In “The LoFrisco Family Cookbook,” Brooklyn native Anthony LoFrisco shares the recipes of his favorite dishes, collected from his family, friends, and his own adventures in dining.
Sandwiched between the recipes for “stuffed cherry tomatoes,” “stuffed mushrooms,” and “stuffed fried olives” (are you detecting a trend here?) are the octogenarian’s “intermezzos,” his anecdotes about growing up in Dyker Heights.
LoFrisco’s recipes are quite personal — and one even comes with a curse! If you dare boil eggplant (rather than saute it in oil) when making his beloved “caponatina” recipe, he threatens, “all of the descendants of your maternal grandmother will grow hair on their chest”! One of the most endearing pages is a montage of photographs of his grandchildren, when they were very young, grappling with spaghetti, their faces and hands covered in sauce. LoFrisco’s cookbook is a moving tribute to his mother who employed thrift, ingenuity, and love to create meals and memories that continue to delight the very newest generations of her family.
“The LoFrisco Family Cookbook” by Anthony F. LoFrisco, $39.95, www.amazo
