Mary Ann Esposito is the chef/host of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) show Ciao Italia. When I first came to the US and didn’t have a job yet, I spent my days devouring cooking shows on the Food Network. Those shows fed me in more ways than one and I became a devotee.
But then, as I channel-surfed one afternoon, Mary Ann came into my life. I caught her just as she was breaking up some chocolate for her Torta di Vino Rosso, a cake that intrigued me because the main ingredient in it was red wine. (If you can’t drink it enough, might as well eat it too, yes?)
She wasn’t a big-named celebrity chef with cult status. She didn’t have a line of cookware named after her, nor did she have olive oil bottles with her face on it (sorry, Rachel Ray.) She was unassuming, genuine, warm and reminded me of my Tita Jesse (who is one of the most genuine souls I know.) She welcomed me into her kitchen (albeit a studio one) like that one aunt you have who always seems to be lost in the steam of pots and pans, always whipping up meals that fill both your stomach and your heart.
Since then, I try to catch Ciao Italia on PBS whenever I can. One thing I like about the show is how Mary Ann ferrets out these authentic cooks in Italy and interviews them as they make their signature dishes right in their rustic kitchens. She talks to them in that beautiful language as she explains to the hopelessly un-Italian viewer (me!) how each dish is comes together from fresh, local ingredients and flavored with the locale’s history.
I once caught an episode where a cook named Filomena made pasta with flour, olive oil and eggs. Her hands looked like they had many stories to tell, kneading life into dough and deftly shaping it into delicate fusilli with a metal skewer. I would love to meet Filomena and have her teach me how to make pasta from scratch!
I also visit the website often, as it’s brimming with must-try authentic Italian recipes. The site has this great Recipe Box feature, where you can store all the recipes that interest you. I’ve tried my hand at several of them (including one you’ll see above), but my first was the Red Wine cake that introduced me to Mary Ann five years ago. It’s been a delicious ride ever since.
Beyond the lights of Kitchen Stadium or the speed of a 30-Minute Meal, grazie a Dio* for chefs like Mary Ann, whose quiet instruction allows home cooks like me to discover and explore other culinary avenues.
* Vi, did I get that right? Teehee.
