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For me, whether it's in a book or on T.V., a recipe has to be simple. I have a short attention span, so to open a cookbook and see a recipe that goes on for three to four pages, well, I've lost interest.

Don't be afraid to adapt new ingredients into your own techniques, and traditional ingredients into new recipes.

You don't have to stick with these recipes. They're guides. As I say, they're a way in. Have fun with them. It's an easier way to cook in a busy life, once you get the hang of it.

I almost never make stuff out of cookbooks because they're either too complicated or there's an ingredient in there that I can't find.

I quite enjoy cooking but I'm not consistent. I can't follow the recipe book. If something goes well, I'll never make it again, which is completely stupid. It's a one-shot kind of deal.

I'm a huge cook! I'm actually trying to write my first cookbook. I make an Indian-spice Bolognese and serve it over pasta. It's a combination of flavors that people aren't used to.

If I had one piece of advice for people - if they are cooking from the Alinea cookbook, the Betty Crocker cookbook or the back of the box - read through the entire recipe first before reaching for any ingredients, and then read again and execute the directions.

Be sure to read a recipe all the way through before you cook. The time it saves you in the long run is invaluable.

Once you know the fundamentals of cooking, then you don't need to follow a recipe - you just know what herbs go well or what meats, or what combination of what goes together, and then you can just branch out from there. But if there's something specific that I want to make, I work on the recipe and tweak it to my own.

It's always good to go over the recipe beforehand, so you can easily think of the next thing that needs to be done.