From the time I start prep to serving the food at the table, I like for the whole thing to be beautiful.

Most Mexican restaurants serve fake, heavy versions of my home country's cuisine. But real Mexican food is full of brilliant, fresh flavors.

There isn't anything hotter than a guy who cooks.

It's what makes me the happiest - to make beautiful things for the people I love, and to fill my home with love and laughter and music and food and people.

I'm all about simple appetizers when it comes to the holidays.

Tart pomegranates that pop in your mouth make the perfect counterpoint to roasted chicken and salty-creamy feta cheese.

When I heard that Capital One was fostering a conversation about natural connections that exist among all of us, bridged through our travels - I knew I had to get involved.

I know how to bring recipes down to the level where people with no experience can feel comfortable making them.

My job is to show people that true Mexican cheese is not neon yellow cheese. We don't eat tacos all day long and we don't eat burritos stuffed with everything in the kitchen sink.

My goal and my mission is to cook the home-style food that I grew up with - simple, straightforward, inexpensive and homemade tortillas. Nothing fancy and no cream based sauces - just tomatoes & chiles and nothing pre-processed.

All of my dishes kind of have the same thing going on - I'm always going to give you the same things that I grew up with or that my mom used to make. I'm not going to use nitrogen in my tacos.

I've been really fortunate and I've just tried to focus on the work and getting people to see Mexico, its food and its culture in a slightly different light. It's tricky with Mexican food because a lot of our recipes are so deeply rooted in tradition and Mexican history. That's a heavy responsibility!

Honestly, I'll take a little lard over the 20 chemicals and ingredients I can't pronounce in some store-bought tortillas.

We didn't grow up with processed foods at all. I mean, I am not a nutritionist. I make enchiladas for a living, so that disclaimer needs to be there.

Simplicity is key. Some people like really high-tech kitchens, where you have warming drawers and ice makers and storage for a million different things. Honestly, for me, I need an oven, a stove top, a fridge and a sink.

Huitlacoche is typically eaten as a filling for quesadillas or with any tortilla-based food. Also great stuffed in crepes.

Escamoles have a cottage cheese-like consistency and have a buttery yet slightly nutty flavor. They are usually served sauteed with butter, garlic, and scallions for making soft corn tortilla tacos.

Our holiday table is loud!

We respect our elders. There is wisdom that comes from experience, and I am not going to stop learning from wise counsel.

The absence of diverse voices leads to policies and programs that adversely impact African-Americans.

Promoting healthy lifestyles and encouraging fitness are so important for our children's development and reducing the nation's epidemic of childhood obesity.

The Ferguson Grand Jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown is a miscarriage of justice. It is a slap in the face to Americans nationwide who continue to hope and believe that justice will prevail.

Black lives do matter, and our lives do hold value.

I don't believe this nation will elect a socialist.

There is this real divisive theory that if we allow more immigrants to come into this country, that they're going to take our jobs. It is simply not true. Every person I know who wants to work in a hotel and change sheets can do it.

In order to govern, you have to win.

We need to address hunger, job training, justice. I can't do it alone. We need to elect people who understand the urgency.

I'm a very direct person just generally. I don't use a lot of words unnecessarily. I try to get to the heart of the issue, address it and go on to the next thing.

Ethnic sensitivity both on-camera and behind it demonstrates a corporate understanding of the benefits of diversity and a genuine respect for the audiences' needs.

You make budget cuts based on what you want to accomplish. You have to decide what is our priority going forward as a country. You cannot do it on the backs of any one group of people... There has to be some balance.

Historically, people of color and the Diaspora have been at the bottom of the barrel, even as it relates to immigration. If we don't engage in the discussion, then what is it that we're saying to people? That we don't care?

Having been a mayor, we prioritized based on where we want our city and our country to go.

I think what we do really want to do is make sure that we take chemical weapons away from Syrians. And I do as well believe that because of the threats that have come from the United States, that Russia and Syria both understand that there needs to be some action.

This is not about race or affiliation, and it isn't about black versus blue. All lives matter.

I want to raise up the next generation of young people who are going to run this community. I need for them to understand government and how it works.

I'm not about sound bites. I'm about substance.

We are world leaders, and we need to act like it.

If we lower the payroll tax, will Americans let us raise it again? I don't think so.

We need to tell the American public the truth. We need to let them know they're not the only ones struggling.

We've lost our way if we turn our backs on millions of Americans in need.

A nation cannot be truly great without a moral compass.

To put it simply, my support of Israel will be just as strong the day after Prime Minister Netanyahu's address as it is today.

It is our job, our responsibility as their representatives to help them. If we choose not to do that, we should not be their representatives.

I especially remain firmly opposed to a nuclear Iran and will review all related policies and proposed actions from that position.

I think calling what Paul Ryan is doing a 'budget' is lending some validity to it. It is not a budget. If it were a budget, he could justify his revenue projections, he could justify his cuts, and he can't. This is a scheme to rob the poor and give to the rich.

Inviting a foreign head of state to address the Congress is a clear breach of protocol and practice, and undermines the U.S. presidency.

You would be amazed how many people call my office looking for work every day.

The times when black women have been successful in confronting and overcoming the structural and institutional sexism and racism that persists in our society have been when we are thoughtful and strategic about speaking up. It's when we've done what it takes to introduce and implement our ideas and our plans to make things better.

Faith and service to others were pillars in Rev. DeBose's life. I knew him as a very kind person and an outstanding public servant.

Unfortunately, my colleagues in Congress have unfairly burdened the Postal Service with a costly, unfunded mandate to pre-pay health care for retirees. No other agency or business has to pay these costs in advance - and neither should the Postal Service.