Recorded Books Inc. - Frankie Avalons Italian Family Cookbook: From Moms Kitchen To Mine And Yours

FRANKIE
AVALONS

Italian Family
Cookbook

FROM MOMS KITCHEN
TO MINE AND YOURS

---------------------------------------

FRANKIE AVALON

withRICK RODGERS

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THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
Keith Frankel and John Peca

As a performer, I find myself away from home a lot, as being on the road is a big part of the job. Im used to it, though, because Ive been in show business since high school. Whenever the grind of travel gets me down, I have a surefire way to keep me going: The knowledge that I will soon be returning to my home and family.

One of the greatest comforts of home life for me is home cookinga kitchen filled with the aromas of simmering tomato gravy, freshly chopped basil, and dessert baking in the oven is a beautiful and welcoming place. Every Sunday, I put on an apron, head to the kitchen, and make a huge meal for my large family. How large is large? Well, I have been married to Kay for over fifty years, and we have eight great kids (Frank Junior, Tony, Dina, Laura, Joe, Nick, Kathryn, and Carla) born in a ten-year period. They, in turn, have given us ten wonderful grandchildren: Jonathan, Patrick, Kathryn, Connor, Nicole, Meghan, Mason, Bridget, Johnny, and Tucker). And what do I cook? What any good son of South Philadelphia would cook, of coursethe zesty, traditional dishes of Italy.

Tradition is the key to our Sunday meals. Sunday dinners are a part of most Italian Americans DNAthe day of the week set aside for family and friends to gather, relax, and create memories. Most of the time, the recipes I cook have been in our family for generations. Dad was a butcher, and for a time, we lived above the shop. How people put food on the table was a big part of our daily life. (The recipe for the sausage I sell through my food company is his recipe.) My mom worked, too, in the garment industry. Regardless, we had a home-cooked meal on the table every night. When I hear people say that they are too busy to make dinner, I question it. All those years ago, the Avallones could not have been busier, but we cooked our meals from scratch.

I honor my mom and dad with my cooking, sharing their recipes and what they taught me about food, just as they shared knowledge from their parents with me. We never wasted food. Stale bread was turned into bread crumbs to use in other dishes, and last nights roast chicken carcass was simmered into a broth for soup, maybe made richer with some cheese custards floating in the broth. My sister Theresa is the guardian of my moms recipe notebook, and many of these dishes come directly from those gravy-splattered pages. Now with this book, my family will always have my recipes for their favorites to pass down to their kids, continuing the thread of family history. They all love my crab marinara, tomato and onion salad, and banana icebox cake. (Speaking of iceboxes and family history, I won our familys first refrigerator at a talent contest when I was barely in my teens, proving to me that maybe I could make a living at this showbiz thing.)

With Frankie Avalons Italian Family Cookbook, I can share these beloved recipes with you, too. For those of you who are of Italian extraction, these dishes are sure to bring back memories of your family meals, as many are classics that have been passed down from generation to generation. I am thinking of such specialties as stuffed calamari braised in marinara sauce, honey-dipped struffoli, and a big pot of meat-filled Sunday gravy that takes hours of simmering before it is ready to serve with a huge platter of pasta. Ive put together the dishes that my family asks for again and again. I have also included recipes from a few of my favorite restaurants that remind me of meals at important times in my life, such as my favorite chili and the fettuccine Alfredo that Kay and I had on our honeymoon.

My life has been about extended family, too. Maybe youve seen me perform with Bobby Rydell, Fabian, or James Darrenguys I have known since I was a teenager. When researching this book, I went back to my old neighborhood in South Philadelphia, which was not only where most Italians settled, but the birthplace of an entire genre of singing personified by the friends I just mentioned and yours truly. I asked my buddy, Jerry Blavat, who has been a part of the Philly music scene since our days at American Bandstand, to join me, and youll see some pictures of us together at our favorite hauntsTallutos Authentic Italian Food, Isgro Pastries, Claudios Specialty Foods, Cappuccios Meats, and Darigos Fish Market.

Frankie Avalons Italian Family Cookbook is a simple title, but it tells it all. It is one thing to have a great restaurant meal, and I like them as much as the next person. But, making a delicious meal at home for loved family and friends, and basking in their presence and the memories of the ones who may not be at the tableIll take that any day of the week.

Frankie Avalon

Both my parents worked, but we had a hot meal on the table every night because they were always prepared with ingredients in the pantry and fridge. Dad would usually bring a cut of meat or a chicken home from the butcher shop, but you can do almost the same thing with a quick stop at the store to purchase a bit of fresh meat, seafood, or poultry. The key is to stock the kitchen with a few well-chosen staples to complete the meal. How many times have I returned from the road thinking that I have nothing in the house to eat for dinner? And then I boil a bowlful of pasta, toss it with some garlic cooked in olive oil, and finish it with a generous grating of Romano or a dollop of ricotta.

In Italy, each region has its own specialties, dishes that dont travel far outside of its boundaries. To this day, some Italians divide the country and its cuisine in half: by north of Rome and the regions south of it (including Sicily). An Italian would consider Parmesan a Northern cheese, and Romano a Southern one, whereas its all just Italian cheese to an American cook! So, because my family is from the south, my recipes tend to use tomatoes, Romano, oregano, garlic, and other foods that are synonymous with that areas cooking.