Award-winning author Jessica Theroux kicks off our show this week.  Jessica was on the show last year talking about her book, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.  In May the book won the coveted International Association of Culinary Professionals 2010 Judge's Choice Award.

This month Jessica is featured in Food and Wine magazine (September issue).  The article, Healthy Dinner in an Hour, includes a quick seasonal menu.  Also, on August 27 to commemorate Chez Panisse's 40th anniversary and raise money for Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard Project, Jessica was one of many chefs who participated in ten benefit dinners in different locations around Berkeley, California.

Plus, the studio was buzzing with the new class of culinary students at Indian Hills (after all, it is the third Wednesday when we feature the program directed by Chef Gordon Rader).  It was a real thrill for me to meet and talk with the students on Monday in their Studio restaurant on the IHCC campus.  The energy in that room was sizzling.  I can't wait for all of you to meet them.

When I think about the meals our family has been fortunate to share in Italy the most heartwarming have been those  cooked by women; women whose love shines through their preparation of local dishes, which reflect the culture and personality of the soil.  We reveled in food, laughter and love while dipping vegetables in the bagna cauda  made by Davide's mother in her Torino home, fought over the last piece of Christina's eggplant parmesan with just-made mozzarella di bufala, and studiously listened to our Italian mother and grandmother, Severina explain how to make cedano Veronese.  We swooned over each delectable bite of Dada's amazing soups and pastas, patiently waited for Erika's risotto with porcini, watched as tortelloni was crafted by a group of village ladies at Albergo Corsini, and enjoyed many other specialties found in the kitchens of friends in towns like Sant Ambrogio di Valpolicella and Spello.