Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Marcela Valladolid - Page 2

There are so many wonderful Mexican cheeses that people really don't consider when making Mexican food, or food in general.

I've been doing the 'Mexican Made Easy' show, and it's very heavy on instructions. It's me talking to the camera.

I'm all about simple appetizers when it comes to the holidays.

Most Mexican restaurants serve fake, heavy versions of my home country's cuisine. But real Mexican food is full of brilliant, fresh flavors.

There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing people who eat my food have smiles on their faces. It makes the experience special.

I know how to bring recipes down to the level where people with no experience can feel comfortable making them.

Our holiday table is loud!

Honestly, I'll take a little lard over the 20 chemicals and ingredients I can't pronounce in some store-bought tortillas.

People ask me all the time, 'What do you do for Cinco de Mayo?' And my honest answer is always, 'When I was growing up in Mexico, nothing. Really, nothing. It was a school day. It was totally normal.' But when I grew up and started going to San Diego and started drinking margaritas, that's when Cinco de Mayo celebrations started for me.

When I'm in San Diego, it's carpools and making dinner and getting the kids to bed. It's real life.

For me, candlelit is the only way to have a dinner. There are always candles at my table. And I like to have Luis Miguel playing in the background.

On the 'Today' show, I feel comfortable because I get to interact with people. I love that interaction. I love hearing other people's stories. I would much rather have that human interaction so it feels like a real conversion than just standing there and demonstrating things to the camera.

It is very important to cook out of your heart.

More than anything, a lot of our family's history is tied to food. It's just one of those things.

Huitlacoche is typically eaten as a filling for quesadillas or with any tortilla-based food. Also great stuffed in crepes.

Queso fresco, which is a very mild cheese, is definitely one of my favorites.

People don't realize that we're spending money throwing food away rather than feeding people.

Tart pomegranates that pop in your mouth make the perfect counterpoint to roasted chicken and salty-creamy feta cheese.

You can invite people over or make your kids their favorite food - that usually inspires me in the kitchen.

I really only eat burritos in Tijuana from street corners that come out of coolers from businesses with no name, telephone or website.

Day of the Dead. Sounds a little spooky doesn't it? It's actually one of the most colorful and joyous of Mexican holidays.

We're a family with a pretty light sense of humor but, still, on the anniversary of my mom's passing we don't feel like getting 'colorful' and remembering her favorite foods. Every March 5th, the anniversary of her passing, we go to church and are sad for pretty much the rest of the day.

My job is to show people that true Mexican cheese is not neon yellow cheese. We don't eat tacos all day long and we don't eat burritos stuffed with everything in the kitchen sink.

I don't make mole everyday nor do I cook Mexican food every day.

Escamoles have a cottage cheese-like consistency and have a buttery yet slightly nutty flavor. They are usually served sauteed with butter, garlic, and scallions for making soft corn tortilla tacos.

From the time I start prep to serving the food at the table, I like for the whole thing to be beautiful.

My former assistant used to tell me I have a problem with cushions and she was totally right. The reason is because I'm constantly rearranging things in my house. And if I can't move a whole piece of furniture, the easiest thing to rearrange is cushions. I like to keep things fresh.

The more kids are involved, the more likely they are to eat the food. Getting them involved gets them excited, and kids are much more likely to try something that they were involved in the process of creating because it gives them a sense of accomplishment - kids always love approval.

There's no insects in American cuisine? Not one? I don't think there are. That's so sad.

Simplicity is key. Some people like really high-tech kitchens, where you have warming drawers and ice makers and storage for a million different things. Honestly, for me, I need an oven, a stove top, a fridge and a sink.

As a chef and avid traveler, meeting new people and sharing a meal with the intent to learn more about their culture is important to me.

I've been really fortunate and I've just tried to focus on the work and getting people to see Mexico, its food and its culture in a slightly different light. It's tricky with Mexican food because a lot of our recipes are so deeply rooted in tradition and Mexican history. That's a heavy responsibility!

Entertaining is much more than a reason to eat and drink; It's a reason to bond with friends and families.

I like risk takers. They're the ones that end up changing the world.

There isn't anything hotter than a guy who cooks.

My goal and my mission is to cook the home-style food that I grew up with - simple, straightforward, inexpensive and homemade tortillas. Nothing fancy and no cream based sauces - just tomatoes & chiles and nothing pre-processed.

San Diego, in fact, is one of the hardest places to sell Mexican food. You just cross the border into Tijuana and they have better food that's more authentic and for half the price.

There's a design book I got years ago that had a statue of a dog with a bunch of hats on it, and I just obsessively fell in love with it. For years I searched for that dog. One day I walked into an antique shop in La Jolla and I found a white dog that I could put hats on!

We didn't grow up with processed foods at all. I mean, I am not a nutritionist. I make enchiladas for a living, so that disclaimer needs to be there.

I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to introduce myself.