You Asked

Food Network stars answer your burning questions.

Alex, I know your mother is a great influence on your cooking. What is one recipe that you hope your own daughter will continue making?

Vicky Hart Hopkinton, MA

What a cool question! It’s a tie. My mom makes a scallop gratin (foodnetwork.com/ scallopgratin) that is a vivid childhood food memory. She also bakes skillet cornbread (foodnetwork.com/ cornbread). Both recipes are in my Old-School Comfort Food cookbook because they represent family tradition. I’d be very happy to have either dish in my future, made by my daughter. —Alex Guarnaschelli

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Curtis, I find myself cooking the same thing a lot of the time. What’s your go-to 30-minute dish?

Katie Durell via Facebook

How about one that’s ready in 28 minutes— including a 10-minute prep time? For my Chicken with Ranchera Salsa, I dice heirloom tomatoes, onion, garlic and chiles and broil them in a baking dish for a few minutes. Then I nestle chicken breasts into the salsa and broil that for about 12 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and ever so slightly charred. I add cheese and broil again just until it melts, and I finish with a sprinkle of cilantro. Find the recipe in my latest book, Good Food, Good Life, or at foodnetwork .com/30minutechicken. —Curtis Stone

Sunny, what has been your absolute favorite show to host, and what was your favorite dish to make on that show?

Linnea Milner Columbus, OH

Cooking for Real has to be my favorite. For 10 seasons I shared recipes that got me to this point in life— childhood favorites, discoveries from my travels—and all the stories that go along with the foods I love making for family and friends. It’s hard to pick my favorite recipe, but any time I fried something was a happy day. —Sunny Anderson

Ina sprinkles toasted coconut over her waffles.

Trisha, last year I made your peanut ball recipe and it was a big hit. Do you ever make them ahead of time and freeze them?

Barbara Posen Staten Island, NY

Those peanut balls are just so, so yummy! The recipe (foodnetwork .com/peanutbutterballs) is actually Garth’s. When his girls made them, they’d eat all of them, so there were never enough to freeze. But if you want to make them ahead of time, they should store really well in the freezer for at least a month. —Trisha Yearwood Ina, I’m looking for some simple ways to liven up traditional breakfast food. What are your favorite toppings for waffles?

Emily Kelleher South Boston, MA

In my Make It Ahead cookbook, I have a recipe for waffles with maple syrup, toasted coconut, bananas and crème fraîche (foodnetwork .com/inaswaffles). And I also like sour cream, berries and powdered sugar. I was thinking about serving that for dinner one night recently. Wouldn’t that be great—waffles for dinner? —Ina Garten

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