American Quotes

I approach writing stories as a recorder. I think of my role as some kind of reporting device - recording and projecting.

He told me he was working as an interpreter in a doctor's office in Brookline, Massachusetts, where I was living at the time, and he was translating for a doctor who had a number of Russian patients. On my way home, after running into him, I just heard this phrase in my head.

For years, I sort of would try to write a story that somehow fit the title. And I don't think it happened for maybe another four years that I actually thought of a story, the plot of a story that corresponded to that phrase.

For that story, I took as my subject a young woman whom I got to know over the course of a couple of visits. I never saw her having any health problems - but I knew she wanted to be married.

At 6:30, which was when the national news began, my father raised the volume and adjusted the antennas. Usually I occupied myself with a book, but that night my father insisted that I pay attention.

A lot of my upbringing was about denying or fretting or evading.

When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.

Relationships do not preclude issues of morality.

I always think first about the nature of the story. When I had the idea for 'The Namesake,' I felt that it had to be a novel - it couldn't work as a story.

You seek help from the elders. A society with elders is healthy. It's not always that way in the West.

When you are no longer a boy, you have to be tough.

Obviously, I'm suffering from lack of sleep, but it truly is a blessing to be a mother.

No matter how painful something is, you have to take it. I saw that in both my parents.

I can run free here. I can go back to being a kid.

I had these recipes that say do this, do that. Who MAKES these rules?

I guess I feel that I was following my instincts, and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana - the people, the food. It is a part of my life. Everything that has happened for me since moving here has just been icing on the cake.

I grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. My background was modest, and I worked at a Portuguese bakery in town.

I ended up turning down a full scholarship of music at the conservatory to pay to go to cooking school.

I don't limit myself.

I came here because the city has a tradition and is a very respected food city.

Home base is the support system where we have a culinary team, my own writers because of the shows and the books and stuff, we have a culinary team of about six people. Marketing, public relations, accounting and all that sort of stuff.

Growing up in New England, being schooled and classically trained, it needed to shake, it needed to evolve.

Being a food show and being me, I always kicked it up a notch, which means I would always elevate the spice level or the complexity of a particular dish. So, it was always like we're going to kick this up a little bit.

A lot of parents ask me how to get kids to eat more vegetables. The first thing I say is that it starts from the top.

Start with a clean grill. Keep it clean by brushing with a wire brush after preheating, and again after cooking. Make sure to oil your grates and your food before putting it on the grill to keep it from sticking.

If you think big, then it's going to be big.

If you don't follow your dream, who will?

I've always been known for bold flavors and rustic cooking, but there is another side to me. As you evolve as a cook, you understand life and how serious it is. There comes a point where there's got to be a better balance.

I can't tell you enough about cinnamon. Cinnamon is an awesome spice to use and it goes great with something like apples in the morning or in a mixture of fruit or in your oatmeal or even in your cereal.

You go to a restaurant in the States and kids have these game boards at the table. You don't see that in Italy or Spain. It's not because they can't afford to buy them, it's because that's not what eating together as a family is about.