Bertinelli - Valeries home cooking: more than 100 delicious recipes to share with friends and family

VALERIES HOME COOKING

More than Delicious Recipes to Share with Friends and Family

VALERIE BERTINELLI

Text 2017 Valerie Bertinelli

Design and Photography 2017 Time Inc. Books

Published by Oxmoor House, an imprint of Time Inc. Books

225 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, excepting brief quotations in connection with reviews written specifically for inclusion in magazines or newspapers, or limited excerpts strictly for personal use.

Editorial Director: Anja Schmidt

Assistant Editor: April Smitherman Colburn

Project Editor: Lacie Pinyan

Design Director: Melissa Clark

Photo Director: Paden Reich

Designer: Allison Chi

Text: with Todd Gold

Recipes and Food Photography: Time Inc. Food Studios

Cover and Lifestyle Photography: Brian Bowen Smith

Stylist: Alicia Buszczak

Food stylist: Alyse Sakai

Wardrobe: Lori Eskowitz-Carter

Retouching: Martina Tolot

Hair and Makeup: Lisa Ashley and Kim Urgel

Assistant Production Director: Sue Chodakiewicz

Senior Production Manager: Greg A. Amason

Copy Editor: Dolores Hydock

Proofreader: Donna Baldone

Indexer: Mary Ann Laurens

eISBN: 978-0-84875-544-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017939646

First Edition 2017

Printed in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Introduction

Come On Into My Kitchen

Twenty-five years ago, people came up to me and asked for an autograph. These days, I still get recognized when I go out, but more often than not, Im asked for a recipe, and Im fine with that change. Actually, I love it. Playing Barbara Cooper on One Day at a Time , as I did in the 1970s, or more recently, Melanie Moretti on Hot in Cleveland , came with certain expectations that could be hard to live up to. The role of a home cook is much more comfortable. Its the real me.

To know me, in fact, is to spend time with me in the kitchen. I come from a family of artists, and the kitchen is where I express myself, where I am truly at home. Under the watchful eyes of five cats and a dog, I pull my hair back, roll up my sleeves, and pull out ingredients from the fridge. I follow recipes. I also experiment. I like the process of chopping and mixing. I taste constantly. I occasionally toss a mistake in the sink. And I enjoy the feeling I get from sharing something I love. Its my favorite way of connecting with family and friends.

At this stage of my life, my son is grown and I am reaping the benefits of deep, long friendships with moms I have known since our children were in kindergarten. I get the most pleasure from sharing experiences and creating new ones, and theyre always better when I fill the table with delicious food. My home reflects these passions. The kitchen is light and airy, like a painters studio except there are pots and pans instead of canvasses, and my backyard includes a vegetable garden, a corner where we grow herbs, fruit trees, and even a vineyard on the side of a broad, sloping hill.

Im open to inspiration. Finding a vine of ripe tomatoes in the garden makes me think of whipping up a panzanella. While picking lemons off the trees in my backyard, I hear a debate in my head: Salmon or lemon bars? Or even Limoncello? Ideas can come from a note I have written myself (fennel and figs?), a photo on my phone reminding me of a meal my husband, Tom, and I had on our last road trip, or seeing a bunch of fresh basil at a farmers market.

COOKING IS IN MY DNA

While traveling in Italy several years ago, I learned my great-grandmother was a cook in a summer home and sold her homemade gelato in her tiny village in order to make enough money to emigrate to America. As a little girl, I spent countless hours in my grandmothers basement kitchen, watching her make homemade pasta, as the other women in the family helped and told stories. As far as Im concerned, our family history is inseparable from her gnocchi and capelletti.

My mothers specialty was Italian food, even though shes of English-Irish descent and raised in New Jersey. She learned to cook from the women in my fathers family. When I was a kid, she made a mean lasagna, and the rich, creamy goodness of her risotto still races to the forefront of my mind when I think of perfection at the end of a fork.

I loved cooking for my son, Wolfie, and whenever work took me away from home, I thought about the special meals I would make when I got back. Indeed, once back home, I eagerly returned to being a mom, which meant carpools and kitchen duty. No one made meatloaf with more purpose or enthusiasm than me. Now, I relish the time Tom and I spend together in the kitchen, alone or entertaining family and friends.

My passion for sharing what I love inspired my TV show, Valeries Home Cooking . In 2013, Tom and I returned from an amazing trip to Italy and suggested a series where we shared our experience traveling and eating fabulous meals. After listening to me talk about food and the way I tried to re-create these incredible meals at home, the executives at the Food Network suggested a home cooking show instead. I waited all of fifteen seconds before saying, Yes, Id love to do it. I knew it was the right decision when they came up with the name of my show, Valeries Home Cooking . It captured meand now, after six seasons, I can confidently say its everything Im about right now.

RECIPES FOR THE HEART AND SOUL

The recipes in this book are like that, too. I personally selected every single one in this book. I created some and acquired others from family and friends, including my mother. All of them share two ingredients that are essential to me: heart and soul. Even the simplest recipes here, like Sloppy Joes, evoke a warm feeling in me, and my hope is they have the same effect on you. Over the years, I have served everything in this book at home for casual get-togethers and special occasions. Ive improved on the recipes to the point where theyre ready to share, and Im very excited about this opportunity to hopefully help and inspire you.

Im assuming we are a lot alike, in that when Im cooking for family, friends, my book club, or a party, or if Im just preparing a grocery list for the week, I look through my magazines and cookbooks for ideas. There are a lot of yummy ideas here and they are intended for people like you and me, home cooks. They are organized into chapters that reflect the way I think of meals, along with the variables like whether its Tuesday morning and youre getting a late start versus a leisurely Sunday brunch with family. To me, lunch is more about what I need to get through the rest of the day than a three-course sit-down, starting at twelve or one. I added suggestions for Happy Hourbecause why not, thats me, tooand you should know the chapters where Ive organized entres, sides, and sweets are personal and family favorites.