Quotes from Alex Guarnaschelli

People don't take enough advantage of the refrigerator door.

When we eat something at a restaurant, however simple it may look, there's something in it that makes you think, 'Well, I couldn't quite do this from home.'

I didn't harbor a huge desire to become a chef until I graduated from college.

Buying food from farmers and people that I know adds that human element that I love.

Repeatedly opening the oven - or worse, taking out the turkey to baste it - slows down the momentum of cooking.

My most memorable meal was with my parents at Joel Robuchon's Restaurant Jamin in Paris. It was Christmas 1982, and the flavors - from cauliflower and caviar to crab and tomato - astounded me. It was the first time I remember thinking that I would like to really learn how to cook.

Who doesn't love a stuffed cherry tomato?

Stuffed cherry tomatoes are satisfying without being filling and make a great alternative to bread-based starters. You can assemble these appetizers ahead of time and refrigerate them until you're ready to serve.

I love it when a few simple ingredients come together on a plate, and I think, 'Wow, that's a dish.'

Freeze herbs by stem and all - don't just freeze the leaves. It's better to keep them sturdier. Put the stems and the leaves together into a plastic bag, and just wrap it up and freeze it like that.

It's essential to make sure you have proper kitchen tools for food storage - like cling wrap, bags, and containers - because they help keep food fresher longer.

If you're making a salad of any kind, cut the herbs, stems and all, and toss them into your mixed greens salad, a Romaine salad, iceberg, Bibb - it just adds a special touch.

I used to run track in high school and was unexceptional in every way.

If it's not messy and it doesn't drip over the sides, it's not a holiday hot chocolate -it's just an average hot chocolate.

I shop at the market, and that informs what I make.

I don't show just anyone how to crust a sea bass. That's sacred information.

I am driven by ingredients. My Italian heritage and French training inevitably poke through as well, guiding my techniques.

Sometimes I look up a recipe for chicken and tomatoes and end up cooking pork. The inspiration gets lost in translation.

I try to sit still for about 15 minutes each morning without making lists or running in overdrive.

I learned so much from 'Iron Chef' about ingredients, about the courage to put yourself out there.

The best place to use vanilla beans is anywhere where they won't be mixed in with a million other flavors. Anything with dairy, yogurt, milk, cream, or eggs - any custard or flan - how can it be bad?

I watched 'Iron Chef ' for years, and I thought, 'That's playing for the New York Yankees.' I made that my version of being Derek Jeter, and I worked really, really hard to win that.

I like to take a day off and enjoy fast food for what it is. I have to say that in New York, I'm really partial about taco trucks. I mean, I really can't handle it. There is something about catching all those ingredients piled on top of each other: it puts me in a tizzy. I love it. I'm kind of a taco truck junkie.

A homemade hamburger can be a real treat.