Alex Guarnaschelli's "Italian American Forever"

The chef's new cookbook is a tribute to the comfort food we all love

Alex Guarnaschelli and daughter Ava (with pupper Leon Duval in the background) Photo by Johnny Miller

Alex Guarnaschelli is best known for her work on Food Network shows like Iron Chef America, Chopped, the Kitchen, and most recently Ciao House. Guarnaschelli also helms New York City’s Butter and is mom to daughter Ava, a culinarian in her own right.

Though formally trained in French techniques, Guarnaschelli has her roots — and her heart — in Italian American cuisine. The chef grew up in a household of dueling cooks: her mother (legendary cookbook editor and publisher, Maria Guarnaschelli) of Sicilian roots and her father (John Guarnaschelli, an Italian-American psychotherapist) both made dueling marinaras with Alex torn between the sauces.

Those core memories return with Guarnaschelli’s new cookbook, Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat (available now on Amazon.com and wherever you purchase your books). The book is filled with recipes for 120 classic Italian-American comfort dishes ranging from Carmela Soprano’s lasagna to stuffed artichokes. In other words, food that you actually want to cook and eat.

I asked Guarnaschelli about her new book, including the reasoning behind the amazing working title:

Broken Palate: You almost called your new book, Things People Always Want to Eat -- and as a native New Yorker that hit me in the heart -- red sauce Italian joints are pretty much iconic.  Why is red sauce Italian a universal love language?

Alex Guarnaschelli: I honestly think it's the flavor profile of tomato sauce that hits home with every person. Whether it's the tangy taste from the tomatoes or the comforting herbaceous notes from oregano or the ranch dressing adjacent vibes from the garlic and garlic powder, there is comfort in one aspect of the flavor for everyone. It's also always piping hot. 

BP: If I were to start cooking today (and there are so many tools out today), what do I absolutely need to start the right way?

AG: Start simply with a good sauté pan, a pot, a pairing knife and a larger knife. It's always good to begin with the basics and see where your habits take you. Coming home with 1 million tools and then engineering your life around them doesn't work.

BP: Now that you have explored Italian with Ciao House and written a book on Italian cooking, what are three "dos" and one "don't" when it comes to cooking?

AG: Do make something that you are curious about. Don't make something you've never made and are curious about the night you decide to have a huge dinner party. Do explore the traditions/food you grew up with. Do whatever you want in your own kitchen, it's your food!

BP: What is your most comforting bowl of pasta to eat and make -- and why? 

AG: Funny. It's so simple it almost doesn't comprise a whole recipe. Nights when my parents were working late and I was a latchkey kid on her own for dinner, I would cook spaghetti and mix a little pasta water with grated Pecorino cheese and a splash of vinegar. If I was feeling fancy, a few cracks of black pepper. 

Divine still. 

BP: What foods are you and your daughter (please say hi to her) eating right now?

AG: We are on a big artichoke kick lately. We are also exploring the merits of Yukon Gold and Idaho Baker potatoes in various preparations in anticipation of Thanksgiving dinner. Ava is obsessed with figs and oranges also. We ate a delicious salad of oranges with slivered pickled onions, ice cold out of the fridge.

Food is a never ending journey.