My mother, Christina Castagnaro, is the person to whom I owe my passion for cooking. At a very young age, she introduced me to preparing meals and the pleasure of sharing them with family. famiglia . It's one of the most beautiful legacies she passed on to me. Her cuisine is heavily influenced by her Italian roots, which is a big part of why good food is so present in our lives!

Together, we've prepared one of our most beautiful (and biggest!) joint culinary projects: this book bringing together more than 100 of our best family recipes. In honor of typical Italian cuisine, they are made with quality ingredients, in all simplicity! In this book, you'll find traditional recipes and Americanized or revisited versions of this sunny cuisine, with a little twist gourmet: the basics, pasta and authentic pizzas, appetizers, sauces, soups, salads, main dishes, desserts, and signature cookies. You'll also discover spritz, limoncello, and other popular cocktails in Italy.

We hope that our family recipes will inspire you to get together to cook and share a friendly meal, laughter, and exciting discussions... like an invitation to la dolce vita!