Clara Lizio Melchiorre - Cooking with Clara: Recipes of a Lifetime

Copyright 2021 by Claire Lizio Melchiorre with Rosie Amodio Photography 2021 by Valentina Sokolova All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover photos by Valentina Sokolova and the Melchiorre family Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-6601-3 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-6602-0 Printed in China CONTENTSPREFACE An Italian in the Kitchen ITS HARD TO FIND SOMEONE who doesnt like Italian food. And this book makes it easy for you to create Italian food at home. We can thank Clara Lizio Melchiorre, the author of this book, for that.

Claras story spans four generations. She spent much of her life in the shadow of her famous mom, Mama Celeste Lizio of frozen pizza fame. With her charming Italian-tinged English and abbondanza slogan, Claras mother took over the frozen pizza market in the 70s and 80sand Clara helped build the business for decades. Then Clara came into her own in the late 80s, when she opened her namesake restaurant in a Chicago suburb. Now, as the matriarch of a loving, passionate Italian-American family, Clara is ready to share her cooking techniques and secret recipes with the world. Thats me as a child dressed up as a nun for a big holiday.This is a promotional shot from a series of videos I made with my daughter Michelle in the 1980s. Clara has always been a powerful personality.

Heres how one newspaper article described Clara as a child: Old-timers remember her as a skinny kid with copper pigtails who did her homework at the bar and demanded that anyone who swore in her presence say Hail Marys in penance. Clara doesnt do that anymore, but she did reference at least three saints during our interviews for this book. This self-taught chef loves to follow chef-like standards of procedure. Her favorite term is mise en place, which is the culinary term for better get all your ingredients in order before cooking. Shes very committed to her procedure, and once you try out a few of her recipes, you will be, too. Claras love for life is expressed in her cooking.

She wants to share what she knows and enjoys, and gets gratification out of pleasing everyone around her, says longtime patron and former CEO of Wilton Industries, Vince Naccarato. Clara is very talented and cooks some of the best homemade foodwith love in every bitethat you will ever eat. Clara redefined the notion of Italian-American cooking. Its not just about throwing together some garlic and olive oil and covering it in mozzarella. Each of her dishes has a special touch or innovation. Clara never stops perfecting her recipes.

She never stops, period. She is a feminist at heart. She is strong: Having beat a rare form of cancer, recovering from an infection that took most of her hearing, and coming back from financial adversity. She is compassionate. Shes a food traditionalist who adapts to changing tastes and timesshe has gluten-free and nut-free versions of several dishes. To quote this dynamic woman about cooking, Its in the family.

Before me, after me. And hopefully this book will capture her essence, creativity, and love of cooking. My daughter Michelle with her brothers Anthony and Rudy, and our dog, Max, circa 1970.Thats me when I was young.My parents serving wedding breakfast at Celestes for my brother Pat.The children celebrating with Gramma Elsie. (No Mark yet!)Thats me getting a little beer at the family tavern.INTRODUCTION Anything made with love is perfect. Clara Lizio MelchiorreIM 82, I HAVE FOUR CHILDREN, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, a famous mom (she started Mama Celeste frozen pizza), and one namesake restaurant. Ive been cooking for four generations.

Cooking is my life, and its taken me all these years to finally write down all Ive learned. I have wanted to archive my recipes and tell our familys story for as long as I can remember. With some encouragement from my children and grandchildren, I am finally doing it. Basically, I really want this collection to be more of a storybook with recipes. A blend of the values my brothers and I grew up with, a special heritage instilled in us by our parents. From humble beginnings, Celeste and Anthony, my mom and dad, gave us a great legacy.

I wanted my family to have this written history that celebrates Mom and Dads love of cooking for generations to come. In our family, we show love through food. For you, I want to give you very simple and very easy recipes for the novice or seasoned cook. This is a very approachable cookbook. I will walk you through the flavors and techniques and tell you what to do and how to do it. For me, procedure is the most important part of any dish.

Its not too difficult or overwhelming to achieve a very successful dinner from simple foods. To be truthful, I have never had formal cooking lessons but helped run a pasta empire, became chef of my own restaurant, won a few awards, and have been on TV! If I can do it, so can you. My secret? Make things you love, want to share, and pass on. My love of cookingfood, reallybegan as a child, growing up on Chicagos West Side. My parents, who emigrated from SantAngelo allEsca near Naples, opened a grocery store that became known more for what my mom made with the groceries in the tiny back kitchen than for selling the actual ingredients. The smell of her cooking drew WPA workers, whom she fed, often for free.