Lisa’s paternal grandmother, Lucia Caponigri, was born in the isolated, mountainous region of Basilicata in southern Italy. There she perfected her recipe for ragu before leaving her village with Lisa’s grandfather for a life in America. Lucia and Nicola Caponigri settled in Chicago, where they raised thirteen children, giving Lucia lots of opportunity to make her famous ragu! The recipe makes plenty: it will sauce 6 to 8 pounds of pasta, but it freezes beautifully. You can ..read more

There are a few well known tropes that go along with not feeling well if you are Italian. The first is the celebrated (or dreaded, depending on how you feel about this tradition!) camomilla– chamomile tea. The second is Pastina in Brodo– basically small pasta in broth. A variation of this pastina is tortellini in brodo which my daughter loved when she was little. Trattoria da Benvenuto close to our house in the historic center of Florence used to make it, and she ..read more

This recipe comes from a trattoria hidden away on a small side street in Florence. Lisa and her children used to go there often- in fact, Lisa’s youngest son Guido became known as the terremoto, the earthquake, by the owners and staff, thanks to an episode involving his stroller, eager small hands, and clean silverware (you can hear Lisa share this family memory in the full recipe video on YouTube here). This recipe is all buttery goodness- enjoy with your treasured ..read more

We’ve all been there- it’s Sunday, you (and your family and friends!) are hungry. But because you’ve been racing around all day, you haven’t had time to make anything, let alone a meat sauce that everyone craves and would love. The answer? Lisa’s 20 minute Bolognese sauce! Simmer for 20 minutes, and it’s the Sunday dinner (or even weeknight treat) that everyone will love. Buon appetito e tutti a tavola! Watch Lisa make the full recipe on ..read more

While you may know Lisa for her cookbooks “Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner?” and “This is Sunday Dinner”, and her line of Lisa’s Italian Sunday Sauces, her friends and family know her best for the great dinner parties she organizes. When you come to Lisa’s house you know there will be scintillating conversation, delicious food, and that memories and connections will be made around the table. It’s true that Lisa’s perfection ..read more

If you’ve been to Forte dei Marmi, you’ve been to Valè. An institution in this celebrated Italian beach town since 1924, Lisa used to take her children to this focacceria every afternoon in the summer to get the focaccine while they were hot! Now, with a change in ownership, the place has gotten super fancy- they even serve Aperol Spritz! But this locale will forever be burned into Lisa’s memory in its 1990s version, with its family owners pushing the dough ..read more

  Lisa at Forte dei Marmi in August, 1994 Ferragosto is a treasured holiday in Italy. Historically, Italian workers would take the entire month of August off for vacation. If you are an Italian movie lover, you might have scene Pranzo di Ferragosto, in which Roman shenanigans ensue when the middle aged bachelor Gianni entertains his friends’ and colleagues’ mothers (along with his own!) on a hot, deserted Ferragosto in the historic center of Rome.  Today ..read more

A few years ago, Lisa was faced with a dilemma. Her youngest son, Guido, stopped eating meat and cheese! Without the ability to serve her celebrated meat lasagne or Italian-American lasagne, Lisa soon went to work inventing an all vegetable version. Needless to say, it was a hit with Guido and anyone who stopped by Lisa’s home to taste it. We’ve shared some insight before into how to make this Vegetable Lasagne on Lisa’s Italian Kitchen social media pages ..read more

Do you know the scene in Moonstruck when Loretta comes downstairs after Johnny Cammareri proposes to her? As she shuffles around the kitchen and gets ready to eat with her mother (and talk about the next steps in her life…) Rose Castorini, Loretta’s mother, is making the classic Italian-American breakfast Uova in Carrozza. These Italian Eggs in a Basket are a favorite in Lisa’s house (as is the movie- quotes from Moonstruck are some of the most quoted by ..read more

Ten years ago, I released my first cookbook “Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner?” with Sterling Epicure. I can’t believe it’s been that long! The backstory to Whatever (as I usually call it when speaking with the readers who love it and have multiple copies in their families!) is rooted in my memories of cooking with my grandmother, and a very big birthday I had ten years ago (no, I will not be sharing the number- as my mother used to say, “A woman who will share her age will ..read more