I always have parmigiano-reggiano, olive oil and pasta at home. When people get sick, they want chicken soup; I want spaghetti with parmesan cheese, olive oil and a bit of lemon zest. It makes me feel better every time.

The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.

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.

The citric acid in lemon juice makes it perfect for bleaching, disinfecting and cutting through grease. And olive oil is a great alternative to furniture polish.

You gotta have good olive oil. You should have a cooking olive oil and you should have a finishing olive oil, like an extra-virgin olive oil.

Greek yogurt with some olive oil stirred in can transform many dishes.