ABOUT THIS COOK:

Jacquelyn Benson writes food and fiction from her riverside home in Southern Maine. She is the author of several critically-acclaimed and award-nominated plays and is a regular contributor to Fosters Daily Democrat.

• What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
  garlic mustard - I tried every which-way of preparing it and nothing seemed to remove the bitterness, until out of sheer frustration I started beating the crap out of the raw leaves with a hammer. I then discovered I had made a lovely pesto.

• What do you cook when home alone?
  soup, using whatever the hell I find the fridge

• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  My eight-inch chef's knife. I don't even remember what brand it is, and I don't care - it chops things. Well.

• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  6