The ITALIAN NONNA COOKBOOK
"COOK LIKE a NONNA"
Authentic Italian Recipes, Family Traditions & The Soul of Italian Home Cooking
What if you could bring the warmth, flavor, and timeless traditions of an Italian Nonna right into your own kitchen?
The Italian Nonna Cookbook takes you on a delicious journey into the heart of Italian home cooking—where recipes are made with love, generous portions, simple ingredients, and the kind of time-tested techniques that have been passed from one generation to the next.
Written by bestselling Italian cookbook author Daniel Bellino Zwicke, an Italian-American New Yorker with more than 30 years of experience in New York City's Italian restaurant and Italian wine businesses, this book is the result of a lifetime immersed in Italian food.
For more than 40 years, Daniel Bellino Zwicke has traveled throughout Italy, eating, cooking, tasting, and gathering recipes and food traditions from Italian Nonnas, restaurants, trattorias, salumerias, markets, and food artisans. From the bustling streets of Naples and Rome to the kitchens of Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Tuscany, Liguria, Genoa, Florence, Venice, Capri, and Ischia, these experiences have helped capture what makes Italian food so beloved around the world.
A Taste of Italy in Every ChapterInside The Italian Nonna Cookbook, you'll discover an enticing collection of classic Italian dishes inspired by the food Italians actually love to eat at home.
From comforting bowls of pasta and soup to leisurely Sunday dinners, you'll find recipes for:
And, of course, the book celebrates those legendary dishes that seem to taste even better when served around a crowded family table.
Discover the Secrets of Nonna's Kitchen
Italian cooking isn't about complicated techniques or expensive ingredients. It's about knowing how to coax incredible flavor from simple, honest food.
It's the aroma of garlic and onions slowly cooking in olive oil, a pot of Tomato Sauce simmering on the stove. A batch of Nonna's fresh made Meatballs, Lasagna, Ricotta Cookies and so many good things. Tasty Italian Food - It Nourishes, it makes us Happy!
Whether you are an experienced Italian cook, an Italian-American who grew up eating Nonna's food, someone with Italian roots who wants to reconnect with the cuisine of your family, or simply someone who loves great Italian food, this cookbook belongs in your kitchen.
Open the book. Tie on your apron. Put the pot on the stove.
Then cook like a Nonna.
Mangia!
RECIPES INDCLUDE :
LASAGNA
TOMATO SAUCE
PASTA PUTTANESCA
DOLLY'S MINESTRONE
PASTA FAZZOOL
RAGU NAPOLETANA
BRACIOLE
SUNDAY SAUCE
FRITTATA
PACINO PASTA
TASTY DESSERTS - Including SINATRA CHEESECAKE
CHICKEN CACCIATORE
Ingredients :
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large Onion, peeled and sliced thin
6 Chicken Thighs & 6 Legs
8 pieces of whole San Marzano Tomatoes
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into 12 slices
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
10 ounces Button Mushrooms, washed and cut into quarters
1/2 teaspoon each of Salt & ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup dry White Wine
2 Bay Leaves
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary (optional)
(Optional) You can add some Olives to the dish if you like. Some people like to, some don't. We prefer without, and are happy with the peppers, onions, and mushrooms. If you do want to add Olive, get any Italian Greens Olives you like, and add into the dish in last 10 minutes of cooking. Basta !
Preparation :
Pat dry all of the chicken. Season each piece with salt and black pepper on both sides.
Place the olive oil in a large frying pan and turn heat on to a medium flame.
Add half the chicken and brown on both sides until nicely browned. about 3 minutes on each side.
Remove the browned chicken and set aside on a plate. Brown the remaining chicken in the same pan, then set aside with the other chicken.
Add the sliced peppers to the pan and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Add the onions and continue cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes, mixing with a wooden spoon as you cook. Season the peppers and onions with salt and black pepper and mix. Add the garlic and cook on low heat for 3 minutes.
Add all the chicken and the juices from the plate back into the pan. Add the white wine and cook on medium heat, until the wine is reduced by half of its original volume.
Add the tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to break into pieces. Turn the heat to high, and cook for 5 minutes, as you mix the tomatoes into the pan. Add the bay leaves and rosemary. Cover the pan with a lid if you have one, and cook on low heat for 35 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Once the chicken is cooked through and is tender ( 35 - 40 mins.), turn the heat off, and let rest for 8 minutes before serving.
To serve. Give each person 2 - 3 pieces of chicken with some mushrooms and pan juices on each plate. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top, and drizzle a little olive oil across the chicken. Serve with a salad or whatever vegetable that you like on the side, or serve the chicken on its own.
Enjoy !
... Daniel ....
The above Recipe is Excerpted from La TAVOLA, courtesy of the author Daniel Bellino Zwicke
SINATRA & BELLINO
"Sinatra and Bellino" refers to the culinary connection celebrated by NEW YORK ITALIAN-American author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke in his works Sinatra Sauce - Music Meatballs & Merriment. The books explore Frank Sinatra’s deep love for authentic Italian food and the specific dishes he frequented. [1, 2, 3]
