joy of Cooking' over and over again when I was a kid.

The longer I look at something, the more my imagination churns and I can find somewhere to put it.

If you're making a salad of any kind, cut the herbs, stems and all, and toss them into your mixed greens salad, a Romaine salad, iceberg, Bibb - it just adds a special touch.

Freeze herbs by stem and all - don't just freeze the leaves. It's better to keep them sturdier. Put the stems and the leaves together into a plastic bag, and just wrap it up and freeze it like that.

It's essential to make sure you have proper kitchen tools for food storage - like cling wrap, bags, and containers - because they help keep food fresher longer.

'Iron Chef America' is so real. Imagine putting on television the whole process of making that food, the technique. It's all about technique. It doesn't even matter if you show the faces sometimes.

Mashed potatoes with stuff in it? That's '90s.

Short ribs in the middle of a hamburger? That was pretty groundbreaking.

I've roasted a somewhat frozen turkey, and it's come out just fine.

Repeatedly opening the oven - or worse, taking out the turkey to baste it - slows down the momentum of cooking.

I don't know anyone who hasn't overcooked at least one turkey, myself included. It's easy to do.

Red wine vinegar has some personality as well acidity.

A splash of red wine vinegar can pull things together like a pinch of salt.

Every time I feel like something is missing from a dish, I think, 'Oh, I know, I'll add a pinch of dry ginger.' If it's not salt and it's not vinegar, it's probably missing dry ginger.

The hardest thing for me is restraint. I see fresh beans and ramps, and I start to quiver.

I love it when a few simple ingredients come together on a plate, and I think, 'Wow, that's a dish.'

Easter is an arts and crafts moment where your whole family and friends can get involved.

It stuns me how effective children can be in their messaging, and I believe that every child should enjoy that basic right to become an adult. Getting rid of childhood cancers is one effective way to reach that goal.

I have a daughter who has taught me a lot along the way.

Part of health is variety!

Scrambled eggs are so simple, but they don't wait or taste better cold!

To make fluffy scrambled eggs, the best trick is to whisk in a splash of water and nothing else. Cream, milk, and other liquids drag the eggs down!

I've thrown vanilla beans into mustard. Nothing crazy or grainy, just normal dijon. It's great for duck. Smear some of that right on the duck, coupled with some roast plums, and it all comes together in that savory over sweet over savory over sweet way we all love.

The best place to use vanilla beans is anywhere where they won't be mixed in with a million other flavors. Anything with dairy, yogurt, milk, cream, or eggs - any custard or flan - how can it be bad?

If it's not messy and it doesn't drip over the sides, it's not a holiday hot chocolate -it's just an average hot chocolate.

Ganache is a mix of chocolate and cream. Warm cream, warm chocolate, they want to get to know each other - they're happy.

Sometimes I look up a recipe for chicken and tomatoes and end up cooking pork. The inspiration gets lost in translation.

Once you make a cookbook, you live with it as your own for the rest of your life, like a yearbook.

I've always been a great collector and lover of cookbooks.

I grew up in a house where I was a spectator to the sport of cooking. In that way, I just learned so much about what it really takes to make food.

I love the whole process of making, serving, and eating hearty soups like lentil, potato leek and carrot, to name a few.

If I am making a spice rub or a spice mix for a braise or even just to crust a piece of fish, I'll use mustard seeds. If you soak them in a little bit of vinegar and let them get plumped and soft and then you puree them, they're delicious.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Make something simple a few times until you 'master' it and move on to the next thing. Take a cooking class! Buy a cookbook that specializes in foods or a cuisine you enjoy.

I love to eat. I could make a professional sport out of it.

There's a freshness to the approach of teen chefs. They're lighthearted, and they're not afraid to take risks.