After working in restaurants around the world and opening his own, chef Marcus Samuelsson has mastered the art of cooking for others. Here, he makes crowd-pleasing easy.

Cooking Lessons from Marcus

Make It Personal

Growing up, my grandmother was the best cook I knew. She inspired me and brought out a passion that became my career. Learning to cook also involves a lot of learning about yourself — a recipe is a good guideline, but taste is so personal. You should never be afraid to customize the food you make and put your own stamp on it — that's how you take a dish from something predictable to something special.

Experiment Wisely

I'm all about trying new ingredients or techniques, but my No. 1 rule for home cooks looking to mix things up is to avoid trying a new ingredient and a new technique at the same time. For example if you're using a pluot for the first time, use it in place of a peach or plum in a dish you're already familiar with. This way, you'll learn more about the ingredient and still stay close to your comfort zone.

Perfect a Party Dish

Tacos are great for guests. You can easily double or triple any recipe, then let people build their own. The star of this taco is the fish, so use the freshest you can find. Sometimes that means using whatever is available — maybe you get great salmon or, if you live by a lake, try trout. Be sure to start the fish on a really hot grill. That makes the best grill marks, which not only look nice but also add flavor.