I would challenge any American cook, regardless of what they've learned from their mom, to operate a restaurant and not have spent any real time in Italy.
It's fascinating to travel around Italy and realize just how many different ways they make spaghetti.
As for international understanding, I feel that macaroni has done more for our appreciation of Italy than Mussolini.
The commonplace about Italian cooking is that it's very simple; in practice, the simplicity needs to be learned, and the best way to learn it is to go to Italy and see it firsthand.
Italians' relationship to food is loving, informal, and gay.
I want to eat good Italian food and get better at their language. It seems so romantic too.
When an Italian tells me it's pasta on the plate, I check under the sauce to make sure.
I do not cook. However, if I did, I'd cook all Italian food, all the time.
