Carmen Marton Quotes

I am often asked the question: 'What is your favorite type of food?' Although I always answer Japanese, the real response should be and is pierogi, the delectable Polish dumplings that my mother, Big Martha, made so well in many incarnations: potato, sweet cabbage, blueberry, peach, plum, and apricot.

I have memories of my grandfather Kirkman making mashed potatoes that were so good because they tasted like a bowl of butter. I love my mom's brownies. My favorite thing about both of those recipes is that someone else made them for me.

I think it's important to recall... what you remember your grandmother making, where you're from and the foods you enjoyed as a child yourself, and pass that information off to your kids.

I always look forward to getting back East. I miss the cold weather and the Jewish delis.

The magic word for me is pumpernickel. I love pumpernickel. I must have some Russian blood in me because I could just eat pumpernickel and raw onions.

At home I serve the kind of food I know the story behind.

When I was growing up in Mississippi - it was good Southern food... but I also grew up with a Greek family; when other kids were eating fried okra, we were eating steamed artichokes. So I think it played a big part in my healthy cooking.

Most of us have fond memories of food from our childhood. Whether it was our mom's homemade lasagna or a memorable chocolate birthday cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past.

Nothing beats the original Krispy Kreme.

All middle-income families use carbs to stretch meals, across any ethnic group - whether it's kugel or rice and beans or macaroni and cheese. I remember having pancakes for dinner. But as kids, we thought, 'Breakfast for dinner? This is great.'

That's one of the things my family miss most when I'm travelling - my Sunday roasts and my Japanese meals.

I love cheese and biscuits, the stronger the better.

I'm obsessed with muffins.

When I was a little kid, it was not uncommon for a cousin or an uncle, before they would even say 'Hello,' to gush, 'You know, your mother's brisket is just incredible; it's so good.' That was an inspiration for creating a love song in that well-worn terrain of the relationship between a Jewish boy and his mother.

The fact that food plays such an important part in my films has everything to do with my family.

The thing I miss about Russia the most is what is called 'black bread.' It's rye bread, and everyone eats it. I slice mine up and put sunflower oil and salt on it... the best thing ever. It was like a little treat for me when I was a kid.

I love spending time with my family and friends during the holidays, and my favorite holiday tradition would be the pozole that my mom makes almost every Christmas. It's the best!

Sometimes I miss hamburgers, I should say that. I miss the tuna pizzas at Mercer Kitchen.

Everything my mother made had to cook for 80 hours, and when she made matzoh balls she didn't know fluffy. Everything sank.

Macaroni and cheese was my mother's special dish. She'd also make jambalaya and dirty rice and bake a ham that would be incredible. And greens. But if you were looking for vegetables and healthy things, there weren't a lot of those.

We Houstonians are a spicy lot. We raise our babies with tongues of fire, mostly lit by chips and salsa. Our blood is as thick and warm as queso.

I miss the New York bagel but miss the New York bialy even more. It's a great compromise of bagel feeling with less dough stuffing.

Cheese is one of the world's great foodstuffs and I speak as someone who would once happily snarf a packet of American-style cheese singles in front of the telly on my own.

My husband and I grew up in India, so saag and tikka sauces are very nostalgic for us.

You should just feel comfortable with food and your own culinary culture, whatever your mother and grandmother know.