Deb Perelman is a journalist based in New York City and the writer behind Smitten Kitchen.

Sweet or salty?

Both.

Which ingredient(s) do you use most?

Tomatoes, butter, eggs and scallions. Wow, that just made me hungry.

What’s the cooking sound you most love?

When bubbles start to emerge from the depths of something thick on the stove, like pudding or a pastry cream. When a piece of meat or vegetable hits oil that has been heating in a pan and sizzles to a quick sear, meaning that you waited the right amount of time before adding it. Also, not home cooking, heh, but our buzzer ringing because the pork dumplings I ordered from the Chinese place a few blocks away have arrived.

What’s your favorite cooking smell?

Caramelized onions, beef bourginon and cake.

What are the qualities you most admire in a dish?

Simplicity and complexity together. I like it when you can taste of the flavor notes out of an ingredient without anything else speaking over them. The way to get there is usually with very good ingredients prepared simply but carefully.

What is your most treasured possession in the kitchen?

My friend Molly just gave me some adorable measuring spoons from Beehive Kitchenware for my birthday, but I hope I’ll never have to choose between them, my favorite salad bowl set, our Cocotte and these baskets that look like ceramic fruit crates, all of which were gifts.

What is a dirty word in your kitchen?

Splenda. Cool-Whip. Anything referred to as “tender morsels.”

What are afraid to do in the kitchen?

Find out where those little bugs I saw in the pantry this morning are coming from.

What won’t you eat?

Do you have all day? I’m quite picky, but I kind of hate talking about it because people love to try to talk you out of what you say you don’t like, by convincing you that if they cooked it for you or if you went to such-and-such restaurant, your mind would be changed. I try to never do that. Don’t like chocolate? Hey, to each their own. All that said, here we go: Lamb, fish, some seafood, blood sausages, duck confit, beets, green peppers, cardamon, cilantro, oh, and here comes the backlash: hamburgers.

Have you ever lost your appetite for a food you once loved?

Honey-roasted peanuts, deviled eggs and tuna salad. But, the number of things I eat now that I didn’t eat when I was a kid numbers probably well into the hundreds, so I think I’ve compensated well.

Have you ever had a change of heart involving a food you once disliked?

All of the time. Eggplant, brussels sprouts and meat are just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, I actually went so far to once make a chart about it. I obviously had a little too much free time on my hands.

If you could choose one historical or living cook to make you a meal right now, who would it be?

Julia Child.

Which living cook do you most admire/despise?

I could never fully list all of the chefs I like, but Michael Anthony, Floyd Cardoz, Dan Barber, Alex Raij or Claudia Fleming could cook for me any day. In fact, Ms. Fleming cooked breakfast for us all weekend recently. We were spoiled rotten.

Which food website/blog could you not live without?

I am a big Epicurious junkie, because I love the fact that they’ve had reader reviews on their recipes for so long, you really get a decent idea of whether it works.

Who are your favorite cookbook authors/food writers?

I could never choose. However, I recently read Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, and she is my new current favorite. I think this is a must-read for anyone who loves to cook, or who once did, but got in a rut. She’ll set you straight. It is almost dangerous to read it while on vacation though, and away from your stove, because you’ll want to barge into the nearest kitchen and demand that they let you cook them meatloaf.

What is your favorite food-related word?

Caramelize. It’s the basis of all deliciousness, sweet or savory.

What is your favorite food-related scene from literature or the movies?

The bacchanal-like feast at the end of Big Night.

What’s your favorite food-shopping errand or journey?

Greenmarket for nothing in particular. It’s always better when you don’t have a recipe in mind, and let the gorgeous produce dictate your cooking whims.

To which country would you move for the food?

I feel like I should say something more original, but the truth is it continues to be France and Italy. But it is likely because I have just experienced it the most. Give me a month with some great Caribbean or Mexican chefs cooking for me, and I’d surely add them to the list.

If you wanted to seduce someone, what would you cook?

Their favorite food, but better. Oh, and I’d do my best to be relaxed about it, because nobody wants to feel that someone slaved over a meal for them.

What’s your poison?

Brownies I’ve hidden in the freezer.

What’s your standard outfit in the kitchen?

Yoga pants and my favorite black tank top, worn so thin I’ve found a few tiny holes. I would do anything to go back in time and buy five of instead of one.

You wish to die with what in your stomach?

An artichoke.

If heaven exists, what do you hope they have on the menu?

The artichoke salad from Le Singe Vert on 7th Avenue, the potatas bravas from Tía Pol and the now-discontinued chocolate-filled doughnut holes with strawberry dipping sauce from Tabla’s Bread Bar.

What are you craving right now?

Breakfast and coffee, to be honest. I have yet to have had either!

(Image created at Wordle.)

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