I just signed to do my next book with Ecco Press, a new primer or encyclopedia. This will be my take on what classic Italian cooking is.

The tradition of Italian cooking is that of the matriarch. This is the cooking of grandma. She didn't waste time thinking too much about the celery. She got the best celery she could and then she dealt with it.

The idea of having dinner together every day with your family removes the pressure from trying to explain everything. You tell us the good parts about your day, but you also tell us the bad parts about your day. And at the end of that, because you're in a ritual, you remove the pressure of admitting you had a failure that day. And it also takes the wind out of having a great day. I mean, it makes you a little bit more normal all the time. That moment of therapeutic sharing is something that happens in food, that doesn't necessarily happen when you're watching TV.

Everyone makes pesto in a food processor. But the texture is better with a mortar and pestle, and it's just as fast.

In case you're wondering why Guy Fieri is here, he won a contest.

Bologna is the best city in Italy for food and has the least number of tourists. With its medieval beauty, it has it all.

I like thick or middle (spaghetti). Thin for me is always overcooked by the time I'm eating it.