ABOUT THIS COOK:

I'm a medical student, former dancer, and travel junkie who grew up cooking next to my mother from the time I was able to stand and hold a wooden spoon.

• What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
  Urchin ovaries in Crete...silkworm cocoons on a stick in China

• What do you cook when home alone?
  Pasta pasta pasta

• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  A well-seasoned cast iron skillet one of my uncles gave me for Christmas

• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  2, 6, or 18