Long before my mother passed, I would visit her and Dad in their suburban New Jersey home and we would watch Mary Ann Esposito's show, Ciao Italia on their local PBS station. While I learned Mary Ann's recipe and techniques on TV, my mother passed on her own recipes and hands-on lessons in her humble New Jersey kitchen, in the same way her mother had taught her.

Mom taught me to make soups first, then stews, then how to make more complex things like light, fluffy gnocchi (I still remember how quickly her arthritic fingers tossed those gnocchi from the ends of a fork). While Mom taught me our own ricette di famiglia Finzi, Mary Ann helped me perfect techniques to help me become a pretty decent, all-around Italian home cook. She also helped me understand that Italian cuisine isn't just one thing... there are many cuisines to be explored in Italy.

I wanted to have a conversation with Mary Ann in honor of my Mother, since both of these wonderful Italian women have been a strong influence in my own life in my own Cucina.  My Mother would be proud to know that I shared a few words with one of our Italian heroines.

Mary Ann is the author of 13 books on the art of regional Italian cooking. She has taught millions of fans how to cook authentic, regional, healthy and delicious dishes on her PBS show Ciao Italia, currently in production for its 29th season of episodes! Mary Ann has over 30,000 followers on Facebook and over 1,400 recipes on her Ciao Italia website. She has also made over 40 tours of Italy, 18 of which were organized as cooking classes attended by loyal home cooks.  

Mary Ann was gracious in affording me some of her precious time, her schedule made even busier with the recent launch of her new book Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy, as well as her preparing for the 2020 broadcast of her new season of shows on PBS (check your local PBS listings).

So, pour yourself an espresso, sit back and enjoy our conversation. As a bonus, I also discussed gardening with her husband, Dr. Guy Esposito, the official Ciao Italia gardener.

--Jerry Finzi

Finzi: You’ve been on PBS continuously for 29 years… certainly an achievement for any TV cooking show. Can you explain your commitment to PBS and if you’ve ever been approached to do a show on a commercial cooking network? If you were offered a show, why didn’t you take the offer?

Mary Ann:  I wanted to have a personal connection with my audience without interruption or distraction and I wanted it to be my show in my words without someone else telling me how to do it. It would have been so much easier to go to go the commercial route but I had higher goals.
 
Finzi: I see your point, Mary Ann. They might have re-packaged what you were bringing to the table (excuse the pun) and your menus might have been someone else’s choices, perhaps by committee. We’re happy you followed your own path.

Certainly for my family, some of our favorite episodes have included location segments filmed in Italy. Does your new season include any Italian segments? And throughout the history of your voyages, where were your favorite places to explore—and cook?
 
Mary Ann:  Location shoots require a huge effort and lots of money but when our budget allows, we are in Italy. This year for our new season, we will be filming in Tuscany in the fall. All the regions are my favorite, but I am partial to Sicily and Campania.

Finzi: I agree with you on this. There's something so warm and welcoming in the South--a much slower pace. For me, I felt most at home when visiting Puglia where my father was born. The people's welcoming smiles reminded me of him.

Some of my other favorite Ciao Italia episodes had you baking with the amazing pastry chef, Nick Malgieri. We love Nick because he was kind enough years ago to help me find the recipe for “pas-ah-chut”, as my Molfettese father called them (pasticiotti). What are your favorite pastries to make?
 
Mary Ann:  Of course I love to make cannoli, fruit tarts, lots of different biscotti.
 
Finzi: My thing is making the Crostata di Frutta in our cucina, but my wife is the go-to gal for all sorts of cookies, cakes and pies. Happily, this year she is exploring the world of the twice-baked dolci—biscotti.

I've always loved pizza and even worked at our local pizzeria for a while when I was a teen, and for nearly 20 years and I've become a fairly decent pizzaiolo at home. I’ve made Neapolitan, Chicago and Detroit deep dish, “grandma’s”, sfincione, focaccia, thin crust, etc. I think I’ve saved every one of your pizza episodes on my DVR. Which is your favorite pizza and what do you think makes it so special?

Mary Ann:  I would have to say Margherita is my favorite but I love making all kinds. The important thing is to use as close to original ingredients as possible like Caputo flour for the dough, real mozzarella di Bufala and fresh basil.

Finzi: Happily, home gardens, farmers markets and the Farm to Table movement are growing in popularity. Living in the country, we often have to travel to Philadelphia or New York to get precious ingredients like mozzarella di Bufala, but we do grow our own veggies and lots of basil!
 
For me, baking pastry is very specific and precise, which is perhaps why my wife does that in our house. What are your thoughts on “cooking to the recipe” versus cooking the way nonne do, by taste, look and feel?

Mary Ann:  I’m with you; I never cook with recipes even though I write books with precise recipes for readers based on my testing them. I think the best cooks are those who improvise.
 
Finzi: In my case, improvisation can make it a little difficult when I want to share one of my recipes with our GVI readers. I have to convert a pinch, a dollop, a handful, a splash or to describe how a dough should look and feel.
 
What I’ve always loved about your cooking is the historic and anthropological perspective you bring into the Italian kitchen. You teach that “Italian food” doesn’t really exist, but it’s really about the 20 different regional cuisines of Italy. What would you like to see as an effort to change the American view of “Italian food” as only being pizza, chicken “parm” or spaghetti and meatballs?  
 
Mary Ann:  Watch my show!  Read things about regional cooking; in my just released new book CIAO ITALIA (My LIFELONG FOOD ADVENTURES IN ITALY) you will find a treasure trove of regional recipes with stories that support their origin.

First of all, I realize that Anisette is the French version of a liquor made from anise seeds, but for some reason my mother always gave us a little Anisette when we had a bad cold, not Sambuca. Perhaps the reason is because unlike Anisette and other Mediterranean anise spirits (Greece, Ouzo; Bulgaria, Mastika; Albania and Turkey, Arak; and Cristal in Algeria), Sambuca is really made from elder-flowers with star anise and licorice flavoring added. Anisette is distilled using only anise (fennel) seeds.

The benefits of anise itself are well-known: aiding with breathing problems, as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Even as an adult, I still use my Mother's remedy rather than those toxic blends of cold medicines. Anisette works surprisingly well to sooth any sore throat and helps to clear stuffiness. In fact, this past week I suffered from a sort of laryngitis and the Anisette made it easier for me to swallow and talk.

Just a Little Goes a Long Way

Pour a little into a small glass, place your nose into the glass and breath in the fumes to clear your nose. Mom would pour it into tiny, shot-sized mini beer mugs that she would use for family gatherings to serve Sambuca or Amaretto.  I prefer a deeper glass because it contains the fumes better. Take small sips as needed for sore throat and as you begin to swallow, and hold in your throat for a second or two before swallowing. This numbs the soreness and helps clear phlegm. A bonus: a few sips helps you sleep. Anisette never fails to make colds easier to get through. But don't over-do it. This stuff is 50% alcohol!

And a warning... although my Mother gave us just a sip of Anisette when we were sick, she didn't let us drink it! A very small sniff and sip and that was it, until we needed it again. Personally, I would not recommend this remedy for the bambini in your family.

Mettiti in sesto presto, amici. (literally: Put yourself together soon, friends)


--Jerry Finzi

San Marzano tomatoes are the holy grail when it comes to sauce tomatoes. They often cost twice the price of other canned tomatoes, which is the reason why there are many counterfeit, bogus tomatoes in cans labeled San Marzano, or "San Marzano style". Experts say that up to 95% of the tomatoes labeled "San Marzano" are tomatoes grown in other regions of Italy or other countries.  The Italian Mafia and other unscrupulous organizations will place lesser quality tomatoes into cans and label them as San Marzano, when in reality they are a mixture of less sweet, less meaty tomatoes.

In was in 2011 that the president of Consorzio San Marzano (Consortium for the Protection of the San Marzano Tomato Dell'agro Sarnese Nocerino) said that only five percent of tomatoes marked as such are certified, D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes.  San Marzano tomatoes are elongated plum tomatoes that by decree, must be grown in Agro Sarnese-Nocerino, an area surrounding Mount Vesuvious near Naples. When they are canned, they come with a D.O.P.-Denominazione d' Origine Protetta (literally “Protected Designation of Origin”) emblem on the label, marking their authenticity. This is the same type of certification that ensures the authenticity of other Italian products, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma or Balsamic di Molena.

To ensure you are getting San Marzano tomatoes, make sure that the can has one of the following on it: "Certified San Marzano", the DOP emblem, or the words "San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino". The ingredients should list "whole (or peeled) San Marzano tomatoes". Some producers also include a statement something like, "San Marzano tomatoes (DOP-protected designation of Origin) are only cultivated in 41 approved municipalities, from San Marzano seeds, within the Sarno River valley surrounding Naples (or 'near the slopes of Mount Vesuvious'), in the Campania region." If the label says, "Grown in the USA", steer clear.

Compared to the Roma tomato, San Marzano tomatoes are thinner, a bit longer and pointed at their ends. The thicker, meatier flesh has fewer seeds and is fantastic for making sauce. The taste is also stronger, sweeter and less acidic. (I've had pizza from one local chic, wood oven pizzeria who claimed the tomatoes in their sauce were San Marzano, but the amazingly high acidic level burned my lips. I called BS.)

As many know, the tomato itself was imported to Europe after being discovered in the New World. Its first culinary appearance was in a 1692 cookbook as a base for a sauce. The San Marzano itself doesn't show up until much later, in a tomato manual published in 1940, the San Marzano is listed as a "recent cross" between the Re Umberto and Fiaschetto varieties.

As an option to marinara as a dipping sauce, try some
Garlic-Lemon Aioli...
Whisk together the following:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste


--GVI

Water
The basic thing you need for a great espresso is great water. If your water is suspect--tasting too slimy, has an odor, or is off-putting in any way--in the least, use bottled mineral water or get yourself a Brita filter. As a basic test, if you love the refreshing taste of your tap water on a hot summer's day, then your water should be good to go.

The Beans
There is absolutely no difference between a bean labeled as "espresso" or not. Selecting which coffee bean to use for espresso is a personal choice--which means that a world of different tastes are there for the tasting. Espresso is a method of brewing coffee. There are really only  two species of coffee beans grown with many varietals (sub-species), and every type is capable of being brewed in different styles--peculator, French drip, espresso, etc.
Remember that beans are roasted before you buy them. Roasters nowadays tend to produce a darker roast to produce more smoky, caramelized sugary flavors--as seen in "Italian roasts"--but a very dark roasted bean can mask the more subtle differences in bean types. Roasters are experimenting with lighter roasts which can enhance the flavor of the coffee's complexity. Lesson to learn--experiment with both dark and lighter roasts and have fun discovering flavor profiles that you enjoy. Coffee preference is like selecting a wine... One person's Primativo can be as satisfying as another's Brunello.

Grinder
Beans should be ground using a burr type of grinder (as opposed to a blade type) that can grind finely with many steps of adjustment. Read reviews carefully as some grinder models don't grind fine enough for espresso. (The affordable Secura burr grinder shown is what we use).

Espresso Machines
The best espresso machines should have solid components, create consistent temperatures, are easy to clean, with an easy to understand interface--which is a real task on some of the more complex models. The larger machines come with a built-in grinder to grind exactly the correct amount of beans automatically, a one or two-spouted portafilter with removable basket inserts for either a single or double shot, a self-storing tamper, a milk steamer/foamer, and an espresso cup heater on top. In our opinion, these are for coffee aficionados that like to turn coffee-making into a theatrical event and if you are prone to buying complex kitchen appliances and then find you use them only once or twice due to their complexities, stay away from these machines. They take dedication and perseverance to master and can be difficult to keep clean. They are also power hogs: from 900-1500 watts, which means you should not be using them on the same circuit as your toaster or microwave. There are simpler--and quicker--ways to make espresso, cappuccino and other coffee beverages.  

Moka Pot
Bialetti made the first stovetop espresso maker back in 1933, and are still using the exact same patented moka pot design. In fact, there are many other companies who have copied their iconic design. There have been over 200 million Moka pots sold since the 1950s, mostly in Italy--60 million Italians can't be wrong. A Moka pot can be found in virtually every Italian households but are gaining popularity all over the world in the last decade or so. The Moka also comes in many different sizes... a tiny one for a single morning espresso shot, or a large one to satisfy a large gathering.

It is composed of roughly three components: the base with a pressure valve which holds the water; the basket which holds the coffee; and the "collecting chamber" which the coffee brews into.  In between the top and bottom halves are a metal filter and the "O" ring which ensures a pressure seal  and to filter the coffee grinds from the coffee produced.  The Moka pot boils the water which is forced up through the coffee "puck" and then into the top chamber, creating a foamy crema (head) along with the coffee. The whole process from heating the water to drinking the coffee is about 5-10 minutes, depending on the capacity of your Moka pot.