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"&amp;quot;Dollars to Donuts&amp;quot; \u2014 explain. &amp;quot;Dollars to donuts&amp;quot; is an old-fashioned saying about making a bet you&amp;#039;re sure will happen. It had the right spirit for my favorite recipes from home and from my restaurant, a philosophy that says you can get it all done and still have fun, without breaking the bank or sacrificing great taste. In the book, I wanted to share the kitchen wisdom that I&amp;#039;ve picked up in the 15 years I&amp;#039;ve been making comfort food favorites at the Rock Cafe. I think a lot of people are attracted to the term &amp;quot;comfort food.&amp;quot; What&amp;#039;s your definition? Comfort food comes with a personal story. It&amp;#039;s the food we all hold close to our hearts \u2014 the stuff we grew up on, cooked by our moms and grandmas, neighbors, friends, or favorite restaurant. People come to my caf\u00E9 for comfort food because they know that there will always be something on the menu that brings them home. Your approach to cooking is very practical, but when you want to splurge, what do you make? I look for really great steak when it&amp;#039;s on sale and store a few in the freezer. I&amp;#039;m from Oklahoma; we are a meat lover&amp;#039;s state! It&amp;#039;s easy to manage the occasional splurge because I keep my other food costs in check.  What do you think of the popularity of organics and eating locally grown, in-season produce? I try to mix it up. The price of organic produce in the supermarket varies enormously by season, so I keep my eye out for good deals. I make sure to check out farmers&amp;#039; markets, where I can get fresh foods grown locally. In the summer, growing my own veggies and herbs gives me a sense of pride and adds another layer of flavor to my meals. What a satisfying way to save money. It&amp;#039;s worth the effort, very convenient, and the freshest way to go. What&amp;#039;s your best trick for saving money? I always use what I have, buy only what I need, and take advantage of sales. Most important, I&amp;#039;m always thinking ahead and using my freezer to stash individual or family-size portions, as well as the basics to prepare quick meals. Cheese is a popular ingredient in the book. What do you say to folks trying to watch their diets? Ha! I told myself when I turned 30 that I would stop eating cheese. It was impossible. My advice is to just control portion sizes, and when you splurge, follow up the next meal or two with healthier choices. What cheeses do you use the most? A Monterey Jack and Cheddar mix \u2014 you can buy them premixed \u2014 with freshly shaved Parmesan. I add the Parmesan. It&amp;#039;s my favorite combination. You get three totally different tastes all at once. I have to ask a famous Route 66 chef: What is American cooking? American cooking is much like our country, filled with people from all over the world. International flavors aren&amp;#039;t foreign anymore. American cooking is personal and ever evolving \u2014 Mexican, Indian, Turkish, Korean, Middle Eastern. We get to taste it all now. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/recipes-cookbooks/reviews/a406/dollars-to-donuts-cookbook/>