Quotes from Katie Lee

I come from a family of great cooks and big eaters.

When I look back on my childhood, my fondest memories are those surrounding the dinner table.

My grandmother Dora taught me how to cook. She's from a small town in West Virginia called Milton. I would pull a stool up to her kitchen counter after school. My love of food started there.

I grew up in a small town in West Virginia, and most of my family lived in our neighborhood or very close by. I had my grandparents down the street, my great-grandmother next door, and my great-aunt and great-uncle one door down.

Devising the menu for an intimate meal can be a thorny task. You want to make something your guy will go crazy for, but that usually means big and heavy. And feeling overly full kind of kills the mood.

I love giving little ones fun tasks that make them feel like they're part of the team but keep them safe. My go-tos are topping pizzas, decorating cookies, stirring ingredients, and, of course, taste-testing!

I think it's fun to serve comfort food because it's an instant ice-breaker. If somebody's expecting fancy food, and you whip out some fried chicken, they feel like, you know, they can put their elbows on the table, and the etiquette police aren't going to come out.

Some guys find eating face-to-face weirdly intense. But sitting on the same side of the table allows both intermittent physical contact and eye contact.

Spritzers are festive yet economical. By adding seltzer and juice, you stretch the number of people a bottle of wine serves.

Portion control is not an option for me. I like mass quantities, so I have to create healthy meals that I love but won't feel guilty about eating.

I think any man can be won over by being fed my Chicken with Roasted Garlic, Pancetta, and Rosemary.

In the winter, I always buy frozen organic berries instead of fresh. They are frozen as soon as they're harvested, so they actually have a higher vitamin content than fresh this time of year.

By the end of the winter, I'm always battling too-tight pants. My solution: Eat lean protein, good grains, and veggies.

I always think of my grandfather as the original foodie. He was the slowest eater. He savored everything. Even when everyone was gone from the table, he was still eating.

My biggest cooking influence, my No. 1, is my grandma. Then it's the farmers. When I go to the farm stand and see what's available, that's where I get most of my inspiration.

I grew up cooking. I was always in my grandma's cooking, and I never thought of it as a career.

My grandpa and I, whenever we would go to Myrtle Beach, we couldn't wait to get there and have fried seafood.

Every great summer party starts with a list. Throwing something together chaotically ends up being more work than taking 15 minutes to make a plan first.

Every great sandwich starts with a great bun, and my absolute favorites are Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Buns and Rolls - they're quick, simple and work perfectly with all my favorite recipes!

I love the 'Barefoot Contessa' cookbooks - they're so nicely done, and her recipes are beautiful and simple.

A lot of my recipes I take from foods my grandmother used to cook, things she prepared for family reunions.

For breakfast, a grain bowl is healthy but hearty.

I used to think of Mexican food as a once-in-a-while type of thing because it can be so heavy, but I learned how to lighten it up easily and keep it just as flavorful. That's awesome, since it's the perfect festive dinner for hanging out with friends on a relaxed night.

I really thought that Billy Joel had two hits. I thought it was 'Uptown Girl' and 'Piano Man,' and that was basically it.