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

Appetito

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

Recipes

Mondays With Michele

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

Close up of grilled portobello mushroom parmigiana with melted mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce on a white plate

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Parmigiana Recipe for Summer Grilling

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

Eggs baked in a rich tomato sauce with pecorino and herbs in a white skillet, served with sliced crusty bread.

Uova in Purgatorio with Tomato Sauce and Crusty Bread

<div dir="auto">I have a passion for helping others discover the joy of cooking and the power of simple, flavorful meals. As a former competitive tennis player, I bring a unique perspective to the kitchen, blending discipline with creativity. With over a decade of experience as an educator, I love teaching and strive to make cooking approachable, accessible, and fun for everyone. Inspired by my Italian roots, I believe food is love, and every meal is an opportunity to connect. My mission is to inspire confidence in the kitchen and help others create meals that are as meaningful as they are delicious.</div>

Danielle Simone Arata

Chicken broth with spaghetti and Nonna’s soup squares in a patterned bowl.

How to Make Nonna’s Soup Squares

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

Creamy bucatini cacio e pepe topped with pecorino and parsley

How to Make Nonna Approved Cacio e Pepe

Lasagna Bolognese by Chef Pietro Mosconi.

How to Make Lasagna Bolognese like the Chef of Greenwich Village

A lifelong learner and mentor of Italian cuisine, Cathy Whims is happiest when she’s sharing her love and knowledge of regional Italian culture through food, wine, travel, and writing. 
Her deep dive into the soul and psyche of Italian cooking started over 30 years ago at Genoa,  one of the first high-end, chef-driven, seasonally focused restaurants in Portland, Oregon. During her 18-year tenure, 10 of those years as chef/co-owner, Whims introduced Portland diners to both the nuances of Italian ingredients and the concept of sourcing locally.
Today, she continues to share her passion through her three Portland restaurants (Nostrana, Oven and Shaker, and Enoteca Nostrana), the culinary tours she leads in Italy and the cooking classes she hosts around the world. Her writing and recipes have been featured in numerous outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Eating Well and soon in the pages of her first cookbook, scheduled to debut in 2025.
Whims’ culinary philosophy is grounded in the way Italians weave food into the seasons, holidays, love, friendships and daily life. Similarly, Cathy has created personal relationships with numerous farmers and ranchers in the Pacific Northwest, as well as winemakers in Italy and at home, crafting a community that celebrates the good things in life that come when you sit with friends at a table. Her ability to follow the seasons, creating brilliant food that comes from the heart has earned her six James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef Northwest and is the guiding vision behind all of her restaurants. 
Cathy’s community building includes serving on the board of Scuola Italiana di Portland, a non-profit school for all ages that promotes Italian language and culture, as well as ongoing collaborations with The Culinary Breeding Network, an Oregon State University initiative that aims to bridge the gap between ‘breeders and eaters’ by improving agricultural and culinary quality in vegetables and grains. And for many years she served on the board of Slow Food Portland–the first chapter in the United States of Slow Food, the non-profit, member-supported organization founded in Italy in 1989 to counteract the culture of fast food. 
Cathy is the owner of  three Portland, Oregon restaurants: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://nostrana.com/">Nostrana</a> (2006), her beloved flagship restaurant since 2006 that serves inventive regional Italian through the lens of seasonal Pacific Northwest ingredients. Heralded  as one of the best Italian restaurants in the United States by Thrillist and Tasting Table, Best Pizza in Portland by Eater and Restaurant of the Year by The Oregonian in 2006, the year it opened.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://www.ovenandshaker.com/">Oven and Shaker</a> (2012), an urban pizza and cocktail spot in Portland’s Pearl District, with a second location in Lake Oswego. Named one of the best places for pizza in Portland by Portland Monthly in 2022.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://enotecanostrana.com/">Enoteca Nostrana </a>(2018), a gorgeous, modern wine bar and special events space with an award-winning wine list focused on small producers and creative bar programs. The 2018 Eater Portland Award winner for Design of the Year and a 2018 Portland Monthly Best New Restaurant.</li>
</ul>
Follow Cathy on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cathywhims/?hl=en">@cathywhims</a>.
Photo: John Valls

Cathy Whims

Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Cathy Whims.

The Italian Summer Kitchen: A  Love Letter from Cathy Whims

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

A soft and savory artichoke dish by Joanna Moeller.

How to Make My Mother’s “Fall Apart” Artichokes

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

Pasta Aglio e Olio by Andrew Cotto. Photo courtesy of Erika Katz.

The Simple Perfection of Pasta Aglio e Olio

Eva Santaguida was born and raised in Calabria, Italy. She learned how to cook in the best environment possible: a small Italian village where no restaurant survives because everyone’s Nonna is the best chef in town! She and her husband, Harper Alexander, are the creators of the popular Italian cooking YouTube channel, Pasta Grammar, where they share authentic Italian food through a humorous video format. They quickly found success on the platform after being named one of YouTube&#8217;s “Creators on the Rise.” Their brand has expanded as they serve their customers and fans with unique merchandise, video cooking guides, Italian language lessons. and an enormously successful series of culinary tours where they take eager foodies on ten-day trips through southern Italy.
Harper Alexander worked as a cinematographer in Hollywood before meeting his wife, Eva Santaguida. She immediately started sharing the food of her country with him, and he was shocked at just how different (and better!) it was from the “Italian” food he thought he knew. Harper and Eva are the creators of the popular Italian cooking YouTube channel, Pasta Grammar, where they share authentic Italian food through a humorous video format. They quickly found success on the platform after being named one of YouTube&#8217;s “Creators on the Rise.” Their brand has expanded as they serve their customers and fans with unique merchandise, video cooking guides, Italian language lessons. and an enormously successful series of culinary tours where they take eager foodies on ten-day trips through southern Italy.

Eva Santaguida & Harper Alexander are the authors of "The Italian Family Kitchen."

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