Claire Saffitz

“Always deep fry in a nonreactive, heavy pot with high sides, like an enameled Dutch oven. A heavy pot ensures even heating which means more even cooking.”

“I don't discriminate when it comes to dumplings. Give me a generous plate of pretty much anything wrapped in a starchy, doughy casing and I will dive in with pleasure. But one star in the dumpling universe shines brighter than the others: the humble pierogi.”

“Poached quince are so tender, aromatic, and rosy that you'd hardly believe the raw fruit is white, fibrous, and hard as a rock.”

“Canned chickpeas are my tried-and-true pantry fallback for those days where I get home late with no game plan and no energy to cook. More than just about any other canned bean, they retain their shape and texture really well.”

“Cassoulet requires a few ingredients you won't find in the typical supermarket.”

“Home cooks are finding inspiration in the past, digging up centuries-old recipes more familiar to the likes of Thomas Jefferson than Thomas Keller.”

“Hearty soups with relatively long cook times like minestrone, for example, are chock-full of aromatics and flavor-lending ingredients like bacon, onions, and garlic. These infuse the water with their flavor and produce a clean-tasting broth all on their own.”

“The main problems with cooked ground turkey are, one, it doesn't taste like much, and, two, it's dry.”

“Don't get attached to any one idea. Nothing is too precious.”

“Depending on when vegetables are picked, they might take different lengths of time to cook.”

“Cooking has always been work.”

“Turkey burgers receive a fair amount of disparagement, and it's not unfounded.”

“I've always just operated with the attitude that if I work just as hard as I can, everything will be fine.”

“As a kid, I was overly studious, overly serious, very academically driven. It was important to me on a cellular level to do well. And then I went to college at Harvard, and I relaxed a little bit.”

“I love the Grub Street Diet. I am particularly fascinated by what people eat; I think it says a lot about people.”

“If anything betrays my Ashkenazi Jewish heritage - besides the Casper-the-friendly-ghost-like skin tone - it's my love of fishy fish.”

“I have makeup that I can do in 15 minutes, 10 minutes, or five minutes, depending on what I'm doing that day. On a day when I'm shooting, it's 15 minutes. Five minutes is when I'm running around that day, and it's no big deal.”

“I'm so bad at self-care.”

“Never met an egg I didn't like.”

“If soggy, baked choux can be re-crisped in a hot oven for several minutes.”