Book Beat: The Lost Ravioli Recipes

By Jenniah Caldwell

Long before it became a night for cocktails and kisses at midnight, New Year's Eve meant only one thing for my Italian family: Pasta. After hours of hearing the rhythmic thumping of dough from the kitchen, we would all sit down to a venerable feast of Grandma Anna’s home made pasta. Plates of ravioli, gnocchi, and tortellini made their way around the table and we would all eat until we thought we would burst.

James Beard Award-winning author Laura Schenone understands the strong links between the past, pasta, and family. In her newest book, The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken: A Search for Food and Family, Schenone takes her readers from urban New Jersey to the Italian coast of Liguria, while on a search for the roots of her great-grandmother's ravioli recipe, connecting with lost relatives and places in her five-year journey. Along the way, she learns that tradition, recipes, and family dynamics evolve into their own complex flavor over time. Not just a memoir, the book also offers over 50 pages of authentic Genoese recipes.

The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken: A Search for Food and Family by Laura Schenone is available at all major bookstores. For an author autographed copy, order directly from Watchung Booksellers (973.744.7177), watchungbooksellers.com. Copies are limited.