Lidia Bastianich has been welcoming people to her table on PBS for 25 years with the same call-out: "Tutti a tavola mangiare," which is Italian for "Everyone to the table to eat!" It's more than a catch phrase, it's her governing principle. Throughout her storied career, she has been fueled by a passion for simple, home-cooked meals, shared with family and friends.

"I’m straightforward. I’m simple. I don’t over-create. I’m sort of a transporter of a culture, my Italian culture to my American culture and family, so I feel very comfortable in that position," she said on Boston Public Radio on Thursday, "and when you’re comfortable, you know what you’re doing, you just move along without major fuss.”