Desmo Is My Guard Dog,

Usually I Wear My Grandma's Old Aprons, Or Others I Have Collected In My Travels. When I Was Young, I Would Sit And Watch My Grandma Prepare Stuff. She Wasn't Italian, But She Did Really Good Italian Food.

I Started Doing Makeup To Make A Living. Then I Said, You're Not Supposed To Be Putting Powder On Other People. You're Supposed To Be Powdering Yourself.

I Think That My Interpretation Of Italian Was A Lot More Southern Than What My Husband Cooks. You Know, I Grew Up In Queens And In Brooklyn, And We - Really, It's More Southern. It's Naples And Sicily. It's Heavier. It's Over-spiced. And Like Most Americans, I Thought Spaghetti And Meatballs Was Genius.

As A Matter Of Fact, I've Been To Italy Many Times Before I Met My Husband, Which He Can't Even Imagine That I Could Possibly Know Anything About Italian Food. But, You Know, Italian Food's Really Basic, And There's So Many Different Variations On It That What My Husband Did Is He Broke It Down For Me.

Nobody Has Money Right Now. And Eating Is Very Important, But It Doesn't Need To Be Expensive. And To Make - It Doesn't Need To Be Fancy, As Long As It's Fresh And Simple. The Simpler It Is, The More Fancy It Actually Comes Out Tasting.