Issue Date: November 11, 2001

Cooking for goddesses

THE LATEST "IT" GIRL of cooking is glamorous Nigella Lawson, 41, a British Vogue food writer and cooking show host. She's bringing her low-key brand of domesticity to America in a just-out book, "How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking" (Hyperion, $35), and a new cooking show, "Nigella Bites", which debuts next Saturday on E! and Style. We recently talked with her: You advocate maximizing the pleasure of cooking and eating. How does one do that with, say, a peanut butter sandwich?

Putting something on a plate makes a difference. There's a certain ceremony about making it yourself. It's pleasurable to do that -- to sit down and eat it.

What's the most undervalued meal?

Most meals are undervalued. It's very difficult to do a lot in modern life, but even if it's only once a week, nothing beats sitting down to a big meal.

But doesn't that take a while to prepare?

It could take as much time as you want. That's what I love about cooking: It's completely flexible. Cold meats, cheese, tomatoes and good bread can be a great meal, and you're not really doing anything to it. There aren't any rules.

What's the ideal meal for kids?

A big pot of candy, I should think! My children [Mimi, 7, and Bruno, 5] will always eat pasta carbonara -- pasta, eggs, cheese and bacon, all their favorite things in one go. And, it's messy!

Your favorite American meal?

Proper American pancakes. Nothing like it. With maple syrup. Although I'd have to also reserve a space for brownies as well -- the other great contribution to world culture.

Do domestic goddesses do their own dishes, own a dishwasher or hire someone else to do them?

All three. [Laughs.]

-- Michele Hatty