You Don't Have To Do

The Most Important Thing For Having A Party Is That The Hostess Is Having Fun. I'm Very Organized. I Make A Plan For Absolutely Everything. I Never Have Anything That Has To Be Cooked While The Guests Are There. The Only Thing I Might Have To Do Is Take Something Out Of The Oven And Carve It.

My Mother Would Never Let Me In The Kitchen. I Always Wanted To Cook, But I Was Never Allowed To. Her View Of The World Was, "cooking Is My Job, And Studying Is Your Job." I Think, In Retrospect, She Didn't Like The Chaos. She Was Very Orderly. It Had To Be Her Way.

When I Wrote 'barefoot In Paris,' I Wanted To Make Simple Recipes That You Could Make At Home That Tasted Like French Classics.

They Say That Gardens Look Better When They Are Created By Loving Gardeners Rather Than By Landscapers, Because The Garden Is More Tended To And Cared For. The Same Thing Goes For Cooking. I Only Cook For People I Love.

When I First Started Writing Cookbooks, I Remember Thinking To Myself, What Makes Me Think I Can Write A Cookbook? There Are These Great Chefs Who Are Really Trained. And, As I Started, I Realized, Actually, What Is My Lack Is Actually Exactly Right, Because I Can Connect With - Cooking's Hard For Me. I Never Worked On... And That's Why My Recipes Are Really Simple, Because I Want To Be Able To Do Them.