“Italian American Forever” is the latest book from celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli, featuring 120 recipes with stunning photos of recipes that include everything from fettuccine alfredo to Carmella Soprano’s lasagna. We asked her a few questions to learn more.
“Italian American Forever” feels like more than a cookbook — it’s a love letter to family, flavor, and heritage. What inspired you to write it now?
I have written a number of cookbooks that have explored my journey with food as a professional chef. While food is such an important part of life and family, I never really explored the dishes I ate a lot growing up that my mother or father cooked. The French cooking my mother did took over every aspect of my cooking career. The Italian stuff I always kept to myself. I thought it was time to share.
What’s the most sentimental recipe in the book — and what’s the story behind it?
Without a doubt, the most sentimental recipe in the book is the cannoli cake. I might even argue that the dessert chapters have the most sentimental stories behind them in general. My mother would request this cake from a local bakery every year for her birthday, and we started replicating it at home. The boozy notes, the creamy ricotta. It takes me back to my first cannoli on Grand Street and all my mother’s big smiles when the cake would appear in front of her.
Were any of the recipes or stories born during moments spent on the East End?
These are dishes from way back in the catalogue. I’d say the East End inspired more impulse cooking because the seasonality and great growing season make me want to create new things. The zucchini? Eggplants? Herbs? Potatoes? It’s never-ending.
What is one ingredient or dish from the Hamptons that you feel you can’t go without during the summer?
There are so many obvious answers to this, like tomatoes or corn. I love the spinach and Marigold flowers at Green Thumb Organic Farm. I love the tomatoes and all the herbs at Balsam Farms. I love the corn at Pike Farms. I love anything that Marilee Foster grows… if I had to pick one, it would likely be the tiny Gold Bar zucchini.
What’s always in your Hamptons fridge? And what’s always in your beach bag?
You will likely find any of the following: Too many herbs. Mecox cheese. Provisions’ spelt muffins. Some Margarita mix from East End Mixology. Round Swamp chicken salad. Funky cheese from Cavignolas. Leftovers from Shark Bar. Half an Armin & Judy almond croissant. So many Sungold tomatoes. Half a lobster roll from Bostwick’s.
