I know growing up as a young gay person how much you hate yourself, how much you already think you're different.
My problem is that I always find jeans that are either high-waisted or low-rise, but nothing in between, like they used to be in the eighties and early nineties. That's actually the most flattering cut.
Everybody these days wants to be a star, including myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm a chef but you want to market yourself and your projects.
Everyone could use instructions on every aspect of cooking: pantry, storage, refrigeration, cooking, what to buy. Everyone that I come into contact with could use help.
Confit is not something that comes to mind for summer. Usually it means duck confit, made by cooking the legs and thighs in duck fat to preserve them for winter.
It's important to salt the tomatoes before draining them because that helps pull out the water. Fresh herbs, some garlic and pepper will also enhance the flavor.
Shows like 'Top Chef,' 'Hell's Kitchen' have helped bring attention to the culinary world on a whole, but you have to be cautious it doesn't get out of hand.
Almond Joys are a childhood favorite, but most of us could do without all those grams of sugar, especially when trying to instill healthy habits in our kids.
The thing I don't understand is why so often one hears discussion of the fruits of human labor as if it's all the creation of some alien race.
Mostly, I was only interested in television as a kid, and the majority of reading material I collected was an adjunct to that central concern, comic books and magazines included.
When I was a kid, I liked books that just seemed so dense you could lose yourself in them for a whole afternoon. They were like their own whole world.
I think fine dining should be part of the community where it is, more than just for the people who are going to make a special occasion.
I've always loved it in Las Vegas, and it is the only city in the world that brings so many different talented people from so many places.
As a child growing up, it's going to be what you're going to remember most. What you liked or not liked then is going to define who you are at the table!
In the Bronx, you have the southern Italians; in Queens, the Greeks, Koreans and Chinese; in Brooklyn, the Jewish community; and in Harlem, the Hispanics - all with their own markets.
The hardest thing for a chef is to become comfortable with what you do. Not to be too neurotic and worried with what you are doing and how wrong or right you are.
Before I had my own restaurant, I was never top dog in the kitchen. I've always had a low opinion of myself as a cook.
Contemporary ramen is totally different than what most Americans think ramen should be. Ramen is not one thing; there are many, many different types.
Chef Thomas Keller was an inspiration to me and many, many young cooks like me. He told us that the role of the new, modern chef is different.
New York gives us a wide colour palette to cook from. We have cuisines from around the world, and that lets us pick and choose.
I'm a neurotic Jew who doesn't want loans. I can't even carry a balance on my credit card without having a nervous breakdown.
