Mother Sauce: Italian American Family Recipes and the Story of the Women Who Created Them

$45.00

Biographical Note: Lucinda Scala Quinn is the author of eight cookbooks, including the best-selling Mad Hungry trilogy. Her mantra is, "cook for the ones you love, teach them to cook for themselves and they will...

paypalvisamasteramerican expressdiscoverdiners club
Description

Biographical Note:
Lucinda Scala Quinn is the author of eight cookbooks, including the best-selling Mad Hungry trilogy. Her mantra is, "cook for the ones you love, teach them to cook for themselves and they will pass it on." Her passion for cooking took root growing up in an Italian American family, which inspired her to begin cooking professionally at age sixteen. As a late-blooming entrepreneur, she founded the Mad Hungry kitchenware brand which makes multi-use tools for the home cook. For over a decade she oversaw all food content for Martha Stewart Living OmniMedia. She was the host of the television show Mad Hungry: Bringing Back the Family Meal and cohost of Everyday Food on PBS. Her radio show EatDrink on Sirius FM was an innovative precursor to podcasts. She lives in New York City and can be followed @madhungry.

Table of Contents:
Preface: Aquilina's Daughters
Introduction: A Foodway by Our Italian Immigrant Grandmothers, Mothers, and Daughters
Mamma Knew: Frugal Ways to Cook in Your Kitchen
Provisions to Have on Hand

Simmered on the Stovetop: Saucy Meats and Hearty Soups
Sunday Sauce
Essay: Sunday Dinner Menu
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Breadcrumbs
Beef Braciola
Meat Sauce (Ragù)
Sausage Ragù
Tomato Sauce (Sugo)
Chicken Parm Meatballs
Italian Wedding Soup
Cannellini Bean Soup
Green Minestrone

Between-Meal Snacks: Breads, Pickles, and Tidbits
Tomato Pie
Prosciutto Bread
Essay: The Antipasti Platter
Mini Meatball Sandwiches
Fresh Ricotta
Roasted Sweet Red Peppers
Sidebar: Garlic Herb Bread
Essay: Peppers
Marinated Stuffed Hot Red Cherry Peppers
Hot Red Cherry Peppers in Brine
Caponata
Giardiniera
Marinated Mushrooms
Italian Tuna Dip
Mussels Oreganata
Clams Casino
Roasted Chestnuts

Sauced and Tossed Pasta: Macaroni Dishes Finished in a Saucepan
Penne alla Vodka
Sidebar: Preserved Tomatoes
Utica Riggies
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta Ceci
Bucatini Puttanesca
Spaghetti Amatriciana
Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
Turkey Tetrazzini
Spaghetti Carbonara
Creamy Lemon Spaghetti
Garlic-and-Oil Spaghetti
Fried Spaghetti
Basic Pasta Dough
Sidebar: Using Fresh Pasta Dough
Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

Layered and Baked: Savory Oven-Cooked One-Pan Meals
Lasagna with Mini Meatballs
Baked Ziti
Eggplant Romana Carolina
Eggplant Rollatini
Essay: Eggplant
Chicken Parmesan
Steak Pizzaiola
Boneless Pork Roast
Brother Jim's Easter Lamb
Savory Easter Pie
Baked Artichoke Casserole
Italian Oven Fries

Cooked in a Skillet: Seared, Sauced, and Cooked in a Big Pan
Chicken Marsala
Chicken Oreganata
Sidebar: Chicken Broth
Chicken Francese
Chicken Cacciatore
Sidebar: An Easy Way to Butcher a Chicken
Chicken Vesuvio
Chicken Scarpariello
Turkey Piccata
Veal Birdies
Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers

Feasting on Fish: Seafood Dishes for Everyday and for Celebrations
Seven Fishes Seafood Stew (Cioppino)
Essay: Feast of Seven Fishes
Lobster Fra Diavolo
Spaghetti with Clam Sauce
Shrimp Scampi Meatballs with Pasta
Shrimp Francese
White Wine Lemon Sauce
Shrimp Rice Balls (Arancini)
Seafood-Stuffed Shells
Poached Fish Fillets (Aqua Pazza)
Haddock Italiano
Tuna or Swordfish Kebabs with Salsa Verde
Stuffed Squid in Tomato Sauce

Garden and Greens: Side Dishes Made from Beloved Italian Produce
Sautéed Escarole
Sidebar: The Italian Garden
Utica Greens
Greens and Beans
Garlicky Broccoli Rabe
Lemony Pole Beans
Jambot (Vegetable Stew)
Stuffed Artichokes
Braised Fennel
Fennel and Orange Salad
Tomato Salad
Put-Up Tomatoes
Italian Vinaigrette

Eats from the Streets: Sandwiches and Sweets Inspired by Festival Foods
Sausage and Pepper Hoagies
Sidebar: Festivals
Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Hoagies
Stromboli
Steak Sandwich, aka Philly Cheesesteak
Chicago Beef
Muffuletta Sandwich
Beef Rice Balls (Arancini)
Lemon Ice
Espresso Granita

Sweets: Traditional Pastries, Cakes, and Cookies
Italian Sponge Cake
Tiramisu
Nonny's Cannoli
Half-Pound Cake
Cassata Siciliana
Orange Olive Oil Cake with Whipped Ricotta Frosting
Lena Strozzi's Chocolate Roll
Ricotta Pie
Pasta Frolla
Sherbet-Stuffed Frozen Lemons
Essay: The Italian Cookie Tray
Sweet Wine Taralli
Tarralluci (Glazed Lemon Knots)
Biscotti Barricelli
Chocolate Toto Cookies
Chickie's Cherry Cookies
Pistachio Drops
Nana's Pizzelles

Afterword
Further Reading
Shopping Resources
Acknowledgments
Index


Brief Description:
"In America today, nonna's cooking is everyone's favorite food with spaghetti, lasagna, and pizza some of the most popular dishes. Yet this is a cuisine that is only a century old. When Italian families first arrived in the U.S. in the first part of the twentieth century, mammas brought with them the skills and ingredient know-how to fashion a whole new foodway in spite of living in poverty and their ostracization from their newly adopted country. These remarkable women gave birth to a cuisine that their fathers, husbands, and sons then monetized outside the home. Red sauce joints thrive around the U.S., but rarely are these women actually credited as the true founders of the Italian-American cuisine. In her latest book, home cook and author Lucinda Scala Quinn cooks 100 iconic Italian-American recipes. Along the way, she shares the origins of the recipes and gives credit to the incredible women who developed our cherished Italian dishes. Home cooks and food lovers alike will delight in this masterful collection of America's favorite comfort foods, from Baked Ziti and Sausage and Pepper Hoagies to Chicken Marsala and Cannolis. With gorgeous recipe shots, archival photos, ingredient sidebars, and cultural essays, Mother Sauce brings nonna's cooking to kitchens everywhere"--

Review Quotes:
"Lucinda pays loving tribute to the Italian women who stubbornly kept the food traditions of the old country alive in American kitchens. An indispensable collection of Italian American classics."-- Giada De Laurentiis

Review Quotes:
" Mother Sauce is a superb, inspiring cookbook drawn from generations of family wisdom. . . . These recipes come from the heart and will find their way into your own repertoire."-- Jody Williams, chef and coauthor of Via Carota

Review Quotes:
"Lucinda Scala Quinn is a legend in the culinary field, and I have been inspired by her work for years. I am thrilled and tantalized yet again by her newest offering of heartfelt, straightforward, family recipes."-- Nicole Rucker, chef and author of Fat + Flour

Review Quotes:
"While there may be other cookbooks preserving Italian-American cooking, no one gets to the heart of this storied cuisine with more passion and perspective than Lucinda Scala Quinn. Using her own very personal family history, spanning five generations, countless relatives and dishes, she puts into focus the creation and evolution of our country's most beloved recipes. MOTHER SAUCE honors the hard-working, often unrecognized, immigrant women whose grit and gumption paved the way for every delicious swirl of pasta in Sunday gravy, meatball sub and cacciatore we have come to know and adore. With Lucinda's expert guidance and generous approach in the kitchen, these classics are sure to be passed down again and again."-- Gail Simmons, Food Expert, TV Host and Author of BRINGING IT HOME

Review Quotes:
"Lucinda has a mastery of her craft and is a true custodian of tradition in the American foodways, one deliciously made its own by Italian women."-- Camille Becerra, author of Bright Cooking

Review Quotes:
"Recognizable, unelaborated Italian American classics with easily sourced ingredients and uncomplicated preparation. . . . True comfort food." -- Publishers Weekly

Review Quotes:
"The best elements of Italian cooking blended with American ideas and transmuted into culinary creations of their own. . . . The book has the basics covered, from Sunday's spaghetti and meatballs to stromboli, penne alla vodka,
and fettuccine alfredo. Readers will also find dishes not seen in other collections, like creamy lemon spaghetti, mini meatball sandwiches, or Quinn's brother's Easter lamb, covered and marinated in a garlicky, herbaceous honey-vinegar blend. Italian classics have a place here too, for those looking for variations on carbonara and amatriciana. Quinn's irresistible cookbook concludes with an array of desserts, ranging from light to luscious, from granita and sweet taralli to orange olive-oil cake with ricotta frosting and tiramisu."-- Booklist

Review Quotes:
"If you buy this book for the recipes, you'll be one happy cook and eater. But spend a little time with Mother Sauce, and you'll discover that there's a deeper story in the pages. It's a tribute to the mostly anonymous women who immigrated from Italy and adapted the food of their homeland to what was available in America. In the process, they created some of our most beloved dishes."
-- Real Simple

Review Quotes:
"Filled with techniques inspired by cucina povera--the frugal, resourceful way of cooking that Italian grandmothers have perfected over centuries. It's not just about stretching ingredients; it's about coaxing deep, layered flavors from humble staples and making every scrap count."
-- Martha Stewart Living

Publisher Marketing:
From home cook and author Lucinda Scala Quinn, a cookbook containing 100 iconic and beloved Italian-American recipes from the last century. Named a Best Cookbook of 2025 by Real Simple and The Strategist

In America today, everyone loves nonna's cooking--think spaghetti, lasagna, and pizza. Italian families arrived in the U.S at the beginning of the twentieth century, and mammas brought with them the skills and ingredient know-how to fashion a whole new cuisine in spite of living in poverty and ostracization from their new country. Their fathers, husbands, and sons then monetized these dishes outside the home in the form of Red sauce joints. Rarely are these women actually credited as the true founders of the Italian-American cuisine.

In her latest book, Lucinda Scala Quinn cooks classic Italian-American recipes, and along the way shares their origin and gives credit to the incredible women who developed our cherished Italian dishes. Home cooks and food lovers alike will delight in this masterful collection of America's favorite comfort foods, from Baked Ziti and Sausage and Pepper Hoagies to Chicken Marsala and Cannolis. With gorgeous recipe shots, archival photos, ingredient sidebars, and cultural essays, Mother Sauce brings nonna's cooking to kitchens everywhere.

Review Citations:

  • Library Journal 02/01/2025 pg. 89 (EAN 9781648292019, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
  • Booklist 02/01/2025 pg. 8 (EAN 9781648292019, Hardcover)
  • Publishers Weekly 03/17/2025 (EAN 9781648292019, Hardcover)


Author: Scala Quinn, Lucinda
Publisher: Artisan Publishers
Binding: Hardcover
Pub Date: 2025-03-11
BISAC: Cooking|Regional & Cultural|Italian|Cooking|Comfort Food|Cooking|Methods|General
Subjects: Cooking, American|Cookbooks|Cooking, Italian
Weight: 2.3 lbs
ISBN: 9781648292019
ASIN: -
SKU: SP-9781648292019