When men I have dated over the years whined about, 'Oh, you make no time for me' - see ya! I just dumped them. I don't need that pressure in my life.

My mom, who's been in the restaurant business for 40 years, is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a lot of people in the industry. Tops on my list is Mario Batali. My mom and Mario taught me the same lesson: Food is love.

Yum-O! I say this if something is so good that 'yum' just isn't enough of an exclamation. The accent is on the 'O' as in, 'Oh! That is so good!'

Make big pots of soups, stews and chilis - they stretch a buck, and you can live off them for days!

I don't think young men or women should feel pressured into marriage. You shouldn't marry anyone, in my opinion, who you have to try hard for.

My life is proof that I don't need you to do what I do. If there's no one to see it, I'll watch it.