1. What are the secrets to being a really great cooking teacher?
Food writer Betty Fussell recently wrote that the difference between Julia Child and some of the TV chefs of today is that "she showed how, she didn't show off". That struck a cord with me; I really want people to know how to do it. I want them to have a benchmark for the flavor and the taste and be able to go home and do it.

Also sometimes you have to start at the very beginning and teach people how to taste, but also how to breathe, which affects how we taste. If I can teach someone the techniques but I can't teach them to season-to-taste, I haven't done my job. How to finesse things that don't go their way. How to use your senses, your smarts, your instincts, to honor the integrity of the food. Restraint, sometimes it's about what you don't add rather than what you do. You don't want to have too much going on. When in doubt, don't!

2. What's your approach to cooking?
I cook at home a lot. I approach cooking at home with the mindset of an Italian American family, with those roots, I can't get away from the fact that I have an Italian American palate. That's what I fall back on. The flavors come from my Italian grandmother, the seasoning is because of my Indian teacher and the technique is from my French chef instructors.

3. What are your favorite cookbooks?
I love Lidia's cookbooks, they resonate with me even though she learned to cook Italian American food and didn't grow up eating it. We have the same palate. I love David Lebovitz's dessert cookbook (Room for Dessert), his ginger cake is a real crowd pleaser. I love Janet Fletcher's Fresh From the Farmers' Market. I like the Chez Panisse books, I use them for inspiration. The Silver Palate books inspired me in writing my book proposal. I always felt that they had too many ingredients, they didn't know restraint, but I love their approachability.

4. What do you cook for yourself at home?
Simple stuff, fish, chops. I have an indoor gas grill that I use many nights a week. My favorite thing to do is, before I go to work to take a chop and spread it with olive oil sprinkle it with fennel seed and garlic powder and salt and pepper and cook it when I get home. Right now I'm cooking a lot with tomatoes--with mozzarella or with pasta. I make risotto, my husband likes it. It's romantic making something for the person you love, that you know they love. It's a sign of compassion and respect how you cook for someone.