Nonna's House: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of Enoteca Maria

by Jody Scaravella, Elisa Petrini (Primary Contributor)

This beautiful collection of food and nostalgia features great traditions from the heart of Italy, with delicious recipes and colorful stories from the internationally celebrated grandmothers of Enoteca Maria—a one-of-a-kind Italian restaurant where a rotating cast of nonnas are the star chefs.

Enoteca Maria takes great home cooking seriously. At this intimate, hospitable restaurant on Staten Island, all the cooking is done by ten nonnas (grandmothers), drawing on their own family recipes, handed down for generations, which reflect their regional traditions. Here are their delicious homemade pastas, risottos, desserts, and more, which have foodies from all over the world taking the ferry to the forgotten borough for an authentic taste of Italy.

Beautiful full-color photography captures the fresh, distinctive flavors of these surprising dishes. Nonna Cristina shares her beautiful Risotto with Strawberries, Black Pepper, and Parmesan; Nonna Margherita offers delectable Stuffed Peppers with Pine Nuts and Raisins; and Nonna Teresa shows off her prize-winning Meat and Cheese Lasagna. Nonna Elvira whips up her peerless Linguine with Cuttlefish and Ink; Adelina creates a savory Tagliatelle with Pumpkin, Sausage, and Chestnuts; and Rosaria makes handmade Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Cherry Tomatoes and Porcini Mushrooms. Nonna Carmelina shares her classic Potato Pie with Ham, Salami, and Mozzarella; Rosa confides her nonna’s secret recipe for Rabbit with Sage; and Nina sautés Chicken alla Capricciosa, with prosciutto and mushrooms. Nonna Francesca launches the book with advice on the time-honored art of preserving everything from olives to soppressata.

With its utterly delicious tastes of grandmother’s kitchen, Nonna’s House is a legacy of flavors passed down through generations, now captured here forever. Restaurant founder Jody Scaravella says it “If I have a choice between a three-star Michelin chef’s restaurant and Grandma’s, I’m going to Grandma’s. I’m going to the source.”

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Italy, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonna's House: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of Enoteca Maria by Jody Scaravella is a wonderful cookbook that reads like a novel.
Enoteca Maria is an intimate, neighborly restaurant on Staten Island where all the cooking is done by ten nonnas (grandmothers) using their own family recipes handed down for generations. They include homemade pastas, risottos, desserts and much more beginning with a chapter on the art of preserving everything from olives to cured meats such as salami.
There are many color pictures showing the mouth-watering dishes with instructions that are simple and easy to follow.
The nonnas heartfelt, cherished memories depict their many struggles of years ago demonstrating the importance of love and family.
I highly recommend adding "Nonna's House..." to your library not only as a cookbook but as a delightful story.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonna's House is not just only a cookbook filled with delizioso recipes but its filled with stories from Italians families that makes you understand the love of a family and their special family recipes. Nonna's House incorporates the love of food and the importance of family. This book is filled with so much heart, charm, history and love that you can't help but feel part of the women that took part in Nonna's House. I love getting glimpse of a family's past and at the same time, this book really highlights that food tastes better when you eat with family. So be prepared to be charmed with an Italian family's past and a book filled with yummy recipes that your family will love as well.

As for the recipes, the step by step instructions were easy to follow and simple for any novice person using this book.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars. The truth is, I didn’t test one recipe from this cookbook so you may be wondering why the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars???? THE STORIES!!!! The stories from each of the ‘Nonnas’ are fabulous, and are a worthy read in themselves. The recipes DO look awesome and I do intend to try some out at a later date. But even for you who don’t cook, this may be the only cookbook you ever want to get!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading all the stories of the Italian nonnas who cook at Enoteca Maria in New York! I definitely want to take a road trip to that restaurant to experience the Nonnas' home cooked authentic italian meals!

[Jillyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was led to this book thanks to a mutual love that my girlfriend and I have for Italian cooking. I'm of mostly Polish heritage while she is German, so we have no Italian grandmothers to pump us full of homemade pastas and decedent desserts. So, I got a book that specialized in just that void that we have, and I was not disappointed. This is a gorgeous and heartfelt book.

It's clear that this book, and the restaurant that influenced it, is a labor of love. The beginning starts with a story of how it all began, and each recipe/section has more anecdotes and stories about the families that make it feel personal, like someone's grandmother is actually handing you a memory that's been cherished for generations. It's clear that they love each other and love food from the stories told and the recipes that are included. There are also plenty of family pictures, making it a bit like a diary or foodie scrapbook. I like it.

The pictures of the food are awesome too, they definitely make me want to try all of the things (and I will eventually, believe you me). The recipes in this book are sorted by course, with an added section for special holiday recipes. I really liked the variety of the recipes that are included, spanning from cold apps to desserts and everything in between. Vegetarian friends- there's also plenty of options for you in here, or recipes that can be adapted. I appreciated that there were also tips on how to change the recipes based on personal tastes and ingredient availability, as well as how some recipes may differ a bit depending on what part of Italy the person is from.

I want to make probably 95% of the recipes in this collection, but the ones that have me the most intrigued include: Chocolate Blood Pudding, Linguine with Cuttlefish and Its Ink, and My Prize Winning Meat and Three Cheese Lasagna with Eggplant, Asparagus, and Peas.

I recommend this book to any home cook who loves and appreciates good food steeped in tradition, or even just Italian food. I was provided a copy from Atria Books in exchange for my honest review. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.

[Edens Book Den · Rating 5 out of 5]

Food has a way of bringing people together, and the kitchen has always felt like the true heart of a home. This book brought me right back to my time living in Italy—where a kind, sweet grandmother who lived in my building took me under her wing and showed me how to make simple, beautiful dishes I still carry with me. I’ve never considered myself much of a cook, but when I think of Italy, the memories that come flooding back always involve long conversations, laughter, and food that seemed to stretch the hours.

This cookbook is more than just recipes. It feels like a collection of family stories passed down with love. Honestly, I think I’ve cherished the stories just as much as the recipes themselves. I’ve only made a couple so far, but the moment I saw the Risotto with Radicchio, I knew exactly what dinner would be. And with the first bite, I was transported—to a small table in northern Italy, back when my husband and I were dating. That one dish held a whole memory.

Isn’t it incredible how taste and smell can pull us back so vividly to a time and place? There’s comfort in that. There’s warmth. You can feel it on every page of this book. I can’t wait to try more—it’s like opening the door to beautiful moments all over again.

[Dawn Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories of the women who immigrated to America in the 50s, 60s & 70s, carrying their family recipes that provided some comfort & familiarity in a new world, are riveting!! The old country recipes, passed down for decades & in some instances, centuries, are sometimes too complex (and a little gross 😝 baked lamb's head anyone!!!) But the stories!!!

*These women formed a rotating group of cooks for NY's famous, unique (and still operating!) neighborhood restaurant called, Enoteca Maria

Ahhh, the stories ... of a proud, poor, hardworking people who found sustenance in what they grew, fished & shared with one another in Italy & tried to duplicate in America. I especially enjoyed the stories that featured foods from southern Italy where my own maternal family roots began. I will never make baked lamb's head but I did mark a number of recipes to try, like Neopolitan Potato Pie. Yum!!!

[Wendy Darling]

Listened to about 2 hours on audio, but didn't love the experience. A little hard to follow, with transitions between nonna stories not really done very well, in terms of the writing, the performance, and the production. A little more thought and care would have made this less confusing.

Maybe will pick it up as a regular book sometime? I didn't love the author's introduction, but maybe I'm being too hard on the name-dropping excitement over the movie adaptation. Leaving it unrated.

The restaurant obviously sounds lovely, though.

[Shannon Nelms Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love a cookbook that reads like a storybook.
This cookbook is a collection of stories and recipes from a group of immigrant Nonna’s that work in a restaurant. This restaurant was started by a man who was craving and missing a tight knit family. What a genius idea this man had when opening this restaurant. Don’t want to give too much away. Very heartwarming! I thought I was going to walk away with some new and inspiring recipes, I got so much more out of this book. Pleasantly surprised!

[Rmqbookqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s cooking up at your house tonight? That’s always the question isn’t it! I loved reading this beautiful copy of 𝙉𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖'𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 and getting lots of tasty Italian recipes along with heartfelt tales. Recipes and stories go hand in hand, so they always add something to the book. If you love cooking like me, hopefully this will be a five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read for you too. I want some Cannelloni Napoletani & a sweet treat after finishing this up!

[Ally Marov · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨3.5 stars✨

no real proper review for this one. i just came across it to get some audiobook hours off of my Spotify.

saw the movie prior to reading this and i have to say, if you want the proper story from the perspective of actual Italian nonna’s instead of people portraying the stereotypes, please consider reading this 🤗🌻✨

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the stories (as an historian) it added so much to the book. Cannot wait to try the recipes!

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

fresh basil sauce
my nonna's tomato and eggplant sauce

[Margaret Gerberding · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a restaurant in NYC that has Italian grandma's as the chefs. They make their favorite dishes, and you eat what they have made. These are the stories and recipes of some of the chefs.

[Nicole Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so inspiring

[Deyth Banger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story total must read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the nonnas’ stories

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the personal stories of the Nonnas. I dream of their food. Even though the recipes are given, I won't make them myself. One day, maybe I'll visit the restaurant.

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book explains what it is: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of Enoteca Maria. Don't know this New York restaurant?

"Enoteca Maria takes great home cooking seriously. At this intimate, hospitable restaurant on Staten Island, all the cooking is done by ten nonnas (grandmothers), drawing on their own family recipes, handed down for generations, which reflect their regional traditions."

There are apartments and houses to rent in Italy that include the services of an Italian grandmother to cook your meals. The restaurateur was seemingly not inspired by that to create his restaurant. He explains in the book how it came about. He was:

"...looking for authenticity, to preserve vanishing traditions."

The Italian grandmothers come from diverse Italian regions, and their local specialties are respected, as can be seen in the mix of recipes in this cookbook/memoirs. The restaurant aims to feel the primal connection between food and family, so the recipes are original family fare.

I have to say that I found the memoirs parts of the book more interesting than the recipes. There are hundreds (thousands?!) of Italian cookbooks in print, each with sections mirroring this cookbook's from appetizers to desserts. But life stories of Italian grandmothers are a rarer read. That is what we get in most of the memoirs sections about the grandmothers who cook at Enoteca Maria (named for the restaurateur's grandmother), life stories of real personalities, real people.

Most fascinating to me is how moving to America freed these women from stifling Italian convention. They all express joy in being able to follow their culinary instincts to experiment with timeworn recipes. They take advantage of time-saving kitchen equipment. They improvise with seasonal ingredients. They cook for pleasure, as a creative outlet.

On top of all that, they recognize the liberation they enjoy in America, the freedom to earn a living, to divorce, to bring up their children as they see fit, to socialize and to embrace the excitement of living near New York City. And all of the grandmothers, most of whom have had very difficult childhoods, embrace the convenience of American living.

I read a review-copy.

Please visit my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll just start by saying that this cookbook made me wish that I'd grown up Italian. With a Nonna and all of her own old world views and cooking techniques.

To me, this book was an awesome combination of memoir and recipe collection that focused on the history behind methods, recipes and techniques for each of these women.

The cuisine (mostly Northern Italian) was new to me and explored ingredients that I don't always associate with my highly Americanized pasta palate.

This book had me hooked and I read it cover to cover with no intention of cooking the recipes at the time, which is rare for me. I'll usually read parts of a cookbook as I try a recipe from it here and there. But in Nonna's House, I wanted to read all of their stories and see how the food shaped their lives. Like I said, I read it cover to cover without meaning to.

This is a rare example of a cookbook where the writing shines as brightly as the recipes.

[Rita Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was much more than just a cookbook. It is a filled with wonderful recipes and memories that will make you wish you grew up in an big Italian family. I love that the history behind the methods, recipes, and techniques for each of the women is shared. It makes you feel like you are a part of the family. The food is mostly Northern Italy and if you are like me growing up with the Americanized version of Italian food then you are in for the treat of your life. So grab your family, gather around the table, and get ready to enjoy some of the most mouth-watering food ever!

I received an ARC copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your usual Italian cookbook, it's hard core and shows you in the old country, they used every part of the animal in cooking, baking and preserving.

Jody Scaravella lost most of his family including parents and grandparents over a short amount of time. His way to honor them and to channel his grief was to open an Italian restaurant. He didn't staff it with traditional chefs, he placed an ad in an Italian language NYC newspaper looking for nonnas. That's Italian for grandmother and the resulting turn out was amazing as is the success of Enoteca Maria, the place named for his mother.

Not just recipes but the stories of the nonnas will enthrall you.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of "cook book" as in, yes there are recipes, yes there are great photos, and YES stories-some of the sweetest stories of Italian women who ended up cooking at Nonna's House in Staten Island and how they got there. Looking forward to trying the Minestrone (northern style-with beets!)

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of family recipes. The "grandmothers" are not the generation I was thinking about when I started it, my grandmother's generation, the today's grandmothers. Interesting nonetheless.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories about the Nonnas were almost better than the recipes. Wonderful photos. Some of the recipes had too many ingredients and steps for me to ever attempt but loved the book as a whole.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very cute idea having Nonnas cook at your restaurant, but my nonna never made these kind of dishes. I did like the stories of their journeys to the USA, but just couldn't get into the recipes.