Jennifer Perillo - Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennies Kitchen

2013 by Jennifer Perillo

Photography 2013 by Penny De Los Santos

Published by Running Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012942958

E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-4834-0

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Cover and interior design by Amanda Richmond

Edited by Kristen Green Wiewora

Food Styling by Simon Andrews

Prop Styling by Mariellen Melker

Special thanks to Idan Bitton, Jay Kim, and Saveur magazine

Typography: Arno, Mailart Rubberstamp, and Jellyka Delicious Cake

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Contents

Writing is not a solitary endeavor. While it is the author who finds the words to put to paper, it is lifes experiences and the people around her who provide the inspiration. This is more than just a collection of recipes, it was a personal journey, and every word, every ingredient, brought me one step closer to a path towards healing. At times, it felt like it took an army of people to bring this lifelong dream from my kitchen to yours.

What started as encouragement from friends and family slowly grew from an idea into a reality. Thank you to Stacey Glick, my literary agent, for seeing I had what it takesthe heart, soul, and professional know-how to write this book. A good idea, solid recipes, and a well-crafted proposal are only half the work in writing a bookand at moments they feel like the toughest! After that, it takes foresight and faith from a publisher to help breathe life into it all. Kristen Green Wiewora, my editor at Running Press, recognized the potential in this project from the start. Thank you sounds so simple, and humble, and can never truly capture the deep gratitude I feel.

My first instinct is to call Amanda Richmond, the senior designer at Running Press, my designer, because she captured my essencemy style, look, and feelso well, its as though she knew me for years instead of mere months.

Penny De Los Santosyour gift and talent for making pictures is one I am so thankful to have had as a part of this book. Simon Andrews, Idan Bitton, Jay Kim, and Mariellen Melkerthank you for being part of those four magical days during the photo shoot, and thanks to Saveur for opening their test kitchen to us.

Thomas Conway, youre proof that not only can teachers make a difference, but they can also grow to become more than mentorsthey can become friends for the rest of your life.

When I made the switch from the restaurant world into writing, Barbara Turvett took me under her wing at Working Mother magazine. Barbara, thank you for helping nurture my dreams, and recognizing I had what it takes to get this far.

Everyone should have a cheerleader as loud and encouraging as I do in my mom. I grew into a strong, resilient, headstrong woman thanks to her telling me every step of the way that no dream was too big or unachievable. Thank you, Mom, for loving and accepting me just as I amthat is the greatest gift any parent can bestow upon a child.

Cinderella may have only had one fairy godmother, but I was lucky enough to have two in my life. Auntie Joan and Aunt Barbara, thank you for being my guardian angels, both in life and in the kitchen.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think about the amazing group of friends that surrounds me. Ilana Levine, Dominic Fumusa, Erin Patterson, Mike Canzoniero, Marina Babakoff, Vivian Manning-Schaffel, Brad Schaffel, Vania Kasper, John Kasper, Ilina Ewen, Gina Von Esmarch, Lindsay MacNaughton, David Leonard, Rosemary Flannery, Meryl Williams, Bryan Donovan, and Jeanise Vazquezwhere would I be without all of your love, laughter, support, and appetites for everything I cook?

Diane Cu and Todd Porter, you both have been symbols of love, light, and faith in friendship in the face of anything life throws my way. You are my family, through and through.

C.G.Youre right: nothing is impossible.

Isabella and Virginia, home is always where the heart is, and mine is forever with the two of you. And to my shining star in the night sky thank you for casting your brilliance and love in my life, Mikey.

When I was growing up, my mom cooked the red-check classics from scratchmeatballs, marinara sauce, chicken parmigianaas any good Italian-American wouldve done. Any other cuisine, though, was fair game for shortcuts. The secret to her Asian pork chops was a packet of brown powdered gravy mix. Pancakes and frosted cakes always came out of a box. Mashed potatoes were more commonly found in the form of flakesthe task of peeling real ones was saved for Thanksgiving. Like many families in the 70s, we were told food should be convenient, and little by little real cooking became a special-occasion activity, vanishing from our weeknight routines.

Then roles reversed when I started high school. My parents divorced, and to keep us afloat my mom took a job as a supermarket cashier. We became a team, and I began helping out with dinner. I gravitated toward easy cooking techniques any 15-year-old who had never stepped into a kitchen could handle. Cooking this way also happened to be healthier, like grilling instead of frying and swapping in fresh vegetables for the canned counterparts that were a staple most of my youth. The seedlings of my desire to cook from scratch had been planted. I even started making homemade pizzas and stir-fries.

What began as baby steps in an attic apartment in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, blossomed into my adult cooking style. I didnt need to let the boundaries of busy city living stop me from enjoying a slower-paced, from-scratch lifestyle in the kitchen. After college, I went on to work as a video producer, but food was always a grounding force. Id come home after a days work and settle in to cook a meal, just for myself. This love for nourishing myself morphed into a passion, and a way of expressing my affection for those close to me.

It took a life-changing moment, though, to realize feeding people was something I wanted to focus on full-time. My father died when I was twenty-four. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the first week of January in 1998, and was gone less than three weeks later. The fleeting nature of life got me thinking about what I was doing with my own. Around that same time, my boyfriend Mikey, who would eventually become my husband, gave me a clipping from Newsweek magazine. It was about starting a personal chef business, and was exactly the inspiration I needed to connect the dots between my passion and my career. I slowly began to make a living as a personal chef, a food fairy godmother of sorts, providing others with that magical twenty-fifth hour in the day that many people