Interview with Claire Robinson from Food Network's 5-ingredient Fix

Recently, I was able to interview Claire Robinson from the ‘5-ingredient fix’ on The Food Network. I love watching her cook because she is so personable and I find that I am smiling the entire show as I can see how much fun she is having and how passionate she is about the food she cooks. I also appreciate the minimalism yet flavorful recipes because, as a mom, there is not often time for complex recipes.

Some of the exciting news she shared during this interview was the she is the new host of ‘Food Network Challenge’ (season started April 4th). In addition, her book 5 Ingredient Fix, is being released on October 27th.

We started by bonding over her 'Spiked Weekend smoothies' and then I started asking questions.

1. What are some of your favorite ingredient substitutions? Claire stated that everyone should have Greek Yogurt in the refrigerators at all times as it is so versatile. For example, it is a great and tastier replacement for sour cream. She also enjoys making creamy dressings with it. She also loves using fresh herbs and says that you can easily substitute one for other as long as you substitute leafy for leafy or hard for hard. Meaning, you can swap parsley for basil or thyme for rosemary.

2. What is your favorite snack on the road? She said her Pumpkin Seed Dried Cherry Trail Mix is her obsession. Made me crave my Popcorn Trial Mix.

3. Do you ever feel limited by the 5 ingredient rule or want to sneak one in? Claire Works hard on her recipes and once she has the 5 ingredients she has worked on, the recipe is done and she is proud of it. However, she has played a game with friends where she asks them to guess the five ingredients and if they can not identify them , she questions whether she needs to rework it as maybe it is not the right combination.

Her take home message was that we all need to be 'The Executive Chef of your own homes' so go ahead and use her recipe as the base and feel free to add or edit it to match your own tastes

She also shared the following five essential pantry items and kitchen tools.

Five Essential Pantry Items:

1. A great rubber spatula

2. A great quality pot/pan

3. A great set of knives (paring, serrated, chef or Sandoki was noted)

4. Food Processor

5. Wooden Spoons

Five Essential Kitchen Tools:

1. Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2. Sugar

3. Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

4. Quality Balsamic Vinegar

5. Varies depending on the season, her mood...said maybe salt & pepper

And finally, Claire reads every comment on her recipes at The Food Network so keep sharing and give her your feedback.