Mother Sauce: Italian American Family Recipes and the Story of the Women Who Created Them

Quinn (Mad Hungry: Sunday Suppers), a home cook turned cookbook author and television host, believes in giving credit where credit is due. This means acknowledging the legion of nonnas, their daughters, and granddaughters who created the Italian American dishes beloved today. After tracing the history of Italian American cooking, Quinn sets cooks up with the basic equipment and pantry provisions they will need, as well as offering some culinary words of wisdom in the form of what “Mama Knew.” The 100 recipes that follow cover all the bases and include Sunday sauce, Italian wedding soup, pasta alla Norma, sausage and pepper hoagies, Nonny’s cannoli, and Quinn’s own Ride-or-Die Tomato Sauce (which ditches any hint of onions or herbs in favor of a pure tomato taste). Recipes also include tidbits of helpful information from Quinn, and sprinkled throughout the cookbook are sidebars, archival photographs, and essays on topics like breadcrumbs, planning a Sunday dinner menu, and the Italian cookie tray.