My mom said the two most important kitchen utensils are attached to your arms... you cannot mix up meatballs with a wooden spoon, get in there, get your fingers dirty!

I started running 3 miles every morning after throat surgery to remove a cyst last year. The gym used to be my adversary. But that has all changed. Now, I look forward to it every morning.

Decide what it is that you are and then stay true to that thing. My brand is based very much on how I live my day-to-day life.

Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same.

Food was always a conduit in our family for storytelling, and it was a way for us to keep in touch and remember things. We're people that use food to keep each other together and to always cheer us up and make all of our days better.

You do it with your own two hands, so there's a sense of pride. You really do forget all our problems, because you're focusing on the food.

I've also learned that you can't be all things to all people. Whatever it is that you're successful at, that has to be the No. 1 goal.