We love food. Not just because it's a necessary substance for sustaining life. Perhaps, we should say we're in love with food. That's why we would risk personal relationships for an ourstanding meal, why The Food Network is one of the only TV stations we can find without using the guide, and why we comb the pages of picture-heavy cookbooks the way most people thumb through the latest edition of Playboy (NSFW). And so......

She attended UCLA as well as Cordon Bleu in Paris, which led her to working in a number of restaurants including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/rest/fine/spago/bh/index.php. From there, she started her own catering company, GDL Foods (look up link), and has had her own show, “Everday Italian” http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ei/0,1976,FOOD_9958,00.html on the Food Network since 2003.Phillyist: Your day to day must be a bit overwhelming at times. As a famous personality with a Food Network show, a successful catering company and now a new cookbook“EveryDay Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes” how do you juggle it all?GDL: I would never take all the credit and say I make it happen all by myself.... It just seemed like a natural progression to venture into something that has been so rooted in my own family history.Phillyist: I notice your new book features some of my own personal favorites in terms of ingredients....