Mary Ann Esposito shows Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline how to pull together a casual Italian party in the mayor’s kitchen as RI PBS videographer Michael Riley films for the cooking show Ciao Italia.

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Ciao Italia / Paul Lally

After the star of television’s longest-running cooking show walked in the Columbus Day Parade with Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline last month, the cooking started.

Ciao Italia’s Mary Ann Esposito took over the mayor’s kitchen to teach him how to pull together a casual party with a menu of antipasti for the theme of “Entertaining with the Mayor.”

He’s no stranger to the kitchen, having enjoyed cooking with his grandmother when he was young. But as mayor, he’s out seven nights a week.

“I feel like all I do now is eat,” Cicilline said.

So Esposito said he was a good sport to share the stage with her for the show that will air in the spring. Esposito and the Ciao Italia team produce and record the 18-year-old TV series in the studios of Channel 36 in Providence for airing on PBS stations across the country. She shared the recipes here for those who are ready to think about holiday entertaining.

For Cicilline, it was great fun both cooking and having the crew in his house.

“It reminded me so much of my childhood growing up with both grandmothers cooking and a father who was a wonderful cook,” he said.

Esposito’s favorite part of the taping was when Cicilline brought out a family book with recipes from his maternal grandmother, Ruth Peskin, who died 13 years ago. Peskin came to America from Romania when she was 12 and she brought with her a family cookbook that offered more formulas than recipes. But she wrote them down in a more recipe-like style.

Those kind of books are treasures, noted Esposito.

Cicilline also talked about the warmth of regular Sunday dinners with his paternal grandmother Lucy Cicilline.

“I grew up with a lot of good food,” he said.

Eastside Marketplace provided the food so Esposito wasn’t searching through Cicilline’s pantry and fridge for any ingredients. Rhode Island’s own Daniele Inc. provided the Italian-style cold meat products for the shoot.

But Esposito did say she spied the need for one vital update if the mayor were to start cooking.

“He needs a new oven,” she said. His is very old and doesn’t heat up properly, she said.

Cicilline said he probably needs a new kitchen as it’s too little for big cooking.

All shoots have logistical problems when they are outside of a film studio but this one went smoothly. Filming as the pair cooked at his kitchen island wasn’t optimal so they used his dining room credenza for some shots instead, Esposito said.

By cooking the antipasti for a group of friends who came after all the cooking was done, Esposito does think he was inspired to at least think about entertaining a bit more.

After cooking with the mayor, Esposito headed over to Sicily where she is filming episodes for the 19th season of Ciao Italia.

Esposito’s 10th cookbook, Ciao Italia Slow and Easy, is due in bookstores next Tuesday and features slow-cooking lasagne, stews, braises and casseroles. The show appears on Channel 36 Saturdays at 5 p.m.

gciampa@projo.com