ABOUT THIS COOK:

I've had a loving relationship with food for as long as I can remember. I read cookbooks as a child, for fun.... and cooked since then too... first for myself (I didn't love my mom's cooking), then for rock stars (made dinner backstage before the shows), then for my family once I had one to feed. Now, I write books, I paint, and run an innovation development company -- and still love the beauty of food.

• What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
  deep fried pig's testicles (but I didn't know what they were until after I ate it, I swear!)

• What do you cook when home alone?
  I try to make even the quickies delish.

• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  My marble countertops. Everyone said "don't do marble" but ..... it takes my breath away every time I see it!

• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  12