In part 3 of the Birrittella's Pizza Dough series, acclaimed pizzaiola Nicole Russell shows Appetito's Andrew Cotto how to make a calzone.

Making Calzone with Birrittella’s Pizza Dough

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Michele Sessa is an Italian American home chef raised in upstate NY with a flair for creating new recipes. When she was young, her great grandmother would watch her while her parents worked. She only spoke Italian, and they communicated through the magic of cooking. The duo would bake, garden and even take care of the chickens, which developed Michele’s passion for making people happy through her food. All the women in her family fostered the importance of family, faith and healthy food.
Working in the apparel business for over 25 years in NYC and traveling the world for developing fashion lines, her love of different cuisines grew. Of course, Italian food is near and dear to her heart, but she now develops Greek, Asian, Latin and Mexican recipes for her family and for parties.
Now living in Florida with her husband and extended family, she even teaches her friends her innovative takes on Italian classic dishes. Everyone wants and invitation to her Italian Sunday feasts she makes for 8-14 family members, and everyone gets to pick their favorite dinner for their birthday celebration. Her Mother Louise has finally left NY and is living nearby, and they love cooking and baking together, especially for the traditional holiday meals. She learned everything about being a gracious hostess from her mom, and they even catered a large wedding for 65 guests in their backyard when her cousins came to America from Italy to get married!
Michele’s love for her heritage and family continues to drive her knack for entertaining, decorating and cooking. Instagram is another place where she shares her recipes, and she has a great following for her handle <a href="https://www.instagram.com/michele7533/">@michele7533</a>. Make sure to stop by her page for inspiration and her authentic stories through her eyes and her food! Casa Michele’s kitchen is a special place that you can visit through her page!

Michele Sessa

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I am the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Appetito magazine. I like Italian food &amp; drink, a lot. I am also an award-winning novelist and a regular contributor to the New York Times. More about my work can be found at <a href="https://andrewcotto.com/">Home &#8211; Andrew Cotto</a>.

Andrew Cotto

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Morgan Hines is a New York City-based contributor for Appetito. She loves learning about and experiencing Italian cuisine and culture. Morgan is a full time reporter at PhocusWire and also contributes to Hotels Above Par, Women&#8217;s Wear Daily, Footwear News, etc. She was previously a full time reporter at USA TODAY and holds degrees from Columbia University and Georgetown University. Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/morganemhines/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@morganemhines?lang=en">TikTok</a> at <a>@MorganEmHines. </a>

Morgan Hines

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Hello. My name is Joanna Moeller, and I am a passionate home cook residing in downtown Manhattan for 20+ years. I started my Instagram cooking page <a href="https://www.instagram.com/spaghettiroots_nyc/">@spaghettiroots_nyc </a>in April, 2023, as a way to showcase my cooking, as I initially intended for it to be more of an inspirational cooking page featuring my &#8220;No recipe, recipes.&#8221; It has truly been a wonderfully creative outlet for me.

Joanna Moeller

Grilled mortadella and mozzarella sandwich by Joanna Moeller.

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Alessia Angelini, Elena Martinolli &amp; Susanna Viola, are founders of Wanderlust: a project by Fast Track Italian Citizenship. These three Italian women live, breathe, and love Italy and founded Wanderlust: a project by Fast Track Italian Citizenship to share the real Italy: the intimate corners, the local flavors, the stories you won’t find in guidebooks. 
Think of us as your Italian friends who know exactly where to go, when to go, and how to avoid the crowds. We’re here to help you experience Italy with heart, depth, and authenticity, just like a local!

FTIC Wanderlust Team

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) over the Brenta River in Bassano del Grappa in the northeast of Italy.

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Lowcountry Bella (Mandi Casey) is Italian by birth and Southern by choice. Moving to eastern North Carolina as a young girl, she was exposed to a whole new type of cuisine like BBQ and hush puppies. As an adult, she embraces both cultures so you never know what she may be cooking up in her kitchen! Currently she lives in both Pawleys Island, South Carolina and Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Her family continues to grow, and that makes her happy because there are more people to feed and love. What&#8217;s better than that?
In addition to creating, cooking and sharing great recipes, she loves to research the history of food origins. Understanding the flavors and ingredients helps her creativity, but more-so, appreciate the meal with even more passion.
Mandi loves to be a guest of events, signing books and donating a portion of her net proceeds to local charities. Her second cookbook, Mangia Y&#8217;all &#8211; Make Everyday Delicious, is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2025.
Please follow her on her website <a href="http://www.lowcountrybella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.lowcountrybella.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705416623316000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2qLX1Ag56lHqdrjNXYhkQG">www.lowcountrybella.com </a>or on social media: @lowcountrybella on both Instagram and Facebook.
Mangia Y’all!

Lowcountry Bella

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Ankish Shetty is the Corporate Executive Chef at Restaurant Associates (Compass Group), where he oversees the culinary program for one of Wall Street&#8217;s most prominent financial institutions in New York City. Mumbai-born and Michelin-trained, he cut his professional teeth at Rasoi by Vineet — the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant at Mandarin Oriental in Geneva — and at the Kempinski Grand Hotel Des Bains in St. Moritz. His cooking sits at the intersection of classical Indian technique and European precision, a perspective he has explored through his fusion concept, Fusion Chef, which has built a following around the idea that Indian and Italian culinary traditions share more than food media ever acknowledges. He works and cooks in New York.

Ankish Shetty

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Vinny DelGiudice is the creator of <a href="http://alwaysfromscratch.com">Always From Scratch</a>, where he shares approachable, rustic Italian and family-style recipes inspired by tradition and everyday life. With a background in photography and a love for storytelling, Vinny makes cooking feel personal, not performative. Whether he&#8217;s perfecting seafood for weeknight ease or getting sauce on his shirt despite wearing an apron, his content brings heart, humor, and heritage to the kitchen, always with a nod to where it all started: home.

Vinny DelGiudice smiling in his kitchen, wearing a blue shirt and glasses.

Vinny DelGiudice

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Andrew Cotto cuts open a calzone while Nicole Russell looks on.