Cooking up some confidence

Sansone hopes to help fellow moms over dinner hurdle

BY KRIS OLSON

Marblehead resident Maria

Sansone comes into homes four mornings a week over the traditional TV airwaves as the host of “The Hub Today” and “Mom2Mom” on NBC-10 Boston, the latter also an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning podcast.

But she has her social media following to thank for her latest project.

About five or six years ago, when her son was very small, she turned a camera on as she was making dinner and broadcast it out over Facebook Live and Instagram.

“And the rest is kind of history,” she says.

The impromptu low-tech cooking show developed a following, especially once Sansone began to introduce sidekicks, the “colorful characters that are my family.”

At times, Sansone would poll her online viewers on what she should make.

“Overwhelmingly, they always wanted me to make the thing that was super simple,” Sansone says.

Over time, Sansone had built up a repository of recipes that had both proven popular and could be prepared within a half hour.

“My viewers kept saying to me, ‘Where can I find these recipes? When are you writing a cookbook?’” she says.

Those viewers now have their answer with the publication of “Oh $#!% What’s For Dinner?:

No-Fuss Weeknight Recipes

You’ll Swear By.”

Unlike her recipes, the book was a long time in the making, with Sansone sending out the initial proposal to publishers over three years ago.

And the book never would have made it over the finish line without a little hometown help.

Sansone says that even before trying any of the recipes, early purchasers of the book are telling her they are wowed by how it looks. For that, she has another Marblehead mom to thank.

Sansone says Katie Ring, whose studio is in Salem, first caught her attention “because during the pandemic, she was hustling so hard, and shooting food photos for restaurants out of the back of her trunk.”

Sansone interviewed Ring over Zoom, and a friendship — and partnership — was born.

Sansone also has a Marblehead resident, Lisa Sugarman, to thank for introducing her to her publisher, Familius.

“Lisa is the type of person who is passionate about helping people do the things that they want to do,” Sansone says.

As Sansone’s cookbook project crystallized, she says she and Sugarman met for coffee many times at Shubie’s Marketplace, where their books will now sit side by side on the shelf.

As is evident in the book’s title, Sansone believes that there is nothing wrong with a dash of salty language in the kitchen — one of the recipes is “Maria’s Big A$$ Sheet Pan Quesadilla” — especially when a busy mom is trying to feed her hungry family.

“I feel like it’s still very classy — it’s just tongue-in-cheek enough,” she says.

As with her online cooking, readers will get a flavor of Sansone’s extended family, which includes her husband, Marblehead native Josh Guthartz. Sansone explains that Guthartz was the first boy she met upon arriving at Syracuse University.

“It was only maybe a matter of a week before he sat me down and made me watch the Marblehead-Swampscott football game on VHS tape in the dorm room,” she recalls with a laugh.

Sansone’s career took her to New York City and Santa Monica, where their kids were born. But in a familiar tale, the couple decided that they wanted to be closer to family and raise their children — Grace, now 9, and Benjamin, 5 — in a community.

In those initial installments of the digital cooking series, “Benny was on my hip and Gracie was sitting on the counter and Josh was coming in and out and eating all the food before it was prepared,” Sansone says.

As time marched on, Sansone would have her Italian-American family come and visit, and her parents became regulars, her father making his famous pizza and sauce.

But the real scene stealer — at least on Sansone’s side of the family — is her Aunt Ray, whom Sansone considers a consultant on the cookbook.

“She really has the keys to my past,” Sansone says. “She is great with remembering my grandmother’s recipes and the things that we grew up eating — and she’s a hoot.”

Josh’s parents then got their big break when Sansone and her family moved in with their in-laws while their house was being renovated, which shifted the filming location to “Bear and Rah-Rah’s” kitchen.

“Bear became a huge sensation — dentist by day and then my sous chef by night,” Sansone says.

In all, the book contains 65 entrees and 10 side dishes meant to mix and match easily with the entrees, “because Mama don’t have time for appetizers or desserts on a weeknight,” Sansone says.

“We need to cut to the chase and get a healthy, delicious dinner on the table that our family will actually eat,” she says.

Sansone owns plenty of cookbooks herself, some she considers the “little black cocktail dress” she pulls out on special occasions.

She hopes her book, with its recipes for “Fried Chicken n’ Waffle Tenders” and “10-Minute Spaghetti Carbonara,” is more like “your comfiest pair of worn-in jeans.”

“These are the ones that you put on, you know they’re gonna work, you know you’re gonna feel good, and they stand the test of time,” she says. If she has one hope for the book, it is that it will foster confidence in her fellow parents that they can put a delicious meal on the table.

“I was surprised how many of my friends — grown women with lots of children — are spending a ton of money on takeout and just spinning their wheels and really don’t feel competent to do it,” Sansone says.

She continues, “Dinnertime is unfortunately a very stressful time for people, and I would like it to be a happy time. It’s my happy place.”

CO-CHAIRPERSONS

NEWSROOM

Community Editor - Will Dowd wdowd@marbleheadnews.org

The Current welcomes submissions (150-200 words) to News in Brief. Send yours to info@marbleheadnews.org.

St. Andrew’s rummage sale

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church invites the community to its rummage sale on Saturday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., followed by a Stuff-a-Bag event from noon to 1 p.m. The sale will take place at St. Andrew’s Church, 135 Lafayette St. The venue is accessible to people with physical disabilities. Available items include adults’ and children’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, electronics, small appliances, tools, linens, lamps, kitchen items, toys, games, puzzles, holiday items, gardening and sports items, artwork, vintage items and small furniture. A boutique will offer special items for sale. The event will not feature books or large furniture.

Proceeds from the sale will support the missions and ministries of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Candidates to run two nights

Given the large number of candidates and contested races, the Marblehead League of Women Voters will host two Candidates Nights on Tuesday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 24 in the library of Marblehead High School, 2 Humphrey St. Both nights will begin at 7 p.m.

The 2023 municipal election on Tuesday, June 20 will feature 27 candidates running across seven contested races.

Jazz at the Marblehead Arts Association

The Marblehead Arts Association and Gene Arnould are presenting a performance for their Jazz Concert Series.

On Thursday, May 18, the Laszlo Gardony Trio will perform at the MAA, 8 Hooper St. Laszlo Gardony, a jazz pianist and composer from Boston, will be joined by Yoron Israel on drums and John Lockwood on bass. Tickets can be purchased online or in advance at the MAA or Arnould Gallery, 111 Washington St., for $35 per adult, which includes access to a cash bar and light refreshments.

‘MarbleShred’ open on May 13

On Saturday, May 13 from 9 a.m. to noon, Marblehead Bank will hold its annual “MarbleShred” event, a free community shredding day for the public at its 21 Atlantic Ave. office. According to the bank, attendees can bring a maximum of two standard or bankers-size boxes of

Marblehead Current is published every Wednesday by Marblehead News Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is mailed to all homes and businesses in Marblehead, MA 01945.

DONATE

Help us deliver sustainable local journalism. Please consider supporting the Marblehead Current by making a tax-deductible donation at marbleheadcurrent.org/donate. For stock transfer donations, please contact: Kathryn Whorf at kwhorf@marbleheadnews.org.

ADVERTISE

Advertising is available on our website and in our weekly printed newspaper. To learn more, contact our Director of Community Relations, Marion Warner Greely, at mgreely@ marbleheadnews.org, or visit www. marbleheadCurrent.org/ads.

VOLUNTEER Join us. We invite you to help support our effort to establish and maintain a free press for a strong community. To get involved, visit www. marbleheadCurrent.org/volunteer.

REACT documents. Please refrain from bringing cardboard, food waste, paper plates or paper towels.

We’re standing by to listen to your ideas. Please drop us a line and let us know what you would like to see in your community newspaper. Send your thoughts to info@marbleheadnews.org.

In conjunction with the shredding event, the bank will host a food drive to benefit the Marblehead Food Pantry, accepting cash donations and essential items such as peanut butter, boxed pasta, mac and cheese, canned vegetables, rice, cereal, tuna fish, spaghetti sauce, canned chicken and soup. The event will take place rain or shine.

Rotary Club camperships

Marblehead Rotary Club

Co-Presidents Nancy

Gwin and Blair Lord of the Rotary Club of Marblehead announced the availability of funds for local children in need of financial assistance to attend summer camps. The Rotary Club raises funds for camperships through its annual summer lobster raffle, with over $219,716 awarded to more than 380 children in the past 23 years. com with questions or to request an application for a campership. Each household needs to fill out one form. Applications will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Gwin and Lord said the goal is to help children attend their chosen camp, with popular local options including the Marblehead Park and Recreation Department’s playground camp, YMCA’s Children’s Island and Camp Rotary.

Camperships may be up to $500 per child, and children living in Marblehead can receive assistance twice.Call or email Ellen Winkler at 781-631-6404 or ewinkler@emwinklerlaw.

Council on Aging speaker series

Join Mike Michaud, fleet captain at the Boston Yacht Club, as he delves into the captivating history and importance of Marblehead’s renowned sailing tradition. Discover the secrets behind this picturesque town’s sailing legacy on Wednesday, June 21 at 1 p.m.

The event is part of the Marblehead Council on Aging Speaker Series and will take place at the Marblehead Council On Aging.

“Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the fascinating world of Marblehead’s sailing heritage,” said organizers.

Inferno: The Great Boston Fire of 1872 Anthony Sammarco will tell the dramatic story of the Great Boston Fire of 1872 on May 11 at 7 p.m. at the J.O.J. Frost Gallery & Carolyn Lynch Education Center. This lecture is based on Anthony’s new book, “Inferno,” and will cover the biggest fire in New England history, which destroyed 776 buildings in just 15 hours. To learn more, visit bit. ly/3lRxrJj

Marblehead Garden Club plant sale

The annual Marblehead Garden Club Plant Sale

The Marblehead Current is proud to partner with photographer and historian Dan Dixey, who regularly shares photos of Marblehead from his extensive collection, along with information about each shot.

“This is a photo of the old Lockerbie’s restaurant on Darling Street,” said Dixey. “It was taken May 4, 1973, by Harry Wilkinson. Aiken Brothers Restaurant was there much earlier (1898). Later, Rinaldo’s started in that location and then moved to Village Plaza before closing for good.” is back for its 92nd year! The town’s oldest continuously-running plant sale is Saturday, May 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, 161 Washington Street, Marblehead. In the event of rain, the sale will take place on Sunday, May 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Admission to the event is free.

The proceeds from the plant sale will be used to support the maintenance of the organic gardens at the historic Jeremiah Lee Mansion, which is operated by the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society. The Marblehead Garden Club and The Marblehead Museum have been working together since 1936 to preserve and enhance the mansion’s gardens.

We’regrateful forteachers everywhere, and recognize all thatyou do forstudents. Your impact is appreciated and admired—this week and every day.

HappyTeacher Appreciation Week!

75 West ShoreDrive, Marblehead towerschool.org