Cookbook Chronicles: Guy Fieri

What inspired you to start cooking?
Very simple. The deal in my family was whoever cooked made the decision of what would be made. My parents were into macrobiotics, and I was a carnivore as a child. So [by cooking] I could make people happy, I could decide what we’d eat, and I didn’t have to do the dishes. If that doesn’t channel you as a child I don’t know what does!

What three ingredients are always in your kitchen?
Fresh cracked pepper, garlic and I can’t decide between soy sauce or olive oil.

On pepper
If we went through my kitchen, there are probably 100 seasonings and sauces. From 20 different seasoned salts to 10 different vinegars. But when you get to the core basics, the taste of fresh cracked pepper is immeasurable. Salt and pepper are the simplest. It’s the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of food.

On garlic
The bodacious garlic. I call it “Vitamin G.” Its versatility is unparalleled. It can be sweet and creamy, sharp and bitter, can support or be lead character. I have to put that ahead of everything. At any given time there will be 10 bulbs in the jar when I’m home.

On soy sauce
We often add sodium to things and soy sauce has a rounded flavor. I do a lot of Asian food, and it has a nice complex taste that works well--not a “Boom!” here’s my sodium.” I love it when people say, “But there’s no soy sauce in there!”

On olive oil
Extra version olive oil is great for gentle, subtle things like dipping sauce or salads. Good plain olive oil can play a real nice role in many dishes. And it does not have a high smoke point. Often people don’t realize it can go bad. You need to keep it in a dark bottle, out of the heat. People will say, “This olive oil has a big flavor,” but actually it’s rancid.

What’s your comfort food?
Like a junkie, like someone that needs to get help, I love a really good, perfectly cooked spaghetti or buccatini, with perfectly made, not overdone, tomato sauce, and any kind of protein, from veal to chicken.

The other night I was making dinner with my two boys and we were doing shredded chicken tacos. I happened to see in the fridge a tupperware container with pasta and sauce, and so I ended up just eating that cold while we cooked! It was my favorite food as a kid. When we say “comfort food,” I think that what resonates is what we liked as kids.