Arlene Cooks Italian with Mary Ann Esposito 🇮🇹

Hello, so nice of you to join us today. We’re glad you’re here At Home with us. And I don’t know about you, but if you’re like me, you’re always looking for new and interesting recipes. And I have been watching a program for quite some time now on the local PBS station here in Pittsburgh, and it’s called Ciao Italia. And this lady is an excellent cook. She loves to cook. You can tell just by the way she presents it. So I found that she has just produced a cookbook, and it’s called Ciao Italia, and her name is Mary Ann Esposito, and she is a treasure and a joy. But what I like about her is what she has to say about food. Let me just read this: “Food was the connector of our lives. “It brought people together. “In an Italian family, love is expressed through kisses “and in the kitchen. “Yet as a girl, Mary Ann took for granted “the endless parade of delicacies “emanating from the family hearth.” Remember we talked about that a couple of weeks ago? All those old, wonderful recipes from your family that when they’re gone, you say, “Oh, why didn’t I get Aunt Minnie’s sugar cookie recipe?” And how we said we’re gonna make a concerted effort to do that? Well, she feels the same way about this, only, she said, “When she began studying cooking in Italy “did she realize that the techniques and the recipes “that she was learning were so familiar “because she had seen them prepared “countless times before by her own mother “and her grandmothers.” Well, you’ll want to stick with us today, because Mary Ann Esposito is right here, and she’s gonna cook up something so good, you’re gonna not want to miss it. Stay with us, we’ll be right back after this message.

• [Announcer] Here’s today’s At Home Hint: when cooking pasta, don’t add salt or oil to the cooking water. Salt does nothing for the taste, and oil will make the pasta slippery so it won’t hold the sauce as well. If you’ve got a helpful hint that you’d like to share, we want to hear from you. Send your hint to At Home Hints, CTV, Wall, Pennsylvania, 15148-1499.
• Mary Ann, I am so glad you’re here today.
• Well, ciao, sweetie!
• Thank you! I have looked forward to this since I knew you were gonna be able to be with us.
• Great!
• And my kitchen is yours. Help yourself!
• Well, let me tell you, your kitchen is a lot nicer than mine. Well, today, we’re going to make something called a Frittata di Spaghetti.
• [Arlene] Now, what does frittata mean?
• Well, frittata’s like an omelet, it’s usually made with eggs and cheese, and maybe vegetables, but in this case, we’re adding leftover pasta, the way my grandmother used to do.
• Now wait, you’re gonna have eggs and cheese, and put spaghetti in there?
• Right.
• Sounds like something I would like.
• Spaghetti that was even sauced, left over in the fridge. You know how you like to take it out and fry it in a frying pan? We’re gonna do this in an omelet.
• Great!
• So now, Arlene, you’ve gotta come over here with me.
• Right, okay.
• Because we have to make the sauce first.
• Okay.
• I’m gonna make a fresh sauce here with tomatoes.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• And we’re gonna start with plum tomatoes. And you know, plum tomatoes are really the hallmark of a lot of Italian tomato sauces. People always say, “Well, why do you use plum?” Is that what you were gonna ask me?
• Well, no, I know why: because they’re not so juicy, too.
• Right, see how meaty they are?
• [Arlene] A lot of good meat in ’em.
• [Mary Ann] And they have less seeds. So all you wanna do for a sauce like this is just get some fresh plum tomatoes and then you just wanna cut ’em up. And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just cut ’em up in small pieces. And then to this, we’re gonna add some garlic.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• And a little bit of olive oil.
• Now, if you couldn’t get the fresh plum ones, could you use ’em in a can?
• Well, yeah, you can use canned.
• But it won’t be as good.
• No, that’s not true. You can always. I use canned plum tomatoes–
• Do you?
• When I can’t get the fresh. But now, while you’re standing there doing nothing, Arlene.
• What do you want me to do?
• Why don’t you cut up the garlic?
• Oh, sure.
• Okay, so now–
• I get the smelly job.
• Wait, that’s the wrong way to do garlic. See, let me show you.
• Smash it, right?
• [Mary Ann] Right, if you just see, then you don’t have to stand there and peel, and it just comes right off, got it?
• [Arlene] See, it paid off, ’cause I didn’t have to do it, right? ‘Cause you showed me up.
• Okay, but now you’ve gotta chop this up. So while I’m doing this, you do that.
• Need this one done too?
• No, just one, one clove.
• Okay.
• I just wanted to show you how you could get the skin off.
• Okay, now my viewers know that I am not a professional.
• [Mary Ann] Okay, well that’s okay.
• [Arlene] I don’t do all that fancy stuff.
• [Mary Ann] That’s okay, you don’t have to have a degree from Cordon Bleu to do this.
• [Arlene] That’s exactly right.
• So here are my tomatoes, and I think I’ve got just one more to do here. Now, you were asking me about using other tomatoes. If you didn’t have canned plum tomatoes, well, then you could use beefsteak tomatoes, you could use cherry tomatoes.
• And this is good for whatever’s in season.
• Right.
• If it’s in the summertime or whatever, go for it, right?
• Okay, now let’s see. Hey, I did it.
• It works right?
• Yeah, okay, now what we’re gonna do is put a little olive oil in there.
• Okay.
• So get a little olive oil. Now, the mistake that people make about garlic is that they let it brown too much.
• [Arlene] Mm-hmm.
• Then, when it’s brown, it’s no good.
• No good!
• So get this garlic, and we wanna put this right in the pot.
• Okay.
• All right? And I’m just gonna get that heated. You don’t even have to get that too hot, just put it in.
• Okay.
• And now, let me see. I’ve got my heat up, so let’s bring a wooden spoon over here.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• [Mary Ann] And why don’t you stir that around?
• Sure, I’m glad to.
• And while you’re doing that, I’m gonna get the rest of these tomatoes. And now, all we’re going to do is cook this down for a few minutes.
• Okay.
• And then, after we’ve added the tomatoes to that, then we’re gonna be adding some fresh basil.
• Oh, I love fresh herbs!
• When I do herbs, and I’m glad you like fresh, because dried herbs are useless, excuse me.
• No, I agree.
• They’re useless! About the only good dried herb that my grandmother ever used was oregano, because it still has–
• Some of that potency to it, sure.
• Right. So I’m gonna snip some up, and I like to do that with the scissors, you see.
• [Arlene] Yeah.
• It takes less time than trying to do it with a knife. And I always try to put the herbs in last in what I’m cooking, because the oils won’t be dissipated. You see, the heat destroys the oils in fresh herbs. So I just want a little bit more. But doesn’t this smell good?
• Oh, it’s wonderful.
• And you know, if you don’t have a fresh basil plant at home, you can always go to the grocery store. They carry them in little packets.
• [Arlene] Sure.
• So there’s no excuse as to why. Are you watching that garlic?
• Yes, it’s cooking.
• Because it burns. Okay, now that’s good.
• Is that good?
• Yeah, we’re ready for these tomatoes.
• Okay, are you coming to me?
• Stand by, here goes the tomatoes.
• All right, in go the tomatoes.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• All the tomatoes go in.
• You know, in your book, you have a five minute tomato sauce?
• Yes.
• That’s wonderful.
• So now we’ve gotta lower this heat a little bit.
• Okay, there.
• [Mary Ann] Okay, now all you wanna do is let that cook down a little bit.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• [Mary Ann] And we’re gonna add some salt and pepper to that.
• [Arlene] Oh, it smells good.
• And you know, sometimes my grandmother added sugar to her tomato sauce, and people always say, “Well, why do you have sugar in there?” Well, you know, sugar sometimes is good because it cuts the acid of the tomatoes. But if you didn’t wanna put in, you don’t have to. So now, you just really wanna let that simmer down, and this is going to be the sauce that goes over our frittata.
• Frittata, okay.
• So let’s bring that down just a little bit.
• Okay.
• There. And now, you’re gonna have to keep your eye on that.
• I will keep an eye on it, I promise.
• So the next thing we wanna do is get the prosciutto nice and crispy.
• Mmm!
• Because this an integral part.
• All right, now what’s prosciutto?
• All right, for those that don’t know, prosciutto is really a raw cured ham that comes from Italy.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• And actually, now you can get the authentic Prosciutto di Parma, it’s allowed to come into this country now. There are two good ones, the Prosciutto di Parma’s the only one that we can get now. And really, if you’ve never had real prosciutto, you need to taste it. Now, this is not Prosciutto di Parma. This is a domestic, it’s okay. Do you want a little sample?
• Sure.
• Okay. Now what we’re gonna do here–
• Sometimes they use that with cantaloupe, don’t they?
• Yes, that’s an antipasto. So I’ve got a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in here. And all I wanna do is put this in. I’ve got about, oh, a good cup and a quarter of that. And what I wanna do is just get this crispy. So let me make sure I’ve got my heat up. You know when you’re in somebody else’s kitchen.
• I know, it’s hard to work on a different stove, isn’t it?
• Okay, so now, we’re going to get that crispy. So how are you doing there?
• This is doing good, it’s coming down.
• All right, now while this is crisping, let me tell you about some of the other things that go into this. We’re making something that really can be made from the leftovers in your refrigerator. And so what I’m suggesting to you today is just a suggestion. If you have other things, if you don’t have prosciutto, you’ve got ham, you’ve got salami.
• [Arlene] Pepperoni?
• Pepperoni. One night my son came home with a friend from college and he said, “Mom, feed us.” I had pepperoni and broccoli, I threw it together.
• [Arlene] Oh, sounds good, yeah.
• It was good. So whatever you happen to have. So that’s starting to do nicely. So now we need eggs. And I know this is your forte.
• Oh, okay. But I’m working on the sauce over here!
• Nope, you’ve gotta work at three things at once. This is the way it is. Okay, you do this, I’ll do the sauce.
• Sure, now what do you want me to do over here?
• Well, you need to crack six eggs in a bowl.
• Six eggs in a bowl.
• Yeah. Get the six eggs going.
• Okay.
• Now, you really don’t want to work with less than six eggs. I don’t know why, my grandmother always told me that. “Don’t make an omelet with less than six eggs.”
• Really?
• [Mary Ann] So you want six eggs, and those are large, but you know, large is a relative term when it comes to eggs.
• Ain’t that the truth.
• Okay.
• Because one person’s large is certainly different from another’s.
• Right, so now this recipe assumes that you have leftover pasta, okay? And now the pasta can be as I say if you had made spaghetti let’s say about two nights before, and it had tomato sauce on it. Well, you use that with the eggs. If you don’t have any pasta in the fridge and you’re sitting there saying, “Oh sure, how am I gonna make this?” Well, everybody’s got pasta in their pantry. So you boil up the half a pound.
• [Arlene] Boil it, sure.
• [Mary Ann] Okay, so this is–
• [Arlene] And I’m beating these?
• Beat those up, and then give that a little pinch of salt and pepper.
• Okay.
• All right. Now this is real quick, see?
• Isn’t it important for these eggs to come to room temperature for a good omelet? Or does it matter?
• No, that’s more important when you’re baking, but not so much for this.
• Oh, okay.
• [Mary Ann] See, my grandmother never thought about things like that. These are all recipes from their minds.
• Ain’t that the truth. The old timers just said, “Let’s do it,” and they got the stuff and did it, right?
• That’s right, let’s cook. Okay, and so this looks good. See how nice that looks?
• [Arlene] Yes.
• That’s gonna give a nice texture.
• I bet Canadian bacon would be good in this.
• Canadian bacon, I’ve done it with that also. So that’s good. All right, how are we doing there?
• Good.
• Great!
• Good enough?
• Yep. Okay, now I think I’m gonna add my herbs to this.
• Okay.
• So here’s my basil. You see how fast this is?
• It’s unbelievable how quickly that’s cooked down. I thought it would take a lot longer.
• Right, and really, you don’t want the tomatoes to be mush, because that’s gonna be a nice little added texture. All right, I’m gonna turn that off. That’s done!
• Done, jeez.
• This is dinner in a half hour.
• I’m telling you.
• All right.
• I’m gonna move over here. Do you want me to stir this?
• All right, no, you’ve got work. You’ve got to grate cheese now.
• Oh, thank you so much.
• All right, now this is Parmesan cheese. And really, the hallmark of Italian cooking is to use fresh ingredients. So you don’t wanna use things in boxes, you know, with funny names.
• Right.
• All right, so we wanna grate some fresh cheese. So go for it, Arlene.
• Okay, you want this side?
• Any side’ll do, because this is gonna be all melted down in the oven.
• Oh, okay.
• So now, with Parmesan–
• You’re gonna show me how.
• You wanna make sure with Parmesan, you want it either fine or you can do it on this side, see? Any side you like. But you wanna make sure that you’re getting real Parmesan cheese. And you’ll know that by looking on the rind of the cheese. And the pin dots in it tell you that it’s Parmesan cheese. It comes from a certain area in Italy, Parma.
• Oh, Parma, of Italy.
• Of the northern part of Italy. And it’s made from cow’s milk, okay? And it’s set by law as to how long this cheese has to be aged. So we want about, oh, three tablespoons. I try to just eyeball things when I do it.
• Yeah, I notice you’re really careful in your measurements.
• [Mary Ann] Yeah. So that’s about it. When I wrote my cookbook, that was a real problem.
• [Arlene] That must have been really hard.
• Everyone said, “You know, well now, “you’ve gotta have exact measurements.” And I never cook from exact measurements. So that’s three tablespoons, and that goes in.
• All right.
• So we wanna mix that around a little bit. And then you wanna have oh, what other cheeses you have in the fridge. Now, this happens to be mozzarella. But if you didn’t have mozzarella, you could use cheddar. You could use Asiago, you could use Fontina, Swiss, whatever comes to mind.
• Okay.
• And now this, you just wanna cut up. You just want oh, maybe a cup and a half of cheese. So why don’t you cut that while I get some more herbs?
• Okay.
• It’s a good thing we’re working together.
• It doesn’t matter how I cut this up, right?
• Just cut it up in little cubes or little pieces. It really doesn’t matter, because it’s all going to get cooked down anyway. So now, I’m gonna add–
• You know, you’re really making me nervous in the kitchen today, because I’m not a professional. And I know that you know all this stuff, see, and I don’t. But I appreciate the fact that you’re not drawing attention to the fact that I don’t know all these things.
• Is this a confession, Arlene?
• This is a confession!
• Because if this is a confession, believe me, I have made every mistake there is to be made in cooking.
• When did you start to cook?
• Well, I was just newly married, of course, but I knew all this by osmosis, because you know, I was watching my family.
• Sure. Osmosis cooking!
• I never cooked a thing! And then the first time I cooked, I wound up in the hospital, yes I did.
• That bad or that good?
• Well, I tried to light a gas stove with a wad of newspaper.
• Oh, no!
• Yeah, that’s how much I knew about cooking.
• Wow.
• And I was like a singed chicken in the emergency room. I had no eyebrows, no hair on my arms.
• Oh my goodness!
• All right. Now how are you doing there?
• I think it’s about done.
• All right, so now we’ve got everything. Oh–
• Is everything ready?
• Oh, our leftover pasta, here it is.
• Okay.
• Now Arlene, here’s a little trick, here’s a little trick.
• Okay.
• Pasta you can use, just regular as I told you, or here I’ve mixed some spinach pasta.
• Right.
• [Mary Ann] With just regular pasta. If you happen to have beet pasta, you could have the colors of the Italian flag, right? Red, white, and green! Okay, so are we almost ready to do this?
• I think so.
• All right. So now we’ve gotta get a frying pan going.
• Okay.
• So we’re gonna turn this one on. Boy, I’m really good at this, aren’t I? Turning these pans on.
• Yeah, you’re good.
• Okay, so now, get a large enough frying pan to get this whole omelet together.
• [Arlene] Everything together, sure.
• [Mary Ann] You could do it in a smaller one, but it’s gonna take a little longer.
• Okay.
• So now, what you want is some olive oil.
• Okay.
• So a little bit of olive oil goes in the frying pan. And then you want some butter, and here we’ve got oh, you want about a tablespoon or two tablespoons of butter. So get that in and get that melted.
• I like the combination of butter and olive together.
• Yes, yes. Okay, so now we’ve gotta get that swirled around. So I hope your arms are in good shape today, ’cause you’re going to have to do something really special with this. So while that’s melting, now we can add the spaghetti.
• The spaghetti, okay.
• So this, take this out.
• And that goes into the eggs?
• Right, everything is going to go into the eggs now. So here’s the pasta. And that all goes in.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• [Mary Ann] See now, this was ingenuity in the Italian kitchen, because nothing was ever wasted, you see.
• That’s right.
• So why don’t you mix that around while I get the rest of this stuff? All right, the cheese, I’m just gonna bring it over and throw it in.
• Okay.
• That goes in.
• [Arlene] Here, how about I turn it this way for you?
• [Mary Ann] Yeah, get the rest of it, okay. Does it look good already?
• Did I do a good job on this cheese?
• Yes, you did.
• Thank you so much. I feel so much better now.
• Now we can add the prosciutto. Now remember, you could put vegetables in this too.
• Oh yeah, broccoli, or–
• Red and green peppers that you’ve sauteed or not, you could just put them in raw.
• [Arlene] Some onion?
• [Mary Ann] Onion. Doesn’t that look nice?
• It looks wonderful.
• Get that, mix it up, get that all mixed up.
• Oh, this looks great.
• Now, our butter is doing just fine. Now as soon as you’ve got that mixed, we’re ready to put that in.
• I think we’re ready, unless it needs more. Does it?
• Looks pretty good to me, Arlene.
• Okay, all right. Do you want these?
• No, let me get something larger. Here, might want a spatula. Okay, so now as soon as it’s ready like this, you dump it in, get it in like so. And now, what you wanna do is flatten this down like a pancake.
• Huh!
• Okay, and this has gotta cook now on the bottom side. And when you do this, you should really do it in a frying pan that’s lightweight, ’cause you’re going to have to do the Hail Mary flip.
• The flip?
• Right. Where we’re gonna have to do the Hail Mary flip outta this. So get it in there, and then this has to cook on the bottom side before we can turn it out. And how do you know when that’s ready to turn out?
• [Arlene] That’s a good question.
• The answer is, when this moves as one unit and it doesn’t look soggy or soupy in the center. So let me raise the heat.
• In other words, it has to solidify on the bottom.
• It has to solidify a little bit on the bottom.
• Yeah, okay.
• Oh, we want to throw that in so we don’t waste it.
• Yeah, don’t waste anything.
• All right, does that not look delicious?
• That looks wonderful.
• Now let’s get this mess out of the way. All right, so now we just have to wait now for that to cook.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• And then, we’ll turn that over. Now, let me tell you a little secret.
• All right.
• This could also be done in the oven.
• Oh, can it?
• Yep. For those who are not flippers.
• Right, yeah, I understand that.
• You could put this in a greased bake dish and bake it at 350 in the oven, and then cut it into little squares.
• Oh, and you don’t have to turn it or anything, it just bakes nice and solid.
• You just bake it and then just cut it into pieces and eat it.
• Where did this originate from?
• Right here.
• Really? It was your own?
• No. This is from my grandmother’s head.
• Okay.
• What I call le ricette della memoria, the recipes of the mind, you see? None of those old people wrote anything down.
• [Arlene] They didn’t.
• But they brought those traditions with them from Italy and passed them onto us.
• Now, I know that you’ve traveled back and forth a lot from Italy, and you’re researching and always looking.
• Right.
• How did you get started doing that?
• Well, I think around 1982, the light bulb went on in my head, you know? And I had a family of my own. And I was renovating an old house, and I had to put a kitchen in. And I sort of designed a kitchen that was based on what my mother used when I was at home. And that’s how that happened. And then I started to get into cooking and went back and forth to Italy to learn what I already knew.
• Oh, yeah, that’s right. Because things that they have tried and they’re proven, you know that they’ve brought them with them, so that’s what it’s all about.
• Exactly.
• Describe for me what a Sunday afternoon was like in your house.
• Well, Sunday, a day in our house actually started on Saturday, when my mother would make first of all the dessert, which would be a wonderful sponge cake, or a Pan di Spagna, as it was called. And then she would maybe make a chicken and wine dish, or we would go to my grandmother’s house to have chicken and wine. And there’d be pasta, some kind of pasta, always. Italian sausage, breads which were made on Friday. I mean, 10, 15 loaves.
• [Arlene] At a time? And many people would come to the house?
• Right, because my grandmother’s sons and daughters all lived in the area, and that was tradition, you see, to come and visit your mother on Sunday after church. You know, my kids used to say, “Drop me off at the corner, Mom. “We don’t want anyone to see you.” So you know, Arlene, you see? It’s starting.
• Oh yes. I see what you mean.
• [Mary Ann] It’s almost there, but not quite. You see how it’s still a little loose in the center?
• [Arlene] A little moist, yeah.
• So we have to let that wait. We have to have a little patience here. But Sunday dinner was usually shared with most of the relatives, and my mother doing most of the cooking with my grandmother. So it became something that I hated, actually.
• Really?
• Yeah, I hated that, because I thought, “Oh, every Sunday, “it’s a factory over here, “and that’s all we do is cook.” And I really wanted to get away from that.
• Aww, isn’t that sad?
• Yes.
• And now you’re back to it, right?
• I mean, you can’t escape your roots.
• You can’t get away from it, that’s exactly right. You probably now would not trade that for anything in the world, would you?
• No, I wouldn’t, because I’ve learned a lot about myself–
• Exactly.
• And I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned, I’ve passed away a lot of things that I would have loved to ask my grandmother when she was alive.
• Well, I think that all of us, I had a grandmother that was such a wonderful baker. And I just never had the opportunity to spend time with her to watch her do it.
• To see what her secrets were.
• And she could give you the recipe, but those old timers, it’s a feel. Does it feel right? And if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it until it feels right. But you can’t describe that on a piece of paper. You just don’t know how that is.
• Okay, well this feels right.
• Is this ready? Okay.
• [Mary Ann] Okay, now–
• Now we’ve gotta do something.
• Okay, now the thing is, the trick is here I use a pizza pan.
• Okay.
• If you don’t have a pizza pan, use something that’s going to go over the pan.
• Okay.
• Then you do what’s called the Hail Mary flip.
• Oh, is that it? Okay.
• You know the Hail Mary pass in football?
• Uh-huh.
• This is the Hail Mary flip, you see.
• [Arlene] Look at the bottom of that!
• [Mary Ann] So now it’s nice.
• [Arlene] It’s wonderful.
• [Mary Ann] And now, you need to put just a little bit more olive oil and butter. We won’t put the butter in.
• [Arlene] No?
• Nah, we’ll fudge it.
• Okay.
• All right, get the oil going again. And you know, if your pan is real dry, you’ll need to put it, but this looks fine. And then just get it back in there.
• [Arlene] Oh, boy.
• [Mary Ann] And reform it. You see, don’t worry that it looks a little sloppy at the moment, because you’re going–
• [Arlene] To cook on the other side.
• Yeah, you’re gonna reform it in the pan. Now, this is something that can be eaten at room temperature. It’s great to take to a picnic.
• Hmm, so if it gets cold, it wouldn’t–
• Actually, it’s better the next day. It’s better the next day. So when you’ve got it to this point, well, then you want to ready the decorative dish that you’re going to be serving it on.
• Something like this?
• Yeah, something like this. That’ll be fine.
• It’s interesting we had it here. If you were going to serve this for, say, you were planning on having this for a party or something, what would you serve with it?
• Well, I would serve a nice insalata mista, which translates just to a basic mixed Italian salad with good extra virgin olive oil, and wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, which is all the rage right now, I hear. But it’s been all the rage in Italy for centuries.
• Is that right?
• And the Italians eat their salads after the main meal.
• I know they do.
• That’s what we call un digestivo, which settles the stomach.
• Settles the stomach, I see.
• And the lettuces that the Italians use tend to be on the bitter side, like the romaine, the radicchio, not iceberg.
• No.
• There’s no iceberg lettuce in Italy.
• Is that right?
• Yeah, when you get a plate of antipasto and you have iceberg lettuce and canned tomatoes and canned olives, I just about–
• It’s bad, huh?
• Okay, so now I think–
• It’s ready?
• Would you like to do this one?
• If you want me to.
• All right, do I have to say a Novena, or are you gonna do it?
• [Arlene] I’m gonna do it.
• [Mary Ann] Wait, you need your mitt. Okay, I’m not gonna look.
• Okay. Oh, I can’t even lift the pan! Now the turn, just flip it right over. Right?
• Right.
• Aha!
• My prayer worked.
• Look at that!
• Oh, isn’t that wonderful?
• [Arlene] Isn’t that wonderful?
• [Mary Ann] Get it in the center.
• [Arlene] It’s beautiful.
• So it looks beautiful.
• We’re gonna come right back in just a minute after this word, and we’re gonna do the finished product, and we’re gonna show it to you. Stay with us, we’ll be right back. Oh, that looks wonderful.
• [Announcer] To receive the recipes presented on today’s program, plus many more great recipe ideas, send your best donation and a stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope to At Home, CTV, Wall, Pennsylvania, 15148-1499. You’ll receive Arlene’s heartwarming newsletter Enjoy! Featuring an entire month of At Home recipes, including today’s mouthwatering dishes. Be sure to include the Enjoy! issue number with your request.
• I told you we’d be right back, and sure enough, we are. And Mary Ann, please, will you serve?
• I’d be happy to serve you, Arlene. Now, I usually cut this in a wedge if I’m doing it in a frying pan, but if you’re doing it in the oven, you’re going to be cutting it into a square.
• [Arlene] Okay.
• [Mary Ann] So that looks pretty good now.
• [Arlene] Smells heavenly.
• It should, because we’ve made it with very simple ingredients, but fresh ingredients. Now let me get your dish. There, how does that look?
• Isn’t that nice? You can even cut smaller wedges or larger wedges, whatever you wanted to.
• Now wait a minute. I’ve gotta give you a dollop of the tomato sauce.
• That I made, right?
• [Mary Ann] Right. Right over the top, there.
• Oh, it’s beautiful!
• Now, if you didn’t want to use a tomato sauce over the top, you could just put butter with Parmesan cheese melted together. Can I have a piece?
• Please, help yourself!
• All right, I’m gonna have a little piece. Just a little, but I have to try this.
• It smells wonderful, and like you said, there’s very few ingredients. I mean, it’s not any elaborate ingredients.
• If you have the pasta, the rest of the stuff is in your refrigerator already. How is it?
• It’s wonderful.
• Oh, thank you. And you mean that, don’t you, Arlene?
• I certainly do.
• All right, I’m gonna have a little piece, because I’ve made this so many times.
• And how often would you make this at home?
• Well, at home, you know, this is a nice Saturday afternoon thing to have, or a quick supper if you’re really busy that day. And you know your kids are going to eat it, because they love pasta.
• It’s delicious, it really is.
• I’ll give it the taste test.
• Again, I want to remind our viewers that your wonderful book, Ciao Italia, is available at most any bookstore all across the country. And I can’t thank you enough for being here today. It’s been such a pleasure. You are such a delight, and she’s on WQED here in the Pittsburgh Market on Saturdays, so if you’ll check the listing, I know that you’d be happy that you watched. And why don’t you try doing something special for your family? I always say that, and when you write to me, you always tell me, “Well, you know, “I am trying to do something special for my family.” And I’m glad to hear that. But make a special effort to do that special thing this weekend instead of running off to the McDonald’s or the Burger King, simply make the frittata. I saw you do it, and I’m gonna try it. All you have to do is try. And if you fail, that’s not the end of the world, there’s always tomorrow to try it again. And customize it to the things that you like in it. If you like that Canadian bacon or even regular bacon, try it, why not? But whatever you do, try, and until we see you the next time, be sure to join us, because it just wouldn’t be the same without you here At Home.
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