I love cooking for myself and cooking for my family.

Watching the scenes out of New Orleans, if you turn down the sound it could be the Sudan or any Third World country. But it's not. it's the United States of America.

In the pregnancy process I have come to realize how much of the burden is on the female partner. She's got a construction zone going on in her belly.

I get bitter, angry and disbelieving and I tell my kids there a lot of idiots out there. I also want them to know that being successful is not the real world - that their parents get treated better because they're on TV.

I love cooking for myself and cooking for my family.

I was just thrilled to get the gig to begin with. Ten years later to still have it is not only thrilling but also somewhat of a puzzlement.

When Courtney's mother and I first separated I tried to be Disney Dad, showering her with gifts, trips and then I snapped out of it. You don't have to try to impress your kids. If they're not getting what they need from you, they will let you know.

My first college roommate greeted me with a shocked silence followed by, 'So... you're black.'

They wrapped her up like a baby burrito to show to Mom. Here were a mother and her daughter and I love them both so much. I couldn't wait for Courtney to come to the hospital so I could have all my women together.

Last year, when we were in Mobile, Al., covering Hurricane Ivan, we heard the stories of poor people, many of them black stranded downtown because they had no way out.

A massive state and federal effort, the likes of which we've never seen is going to be needed. We can do it for tsunami victims half a world away. We can do it for our own citizens.

I asked him if he ever hung out with black guys in high school and he said, 'Well, no. They always had these angry looks on their faces. Who wouldn't look ticked off having to deal with nitwits like him?

I have been blessed with working with the best in the business.

In our society leaving baby with Daddy is just one step above leaving the kids to be raised by wolves or apes.

Always be yourself. At the end of the day, that's all you've really got; when you strip everything down, that's all you've got, so always be yourself.

For me, whether it's in a book or on T.V., a recipe has to be simple. I have a short attention span, so to open a cookbook and see a recipe that goes on for three to four pages, well, I've lost interest.

I always did the cooking at home, and we always tried for balance. We've been vigilant about how and what our kids eat. For example, my son would just as soon go for the grapes as he would the chips... and the chips are baked.

I don't consider myself a food person. I'm no Bobby Flay. I'm no Emeril or Paula Deen, and I'm certainly not Rachael Ray.

I grew up with my grandparents around. I think that's important for a child. If for no other reason than to hear stories about their parents when they were children.

I have one of those Garmin watches, and I'm OCD about downloading my runs no matter where I go. I used it on an 18-mile run in Paris, a 12-miler in the mountains of Montana, a couple of runs in the Bahamas. Wherever I am, I try to run. That's what's so great about it.

I know I need to exercise. For some people, exercise is like breathing; for others, like me, it takes effort. Exercising is what I need for my metabolism and for a better sense of well-being.

I love my refrigerator.

I'd probably say my biggest yo-yo was when I was finishing up my senior year of college. I lost about 100 pounds and within a year gained it all back.

I'm a normal guy. I'm not a chef.

If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that you abuse every day. You have to learn to use it responsibly.

Never give up your day job. I do all sorts of things, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to 'The Today Show,' and I love doing this thing, and they will have to blow me out of here with dynamite before I leave.

Never say 'no' to pie. No matter what, wherever you are, diet-wise or whatever, you know what? You can always have a small piece of pie, and I like pie. I don't know anybody who doesn't like pie. If somebody doesn't like pie, I don't trust them. I'll bet you Vladimir Putin doesn't like pie.

People who are overweight don't want unsolicited advice. Guess what. We know we're fat. We live in homes with mirrors.

The best way to get anybody's attention is dinner. I have good kitchen skills and good grocery shopping skills.

There is no quick fix. At the end of the day, you still have to do the work to maintain your weight. It can't be a diet. You have to change your life.

Tuesday nights are sushi nights, so we go out then.

You can't go wrong with relatively simple comfort food. It's also about ease. Some cook to impress. I cook for people to enjoy the food.

In the pregnancy process I have come to realize how much of the burden is on the female partner. Shes got a construction zone going on in her belly.

I ended up turning down a full scholarship of music at the conservatory to pay to go to cooking school.

You know, this is really a way of cooking. It's not my way. I'm deeply influenced by the Mediterranean way of being. I've spent a lot of time there. And I've sort of translated it; I've tried to make it available to people in this country to whom it might not be familiar.

You know, you've got serious pieces, you've got light pieces, you've got cooking segments, you've got health-related topics, so it's not as if they've had a unique personality from the get-go.

Are you casting asparagus on my cooking?

I just get all jacked up when we start cooking.

There are people who claim to be instinctive cooks, who never follow recipes or weigh anything at all. All I can say is they're not very fussy about what they eat. For me, cooking is an exact art and not some casual game.

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

I don't believe in low-fat cooking.

I played from the time I was seven years old. My father was my first baseman coach. I had opportunities that I never really pursued - with some Miami teams and a few larger colleges, and then I ended up bailing and began cooking.

I remember when I was in college, I used to watch Julia Child's cooking show during dinner and joke with my roommates about becoming a TV chef.

I'd love to learn to cook. I think the ladies like a guy who can cook. Also, there are lots of available ladies at cooking classes. Can you tell I'm single?

Cook ingredients that you are used to cooking by other techniques, such as fish, chicken, or hamburgers. In other words be comfortable with the ingredients you are using.

Whether one eats a cat or not is a personal choice, and I don't want to sway anyone one way or another. But if you do, there is one obvious cooking tip: Always remember to remove the bell from the cat's collar before cooking.

There are so many things that come into writing a recipe, and it's really important if you're writing for home cooks to be cooking like you are at home.

How is the government going to run without people like us? We make 35 percent of the bread in this country, and that much of the margarine, and cooking oil, and all the other things.

I guess I fell into cooking.