Lidia Bastianich has been cooking 'round the clock for her 99-year-old mother and her lucky neighbors. "I am cooking more, and, actually getting back into some of the basics," says Bastianich from her home in Queens, New York. "I have a little garden. So, I'm gardening all the herbs. I'm making homemade pesto for the winter."

That's how the world-renowned Italian TV chef, restaurateur and cookbook started shooting Eating in With Lidia, a COVID-era spin-off of her long-running PBS show, Lidia's Italy.