Mangia!

In the Italian household I grew up in, our meals were a big deal. Every dinner (promptly at 6pm!) consisted of an Italian-style procession of courses: pasta first, risotto or soup, then fish or meat, fresh vegetables, and amazing bread, and of course the salad was always served last. Then came fresh fruit, often an apple or pear that one of my parents would peel and slice for everyone. My parents made monthly trips to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx to get bread from Terranova Bakery, the best bread in New York City.  We ate “odd” vegetables such as broccoli rabe and escarole. And we weren’t allowed to eat fast food. 

It should be no surprise that I grew up loving and appreciating excellent food, and enjoying every chance to cook for other people. 

At 14, while I was a student at a Quaker boarding school in Poughkeepsie, New York, called Oakwood Friends School, I became a vegetarian. It was only a matter of time, really. I had always had qualms about eating animals. I have since begun eating some fish. But overall I cook vegetarian, which means that I’ve had to be creative and smart while feeding myself and my steak-loving husband… I’ve come up with and borrowed many meat-free recipes that would make even a serious meat eater happy. 

The recipes I share are either made up, read somewhere or inherited from my Nonna, Mamma or sister. I’ve never taken a cooking lesson.  Truth be told, while I enjoy finding my own way in the kitchen, I’m not extremely experimental and use mostly the same 5 to 10 ingredients. I’ve learned that you don’t have to get complicated if you use quality ingredients and adhere to some basic principles.

There’s nothing I love more than making and sharing food with people I love. I hope you find a recipe that excites you and becomes part of your own repertoire. Mangia!