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News, stories, and recipes for anyone who loves Italian food, wine, spirits, and travel

Appetito

Bona Furtuna

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

Close-up of homemade yellow squash stew with tomatoes and basil in a white bowl.

Recipes

How to Make Summer Sunshine Squash Stew

I am the idea behind and the co-founder of Mama Mancini’s. I am also a home cook, an obsessed entrepreneur, traveler, foodie, and I love sharing all of it with anyone who wants to listen. I believe passion fuels ideas and there is no such thing as a bad idea or too much passion. I look at the picture of my grandmother, Anna Mancini, holding me as a baby and think wow if my grandmother only knew that all those countless days of me learning how to cook by her side in Brooklyn would turn into this. After 25 years in the garment industry, I decided in 2007 it was time for a change. My idea: real meatballs made the authentic Italian way and sold in real sauce. To me there was no other way they should be offered, that was my big idea and Mama Mancini’s was born. The rest is history. So, I say this to everyone who has an idea: never give up; don’t listen to the people who say it won’t work. No idea is a bad idea and always chase your dreams. Let’s cook.

Daniel Mancini

Fresh potatoes, crisp string beans, basil, and red onion come together in this classic Italian summer salad

Italian Potato, String Bean & Onion Salad Recipe

Part reporter, part pasta enthusiast, and always in search of a good story, the Appetito Editors bring readers the latest happenings in food, travel and Italian culture.

Appetito Editors

A rustic bruschetta board topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, burrata, prosciutto, olives, roasted vegetables, and toasted bread

Jessi and Alessio Pasini’s Summer Bruschetta

By training, Chiara Montalto Giannini is an actress and a writer, but she has been cooking since before she can remember. As an actress and a writer, her solo play, A Brooklyn Love Story &#8211; based on the decade she spent living in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn with her grandfather &#8211; was produced Off Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York and at Theatre 68 in Los Angeles, where it was directed by Ronnie Marmo. Currently, she is the Director of the Writers Guild Initiative, a non-profit affiliated with the WGAE that shares the tools of writing and creative expression with different communities. She&#8217;s also a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and the Dramatists Guild. At Appetito, Chiara will share recipes from her childhood and those she has learned through her extensive pursuit of Italian food both here and abroad.

Chiara Montalto Giannini

Italian spezzatino made with beef, carrots, potatoes, peas, and onions.

Hearty Italian Spezzatino for Family Dinner

How to Make Italian Spinach Ditalini

Fettuccine with Shrimp. Courtesy of Central Park Boathouse

Central Park Boathouse’s Fettuccine with Shrimp is Made for Summer

Penne pasta with sautéed eggplant, cherry tomatoes, capers, and fresh basil in a light tomato sauce.

Not “Alla Norma” Pasta

<a title="https://francescazani.com/about#:~:text=Francesca%20Zani%20is%20the%20Assistant,%2C%20food%20news%2C%20and%20more." href="https://francescazani.com/about#:~:text=Francesca%20Zani%20is%20the%20Assistant,%2C%20food%20news%2C%20and%20more." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Francesca Zani</a> is a Food Editor at Delish, where she develops and writes recipes and features, produces, directs, and styles multi-platform videos, and hosts on-camera recipe and educational content. She also curates European-inspired food, lifestyle, and adventure content and writes a newsletter on <a title="https://francescazani.substack.com/" href="https://francescazani.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Substack</a>. She previously launched <a title="https://francescazani.com/buy-it/" href="https://francescazani.com/buy-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ciao Boxes</a>, a curated Italian-inspired food box, through her<a title="https://francescazani.com/" href="https://francescazani.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a><a title="https://francescazani.com/" href="https://francescazani.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a> and brand CIAO FRANKI LLC.
Francesca began her career as a bakery clerk at an Italian bakery, which led to pastry baking and decorating. She had a brief stint as a line cook at Castle Hill Inn and other Hudson Valley restaurants before joining Powerhouse Productions, where she worked her way up from Associate Culinary Producer to Culinary Producer. Over nearly four years, she produced award-winning lifestyle and food TV, working with talent like Patti LaBelle, JJ Johnson, Marcus Samuelsson, Kwame Onwuachi, and Jernard Wells. She was a producer on the James Beard-nominated series EatUp! New York, and led food styling for Wells’ cookbook Southern Inspired. 
Francesca is a CIA graduate with degrees in Culinary Arts and Applied Food Studies, with a concentration in Italian cuisine.

Francesca Zani

Bowl of rigatonini pasta with andouille sausage, Lacinato kale, cannellini beans, ricotta and grated Pecorino Romano.

Rigatonini with Andouille Sausage, Lacinato Kale and Cannellini Beans

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, was released in July 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!

Mandi Casey of Low Country Bella on a foam green Vespa in a floral skirt.

Lowcountry Bella

Homemade peach basil cheddar muffins arranged on a serving platter with fresh basil leaves and peaches.

Peach and Basil Muffins That Taste Like Summer in Italy

Paul Watters grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he discovered his passion for cooking at the age of 16. With nearly 35 years in the culinary industry, he has worked in some of the world’s most renowned kitchens, including the Savoy in London and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. His career has taken him around the globe, allowing him to explore new cultures, refine his craft and gather decades of experience that continue to shape his approach to food today.

Paul Watters

Chicken parmigiana with tomato sauce, melted cheese, fresh basil, and seasonal vegetables.

how to make