Winner of Your Best Radishes and Turnips

Congratulations to Kukla whose Crunchy Celery, Radishes and Turnips Salad-Slaw in Blue Cheese Sauce won this week's contest for Your Best Radishes and Turnips!

1. Describe an early food experience that has influenced the way you think about food and/or cooking.
Because I grew up with amazing cooks, I was confident and excited the first time that I hosted a dinner party for my friends. They were so kind and showered me with praise, which encouraged me to keep cooking for my family and friends.  

2. What's your least favorite food?
Having been a chubby kid, I rarely ate pasta while I was growing up. After years of avoiding it, I’m still not pasta’s biggest fan. 

3. What is the best thing you've made so far this year?
I am very proud of the Lemon-Ricotta Bars recipe I created. But my granddaughter insists that my berry streusel pies are my greatest creation. 

4. Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
I love to experiment in the kitchen and so far, my biggest disaster was my failed attempt at making Gougéres. Instead of using a hard cheese, I used soft goat cheese. The results were shy Gougéres that refused to rise. 

5. What is your idea of comfort food?
When I think “comfort food,” my mind immediately goes to meat stew with potatoes and mushroom. 

6. Apron or no apron? 
I’m a no apron kind of girl. 

7. What's your favorite food-related scene in a movie?
I’ve always loved the scene in “The Mirror Has Two Faces” when Barbra Streisand’s character tries to construct the perfect bite of food. And of course, in “Julie & Julia,” I loved watching how much Julia Child truly savored the food in France. 

8. If you could make a show-stopping dinner for one person, living or dead, who would it be?
My mom. 

9. You prefer to cook: a) alone; b) with others; c) it depends on your mood
Alone. 

10. When it comes to tidying up, you usually: a) clean as you cook; b) do all the dishes once you've finished cooking; c) leave the kitchen a shambles for your spouse/roommate/kids to clean
I clean as I cook. Piles of dirty dishes discourage me from cooking. I like a clean kitchen!