In this episode of Weekends with Yankee, co-host Amy Traverso is in New Hampshire to meet with the host of the longest-running cooking series in television history, Mary Ann Esposito. First, Amy swings by Tuscan Market in Portsmouth to pick up some cannoli and ricotta pie, which she brings to Mary Ann at her home in Durham. There, Mary Ann shares stories from her PBS show Ciao Italia, which has been on the air since 1989, and talks about how her connection with the culture and food of Italy continues to inspire her. Together, she and Amy bake up a gorgeous Swiss chard tart, called an erbazzone, from Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. Next, co-host Richard Wiese travels to York, Maine, to meet Sara Fitz, a watercolor artist whose design company specializes in wares brightened with classic coastal New England images, such as whimsical lobsters and buoys. Along with Richard, we see Sara's painting process at her studio space, get a tour of her shop, and stroll through the seaside landscape that inspires her work. Finally, we're in Middlebury, Vermont, to meet Bethanie Farrell, who is thinking both globally and locally to address the food-insecurity issues that her state faces. Bethanie shares the story behind The Giving Fridge, through which she collaborates with area restaurants to assemble and donate hundreds of prepared meals using the profits she makes from selling plants, honey, and other local goods. Along the way, we talk with some of the folks whose lives have been touched by her initiative.
