I Was So Nervous To Turn 40,

Cooking For Me Is A Way To Wind Down. It's Different From Cooking On Camera, Where You Have To Do Everything Twice, For A Wide Shot And A Close-up.

It's More Intimate. Food Can Connect People In A Forever Sort Of Way.

To A Billion People Around The World Surviving On Just A Dollar A Day, The Question Of What To Eat Tonight Is More About Life And Death Than About Recipes. The Struggle Of Poor People Around The Globe Weighs Heavily On Me, Especially Now That I Am A Mother, Which Is Why I Work With Oxfam.

I Don't Eat A Lot Of Anything. A Little Bit Of Everything, But Not A Lot Of Everything. Small Meals All Day Long.

I Had A Very Tough Childhood. I Came Here From Italy In The '70s And Didn't Speak A Word Of English, So The Kids At School Tormented Me. Truly, It Was Horrifying The Names They Called Me, And The Teachers Never Really Did A Thing To Stop It.