Congratulations to Lesley Eats, whose Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cream Sauce won the Best Recipe with Roasted Garlic contest, earning her a $100 Whole Foods Market gift card!

 
Lesley Eats munching on frites in NYC; the winning cook's daughter enjoying her very own kitchen

Q&A with Lesley Eats

It’s midnight and you’re hungry. Do you reach for something savory or sweet?
Definitely savory. I prefer a plate of salty french fries over cake all the time.

An ideal dinner party includes a) 2 people, b) 4 – 6 people, or c) 8 or more.
These days, two guests and their kids.

How did you first become interested in cooking?
My mom was the inspiration, but mostly from being too broke to eat out in restaurants when I was in grad school, but still wanting to eat good food.

If you were reincarnated as a single dish, what would you be?
Truffled macaroni and cheese, a nice balance of sophisticated and unsophisticated.

Describe your weekend cooking style.
The weekends are when I can cook more elaborate meals and try new things. I have more time to prepare meals and more time to go out when something doesn't work out right.

Is there one ingredient you can’t live without?
What I use more than anything is extra virgin olive oil. I've used it for sauces, breads, cakes, and just general cooking. I definitely can't live without it. Garlic, good sea salt, truffle oil, and liquid smoke are also very important to me.

Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
Attempting to make a focaccia. I will never make that mistake again. In general, I don't make things that other people can make better and more inexpensively than I can at home. Another example: Indian food. All of it! No point in making that at home at all when there's a wonderful vegetarian Indian restaurant nearby.

What music (if any) do you listen to in the kitchen?
I never listen to music, but there's usually a toddler nearby "serenading" me.

Which cookbook(s) do you reach for most often?
Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. It's wonderful!

What is your most cherished food tradition?
Pimento cheese sandwiches always remind me of my grandmother.

To learn more about Lesley Eats, view her profile and check out her blog.