Name: Paulette Licitra, aka Chef Paulette

Current occupation: Chef/cooking instructor. She teaches Italian cooking classes out of her home in Nashville. Licitra completed her professional culinary studies at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City and cooked in Mario Batali's restaurant Lupa. Her cookbook, "Italian Cooking Party," is due out in the fall. Licitra also is the publisher of the literary food journal Alimentum.

How long have you been a cooking instructor? 6 years

What's the last meal you ate?

What I call Crazy Grits. Grits with the "refrigerator." In this case: sautéed mushrooms, diced onion, chopped fresh tomato, some radicchio, diced salami, cumin, Aleppo pepper, splash of wine — piled on Parmigiano-spiked grits.

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Source: http://www.tennessean.com/