Italian Cook Quotes & Sayings

I'm away so much I've had to learn to cook, and I find it relaxing after filming. I make stews and liver and bacon, and an Italian mate taught me how to make a mean puttanesca sauce. — Ray Winstone

I love the simplicity, the ingredients, the culture, the history and the seasonality of Italian cuisine. In Italy people do not travel. They cook the way grandma did, using fresh ingredients and what is available in season. — Anne Burrell

My grandmother was a chef, and she taught me to cook. One day I want a restaurant, a small Italian grill. That's my aspiration. — Jeremy Miller

Oh, my wife is a wonderful cook. She comes from a food-loving Italian family - her father owned a pizzeria! — Buddy Valastro

I like to cook Puerto Rican food. That's what I grew up on: rice, beans, meat, some Italian-American food. I know my way around the kitchen. — Jennifer Lopez

Italian Summer Pasta Salad 1 ½ cups pasta (bowtie and corkscrew shapes hold up the best) 2 cups broccoli, chopped 1 cup cauliflower, chopped 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped 1 can artichoke hearts, drained ½ cup sweet yellow onion, chopped 1 cup balsamic or Italian salad dressing ¾ cup sliced black olives 1 ripe tomato, chopped 1 avocado, chopped Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. In large bowl, combine all ingredients, adding in cold pasta at the end. Toss to coat. Cover and keep cold. — Amber Disilva

I started cooking 30-something years ago. When I was 14, 15, I was a short-order cook in a snack bar. That was at a place called the Gran Centurions. It was an Italian-American swim club my parents belonged to. — Tom Colicchio

I'm an avid cook. Brazilian, some Italian, a little French. And I often throw dinner parties. — Morena Baccarin

I made lemon spaghetti in an early season of 'Everyday Italian,' and to this day people still come up to me and say they love it. It's very, very simple. Basically, you cook the pasta and mix together Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and zest and pour it over the pasta. — Giada De Laurentiis

I love cooking. My Italian mother is a genius cook, and I picked that up from her. I make my own sauce, which takes four hours, from a recipe that's been refined over many years. I won't tell anybody what it is. — Josh Fox

The past was a consumable, subject to the national preference for familiar products. And history, in America, is a dish best served plain. The first course could include a dollop of Italian in 1492, but not Spanish spice or French sauce or too much Indian corn. Nothing too filling or fancy ahead of the turkey and pumpkin pie, just the way Grandma used to cook it. — Tony Horwitz

I always knew that food and wine were vital, with my mother being Italian and a good cook. — Robert Mondavi

Nowadays I actually cook Italian-style food more than French heavy sauces. I make a good salad, some great roasted vegetables, grilled fish. I'm crazy about L.A. because at the farmers' market you find all kinds of wild mushrooms. — Benjamin Millepied

I do not cook. However, if I did, I'd cook all Italian food, all the time. — Ne-Yo

I consider a good dinner party at our house to be where people drink and eat more than they're meant to. My husband is a really fantastic cook. His mother is Italian and if you walk into our house, we assume you're starving. — Elizabeth Gilbert

Giada De Laurentiis, of 'Everyday Italian,' is not a chef, although she has culinary expertise - she was trained at the Cordon Bleu and worked as a private cook for a wealthy Los Angeles family. — Bill Buford

I'm Italian. I love to cook Italian food, so I learned from my dad how to make sauce and meatballs and all that stuff. With my wife and kids, I started making homemade pasta. The very first time, I didn't have a pasta maker, so I had to cut it with a knife, the old-school way! The noodles were all jacked up, but it was fun. — Joey Fatone

Not everyone in Italy may know how to cook, but nearly everyone knows how to eat. Eating in Italy is one more manifestation of the Italian's age-old gift of making art out of life. — Marcella Hazan

Noel [Charles, husband] and I love cooking. He does his cooking and I do mine. I'm the traditional English cook, with a twist now and then. Because I was married to an Italian, I'm also pretty good at Italian food. Noel, he can cook anything, so can Julian. — Cynthia Lennon

I cook. I did the Escoffier course in Paris when I was 21 in one of those periods when it was like a pause. I can cook anything Italian, Chinese. — Marie-Chantal Claire

No one could touch the home cooking of an Italian woman. French women, they are very intelligent, very sexy - but they don't like to cook. — Sirio Maccioni

I've always been able to cook Italian food. That's in my blood because I'm half Sicilian. — Jen Lancaster

I've always felt like a foreigner wherever I've lived. I don't feel much towards my Italian or Scottish roots, although I do cook the pasta at home. — Tom Conti

All right," I tell Gray, "you make an admirable lasagna. It's not as good as my mom's, but it will do."

"Don't kill me with praise now." Gray laughs then shakes his head. "I'm not trying to beat your Italian momma in a lasagna cook-off, Jones. That's just crazy talk." His brows waggle. "But I accept the compliment."

Drew snorts. The sound sudden and harsh. "'Jones'?" Jones is his nickname for me. But I hadn't thought he'd be territorial. He levels a look at Gray, and my chest grows tight. "And here I thought you didn't like my girl. — Kristen Callihan

I cook everything from Italian to Cajun food. I have now mastered the roux for gumbo. I love cooking. — Yolanda Adams

Marinara Sauce Tomato Sauce Makes about 3 cups 2 large garlic cloves, lightly smashed 1/4 cup olive oil 2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 28-ounce can Italian peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped Salt 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces In a large skillet, cook the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, pressing it occasionally with the back of a spoon, until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the sauce is thick, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the tomatoes. Stir in the basil leaves. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti or other pasta. — Allen Rucker

I learned to cook from my mom. Most of what I ate growing up was Italian cooking. — Steve Albini

I'm very Italian, so I love cooking for friends. Whether it's Valentine's Day and my boyfriend and girlfriends' boyfriends are away, or someone's in town, or someone had a baby, I cook. — Sofia Milos

She's a great cook."
"Yeah," Carmine said. "Probably the Italian in her."
[ ... ]
Dominic laughed. "Must be. You know damn well she has Carmine's full-blooded Italian in her all the time."
Carmine's muscles went rigid, and Vincent started coughing as he choked on his drink. Celia snorted, trying to hold back her amusement, but Dominic didn't bother containing himself. — J.M. Darhower

I cook a lot of Italian food. Bucatini Pomodoro is my best: it's a fat spaghetti with tomato, olive oil, and reminds me of getting married in Italy. — Bill Rancic

I cook Italian, Thai and Vietnamese, I've always liked to cook. — Robert Cray

I'm a really good cook. I bake a lot. I cook dinner most nights. I cook everything from Italian food to Mexican food. But if I'm going to some place and it's a potluck, I'm always the one to bring dessert! — Amanda Schull