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Let's live deliciously! Here you'll find the very best recipes, travel guides, podcasts, videos, and wellness tips to create a healthy, beautiful joyful life.

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Melissa’s Kitchen Masterlist

Obsessed

Here’s my must-have list of kitchen essentials. Gizmos + gadgets, appliances, pots and pans, cookware, knives, and tabletop faves. For decades I’ve collected all your questions! The ones I get on social media, in DMs, emails and texts, from the blog, when I meet you or in our Secret Facebook Group. So I’ve decided to […]

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Sunday Strategies For Success

Wellness

Most people think of Monday as the first day of the week. But if we look at the story of creation … day 1, aka ground zero for Him was Sunday. Just like a tree needs strong roots to rise up and grow, I need a rock solid game plan to ensure the week ahead […]

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Must-Pack Travel Essentials

Travel

I’ve spent a lot of time in the air and living out of suitcases. Nothing brings me more joy than visiting a foreign country and exploring new and exciting places and trying delicious food. But no matter where I go in the world…There are a few items you will always find in my luggage. Here’s […]

Effortless-entertaining-melissa-mayo
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Effortless Entertaining

Lifestyle

Over the years I have hosted small dinners and events that feed hundreds. I’ve cooked for Oscar winners, billionaires, Hollywood studios, friends and family. But no matter the size of the guest list, a successful party comes down to planning. I’m sharing the exact strategy I use every time I host. And I’m confident that […]

Top-travel-tips to-visit-italy-melissa-mayo
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Top Italy Travel Tips

Travel

“You may have the Universe if I can have Italy” – Giuseppe Verdi Italy is the most gorgeous country in the world to travel to. I guess that is why I decided I wanted to retire there. And over the past decade, I have crisscrossed this country eating my weight in pizza. And I still […]

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A Healthy Body Image

Wellness

I have often seen parents who have a poor relationship with food and body image, pass this onto their kids. This is not the relationship with food we want to create for our children.

So I have been taking lots and lots of photos and working hard on content for my new site. The last few recipes I have been focusing on getting a lot of color onto the plate. This salad started out with a head of cauliflower and I just keep adding veggies till I ended up […]

One of my favorite pasta has a sage and butternut filling. So I figured, why not try out butternut on a pizza. This month I was browsing through a ton of food magazines and they were filled with Thanksgiving recipes. So I decided to marry a pecan and pumpkin pie to create this pizza. It […]

I am a huge fan of dates. They are like little spoons of sugar and I will pretty much pick them over any dessert. So these biscuits are just heavenly. They have a shortbread crust but the filling is moist and gooey and the nuts add that textural crunch. You can leave out the brandy […]

My friend Polly turned me onto the Veggetti spiralizer. It’s this super inexpensive gadget that turns vegetables like carrots, zucchini, and squash into spaghetti-shaped noodles. It looks like a pencil sharpener and it is so easy to use. I love to add a lot of color to my salads, so to make this one look […]

It’s Memorial Day … and that can only mean one thing. Summer is officially here. Yipeeeee!!!!! I couldn’t be more excited. Along with the arrival of warm weather, barbecues, and beach days, comes the abundance of all that gorgeous, summer fruit. I no longer need to cook with grapes, apples, pears, and citrus. Peaches, mangos, […]

Puttanesca is one of my favorite Italian sauces. I think it is the combination of the olives and capers that make it so delicious. To me, it’s in a class above the basic marinara sauce. I love it on pasta but I thought I would add it to a chicken dish to give it a […]

Gołąbki or Golumpki in the United States is a cabbage roll stuffed with a filling of beef, onions, and rice. It’s a traditional Polish dish and my friends Christina and Julie taught me their secret recipe. Gołąbki are often served during the Christmas season and on festive occasions such as weddings My Jewish grandmother was […]

I absolutely love soups. I find if I have a bowl before a meal I eat way less. And this one is so flavorful and very low in calories. I’d say it’s probably one of my favorites. I had it on a trip to Turkey. The combination of the toasted spices with the roasted tomatoes […]

A lot of you asked for Passover desserts and it can be so hard coming up with recipes when you cannot use dairy, flour or rising agents. But this apple crumble cake is so delish. The almond meal adds an extra nutty flavor to an already brilliant combination of tart apples, crunchy walnuts, and chewy […]

A few months ago my husband got hooked on these protein shakes at the Equinox gym. He had to have one after every workout. But at $10 a shake I decided I would recreate it, so he could make it at home. Every morning without fail I hear the Vitamix whirring away. He cannot get […]

My mom Eleanor is a master chef. In fact, so much of my cooking skills I learned at her knee. And my mom’s favorite food in the world is bread and butter. Nothing fancy… Just warm crusty bread slathered in butter. And I know that has got to be sounding pretty good about now after […]

\ Meringues are always a crowd-pleaser and also one of the first desserts I mastered. I love how you can whip them together in no time at all and they can even be made a few days ahead of time. The best part is that you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen too, […]

I'm Melissa, your host & tour guide.

A Food Network chef, author, mamma, eternal optimist, wannabe-mermaid, spice mixologist, and “dough therapist” (yep, it’s a thing)—

I'm also the founder of Susina Cucina, the gorgeous, Italian cooking school I manifested into my reality. I’m obsessed with Aperol spritzes, travel, and mouthwatering food… especially pizza and pasta.

more about me

Ciao Bella,

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The Magic of Italy
without the planning

Explore

Food Netwok Chef, Melissa is dishing up delicious food and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your soul.

find out more →

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Healthy living is beautiful … That’s why it’s calledLa Dolce Vita”.

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I’m sharing my best recipes, travel guides, and Italian secrets for longevity & aging gracefully. Discover my tips and tricks to become a Rockstar chef, my current obsessions, and tools to embrace joy, find your purpose, and live deliciously!!

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