Things I Learned from Nigella

While Ina, Giada and Julia are my stateside culinary heroes, my favorite cooking Brit is without a doubt Nigella Lawson (sorry Jamie and Gordon). She could be serving canned beanie weenies and I'd watch with zeal.

A few tidbits that the Domestic Goddess herself has taught me:

• fussy hors d'oeuvres make for fussy guests: arrange big platters of salami or cheese or crudites for your guests to snack on while dinner is prepared
• baking is sexy
• midnight snacks are best enjoyed alone by the light of the refrigerator
• cooking should be relaxing and fun, not stress-inducing and labor-intensive
  
• as much as we try to detach food from emotion, good food can and should be connected with happy memories
• taste your food and taste it with gusto: the more colorful adjectives you can heap on your culinary descriptions, the more your guests will want to unabashedly consume your food
  
• there are no rules in the kitchen