At My Italian Table: Family Recipes from My Cucina to Yours

Bring the joy of Italian cooking to your kitchen with 100 classic and incredibly delicious Italian family favorites, from the star of Laura in the Kitchen.

When Laura Vitale moved to the United States from her native Italy as a teenager, she was homesick--not just for her family, but for her beloved nonna’s cooking. The slow-cooked Sunday sauces loaded with pork ribs and tender braised beef (and plenty of red wine), the quick pan-fried breaded chicken cutlets destined to be Parmesan’d, the frittata de maccheroni that she’d tuck in a knapsack for beachside picnics . . . and so began a quest to re-create Nonna’s delicious legacy in Laura’s New Jersey kitchen.

Ever since, Laura has spent countless hours on the phone with Nonna to learn her secrets for the crispiest fried Cacio e Pepe Aranini, Zia Mimma’s Focaccia Barese (mashed potatoes are the key to its fluffy texture), decadent four-cheese baked ziti, a Sunday supper go-to of Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Herby Lemon Salsa, and a semolina cake to end all yellow cakes, topped with heaps of limoncello-soaked strawberries. Decades of Sunday suppers, holiday meals, and get-it-done-fast weeknight dinners have perfected the flavors and techniques that represent the essence of Laura’s Italy.

Laura Vitale is the host of Laura in the Kitchen, a popular cooking channel on YouTube. She hosted two seasons of Simply Laura on the Cooking Channel and hosted Fox’s MasterChef Season 4 Cook Alongs online. She has appeared on ABC saturday morning’s Recipe Rehab and the Today show. Laura lives in New Jersey with her husband, who produces her show, and their daughter.