Lidia Bastianich and her fabulous shows on Italian cooking have always had a special place in my heart. As an Italian American originally from New York, I love to not only watch Lidia cook up a storm but hear her talk about how Italian food has influenced American culture. Watching Lidia is something my mother and I do together when she visits, and her shows invariably lead to my mother telling animated tales of enormous family meals at her Neapolitan grandparents house in the Bronx and remembrances of my own grandmother’s take on various dishes. But more than that Ms. Bastianich inspires us to get into the kitchen and cook.

When I was a kid I didn’t realize that the food I was eating on a daily basis was not actually eaten in Italy. My mother’s Sunday Gravy was a cherished weekly event and I figured Italians were eating this dish not only in New York and California, but Naples and Palermo as well. Same with her tangy vinegar pepper Chicken Cacciatore and Christmas Eve black olive pizza. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized Italian American food falls into its own special category, full of ingredients that immigrants found after my great grandparents and others traveled through Ellis Island or landed at airports later in the century.

You see, it wasn’t until recently that ingredients like farro, San Marzano tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano started to appear regularly in American grocery stores. Before this, Italian immigrants and their children were limited to using ingredients that were local to their new homes and often distinctly American in taste. So America’s love for beef led to the aforementioned Sunday Gravy, a rich tomato-based sauce full of meatballs, sausages and bragiolle that isn't made in Italy itself.

I have quite a few of Lidia Bastianich’s books, but I use them a little differently than my other cookbooks. While I might open up my new "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" by Suzanne Goin or the gorgeous "Tender" by Nigel Slater to drool over the photos and feel inspired to try something new, Lidia’s books are like visiting my grandmother’s and mother’s recipe files. So much is comfortable and familiar, but with the clear difference that they also provide well-detailed instructions -- something my mother and grandmother thought was covered by phrases like “cook until done” or “add a little of this and that until it tastes right” (all said with a heavy Bronx accent).

Ms. Bastianich’s new book “Lidia’s Italy in America,” which she wrote with her daughter Tanya Bastianich Manuali, is no different. The focus here is the unique ways Italian American immigrants interpreted dishes from their homeland throughout the United States. The book is broken down into the standard sections of antipasti, zuppe, pasta, etc., but within are pages that highlight specific specialties from different areas along with descriptions of the Italian American neighborhoods that created them. So in Poultry we find a vignette about Federal Hill in Providence Rhode Island but soon after follows a recipe for Roberto’s Chicken Piccante from a chef on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx (a neighborhood dear to my heart as it’s where my father grew up). The gamut of Italian American cooking is covered with descriptions of the people who make these neighborhoods distinct and some history as well.

Although I’ve never met her, Ms. Bastianich’s is sort of like my TV culinary mother. Sweet and nurturing while also firm with her advice and directions, I trust her to help me navigate the path of Italian cookery. I will admit that I have occasionally been disappointed, as I was with the deep dish pizza in this book which was more bread than pizza. I can’t really complain, however, as the recipe says “it is a cross between focaccia and a pizza," so she warned me. My suggestion if you make it is to cut the dough in half and add more filling to the top, but remember I’m a Neapolitan-American raised on thin crusts so I’m a bit biased. More often than not, however, I have been quite happy with the results. The baked Rollatini of Sole offered a delightfully lemony take on fish cooked with breadcrumbs and the Italian American Meatloaf is, without a doubt, the best meatloaf I have ever made. My kids and husband raved about it and we all had seconds. Note, however, that the recipe is so big it makes either one incredibly large loaf, or, if you’re like me, one for your own family and one to share with the mom who took your kids for the afternoon.

"Lidia’s Italy in America" has that type of easy cookbook style I like best when reading recipes I will actually use. The recipes are laid out clearly and are easy to follow. I also enjoyed her stories on American neighborhoods and their Italian citizens. My only criticism is that there are hardly any pictures of food (most are of the people in the neighborhoods she visited). I love recipe photos in cookbooks because it’s reassuring to know what dishes are supposed to look like when you cook them and I felt this book could have used a few more. But that is a minor criticism. As she’s done many times before, Lidia Bastianich has provided a solid compilation of Italian American recipes, this time with an emphasis on those that truly reflect the diverse and eclectic nature of the many types of Italian neighborhoods there are in America. So if you’re in the mood for authentic Italian American recipes from the embodiment of Italian mama-ness, pick up a copy of "Lidia’s Italy in America."

Italian American Meatloaf, salad and roasted potatoes. Photo by Denise Santoro Lincoln.

Recipe: Italian American Meatloaf (Polpettone)

One would think that meatloaf is very American, but its origins are actually in a German colonial dish of minced pork mixed with cornmeal. Italians serve it a lot as well, and in this rendition the cultures blend deliciously with the addition of a pestata, a paste of carrots, celery, and onions. Not only does the meatloaf taste delicious, but it is foolproof, moist every time. The leftovers reheat as if just cooked, and Italians love to serve it with roasted potato wedges.

Serves 10 or more

2 cups cubes of country bread with crust
1 cup milk
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
2 medium stalks celery, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
1 cup marinara sauce or puréed canned tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the bread cubes in a medium bowl, and pour the milk over them. Let the bread soak until it is soft. Meanwhile, combine the carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor, and pulse to make a fine-textured paste or pestata.

When the bread is soft, squeeze out the excess milk and put the bread in a large mixing bowl. Mix the pestata, ground meats, scallions, grated cheese, marinara sauce, parsley,salt, and oregano with the bread, using your hands to distribute all of the ingredients evenly. Oil a 10-by-15-inch Pyrex or ceramic baking dish with the olive oil. Form the meat mixture into a loaf in the oiled pan.

Place in the oven, and bake until browned and cooked through (the center of the meatloaf should read 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer), about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza. Photo: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich.

Recipe: Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza (Pizza Alta di Chicago)

One could call this dish pizza bread, and it is a cross between a focaccia and a pizza. In Sicily, they make a high pizza called sfincione, topped with tomatoes, oregano, and a few anchovies. It is sold in warm squares as street food from a cart. The idea for deep- dish pizza came from the early Sicilian immigrants that settled in Chicago, although the excessive toppings are not something one would find in Sicily.

Makes 1 pizza

FOR THE DOUGH
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 packet instant dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading the dough
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and pan

FOR THE TOPPING
4 ounces provolone, sliced
4 ounces mozzarella, sliced
1 to 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
2 ounces pepperoni, sliced
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pour 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm (90 to 110 degrees F) water into a bowl, then stir in the sugar and yeast. Let sit until the yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, cornmeal, and salt on low to combine. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil to combine while still mixing. Once the dough comes together, switch to the dough hook, and knead on medium-high speed to make a smooth dough, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little more water or fl our as needed to make a soft dough. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Punch down the dough, and press it into a 14-x-10-inch oiled baking pan or an oiled 12-inch cast-iron skillet, gently pressing the dough up the sides to make a shell. Fill the shell with an even layer of the provolone and mozzarella, then spread the sauce to cover the cheese completely. Top with the pepperoni, and sprinkle with the grated cheese and oregano. Cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Then uncover, and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the pizza is bubbly, about 20 minutes more. Let sit about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Recipes excerpted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich. Copyright © 2011 by Lidia Bastianich. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Related Programs:
• Watch Lidia Celebrates America -- Holiday Tables & Traditions on KQED TV tonight 12/20/11 at 8pm. View additional airtimes.

Check, Please! Bay Area Season 6: episode 3 airs Thursday July 21 at 7:30pm on KQED TV 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website also provides restaurant information not specified on the show, written reviews from the guests and restaurant recipes. If you have opinions on the restaurants featured please feel free to share your thoughts. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will be sharing wine tips with each episode.

The third episode of the season features these restaurants: Grand Oaks Restaurant and Sports Lounge (Oakland), Risibisi Italian Restaurant (Petaluma) and The Elite Cafe (San Francisco).

Leslie Sbrocco: Wine Tips -- About Stemware

Osteria Coppa bar interior

Perfectly acceptable pasta and mediocre slices of pizza are easy to find. If you haven't had a decent interpretation of either in a while, you can easily forget what a great version tastes like.

Let's just say I've now been reminded.

Osteria Coppa in San Mateo is owned by the folks who run Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay; a Peninsula institution. Executive Chef Chanan Kamen takes pride in his handmade pastas and hand-stretched pizzas, and it shows. His resume includes Michelin-starred Quince and Jardinere in San Francisco, and Picholine and Tabla in New York City.

Osteria Coppa is a farm-to-table restaurant, meaning they use organic, locally sourced, artisanal ingredients. They cure their salumi in-house, fire up hand-made pizzas in their stone ovens, and artfully make their own pastas.

I paid two visits to the restaurant and each time focused solely on the pizzas and pastas. The pastas in particular have gotten rave reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Examiner.

Braised Radicchio, Panchetta and Aged Balsamico Pizza

I tried both the house-made sausage, speck and crimini mushroom pizza, as well as the pancetta, braised radicchio and aged balsamico. Both thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pies were fantastic for this simple reason: the fresh, creative topping combinations worked perfectly on an exceptional crust.

The flavors on both pizzas were well conceived, but I was particularly impressed with the pancetta, braised radicchio and aged balsamico pie. It was one of the best pizzas I have had in a while. I fell in love with the wonderfully tangy sweetness of the balsamico. It made me wonder why I hadn't tasted balsamic vinegar on a pizza before! It was the perfect match for the meaty, fatty goodness of the pancetta bits. And the radicchio was an edgier stand-in for the typical red onions.

My dining companion at one point declared, "Even the crust is great on this pizza!" The crust was perfectly crisp and charred on the bottom, pillowy soft and sweet on the inside. If you order just one pie while you're there, this is the one.

As far as Osteria Coppa's pastas go, the San Jose Mercury News has called them "exquisite," and even named the Tagliatelle Bolognese one of the Top Ten Dishes of 2010.

Tagliatelle Bolognese

There are plenty of places that make their own pastas, but they either make the mistake of overcooking it so that it becomes mushy (fresh pasta should take no longer than a few minutes to cook), or the flavor is way too doughy and floury, without enough focus on fresh, quality ingredients.

There's no risk of either here. Preparation, ingredients and technique all have equal importance. The Fettuccine Marinara with cauliflower and broccoli rabe was perfectly al dente, and the noodles were delicious with a wonderful eggy, almost buttery flavor. The freshness of the vegetables was obvious and actually made the dish seem light.

But I can confirm that the recent attention on the Tagliatelle Bolognese is well warranted. The dish was nothing short of fabulous with its smooth, rich pork and deliciously creamy sauce. And once again, the noodles themselves were the star in both texture and taste. But for all the richness of this dish, it never seemed overly heavy.

Blood Orange Lemonade

Aside from the pizzas and pastas, the house-made blood orange lemonade is more proof of the inventive items on the menu. It's a fun twist on the typical lemonade and it shows how the restaurant takes advantage of having access to a wealth of fruits and vegetables. They use unconventional ingredients and combine them in a way that makes you feel like every item is fully realized.

Service is casual but professional. There's no pretentiousness from the staff, and families are welcome. In the Bay Area, that's a welcome change for a restaurant of this caliber. They've done a successful job creating a warm, sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere. Chef Kaman was an expert pasta maker while at Quince, and the peninsula is lucky he's decided to bring his four-star talents to suburbia.

Osteria Coppa
Address: Map
139 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
Phone: 650-579-6021
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2:30, Mon-Fri (closed for lunch on weekends)
Dinner 5:30-9:30pm Mon-Thurs, 5-10pm Fri-Sat, and 5-9 Sun

Facebook: Osteria Coppa
Twitter: @osteriacoppa

If you are a fan of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, you probably buy chunks of it. You grate them and devour them. Eventually you are left with rinds that are too small to grate, but too precious to throw away.

If you are like me, these rinds pile up in the cheese bin of the fridge. At $16 a pound or more, how could you possibly throw them away?

Then the time comes to utilize these rinds. Tossing them in a stock or soup is a time-honored tradition. So is simmering them with fresh tomatoes for a pasta sauce.

Parm rind in a pot of stewed tomatoes, later to be strained for a soup

Yet there are other ways to utilize these rinds. I am sharing a method I learned from a line chef at Oliveto, after I asked him about pasta recipes for a dinner party.

His suggestion was simple. Take a large rind, and simmer it in a pint of cream or more. Add herbs, sauteed garlic and/or grated cheese. Season with salt. Work your cooked noodles into the sauce with some pasta water, add a pop of butter and serve.

I followed his instructions, using fresh hand-made pasta. My friends were in awe. One friend, Rex, said I had served him the best dish of pasta he'd ever eaten.

Clearly Rex doesn't get out much, but he was right: The dish was a delight. By slowly cooking the cream with the rind, the earthy, rustic taste of the Parmesan was infused throughout the pasta, which was draped in a velvety sauce.

So give it a try, especially when friends come over. If you are going to prepare a dish with this many calories, it is always better to share.

Gemelli with Parmesan rind cream sauce, roasted squash and tomatoes

Pasta ala Parmigiano Reggiano rind

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 rind of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, about 2x4 inches, and 1/4 inch thick
1 pint of heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
Up to 1 cup of reserved pasta water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 pound of dried pasta, or 2 pounds of fresh egg noodles, either homemade or store bought
Kosher salt for pasta water

Preparation:

1. Clean rinds, if needed, with a damp towel. Grate cheese and chop garlic.

2. As water starts to heat in your pasta pot, cook garlic slowly in a separate skillet with the olive oil. Do not let it get brown, but cook it until most of the raw garlic taste is gone.

3. Add cream and parm rind to skillet. Turn up heat until cream bubbles and foams, and then turn down to maintain a low simmer. If cream gets extremely thick, turn off heat and let sit.

4. Once your pasta water comes to a boil, add a small handful of kosher salt to the water, stir and add pasta to the water. Cook until just short of al dente. Remove from water and save at least one cup of the water.

5. Add pasta to skillet. Turn up heat and serve. Ladle a small amount of the pasta water to the skillet as you stir. You want to maintain a creamy but not a thick or soupy sauce. Add butter and stir. When pasta is al dente, add half of the cheese and stir. Check a noodle for seasoning, and add salt, if needed. Turn off heat and use tongs to place pasta onto plates. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of each plate and serve.

Note: This dish lends itself to multiple treatments. Cook chopped leaks with the butter instead of garlic. Top the final pasta with blanched vegetables, such as asparagus or green beans. I added the parm cream to gemelli noodles and topped them with chopped roast squash and tomatoes.

Sometimes it's best not to tell your dinner guests what you are about to serve them.

Sometimes you should just watch their eyes light up as they try that first bite, and then reveal what you've prepared.

This is one of those dishes.

Tonnato, otherwise known as tuna sauce, is a classic summer dish from the Piedmont of Italy, the northwestern part of the boot.

The Piemontese have been making tuna sauces for centuries. Sophisticated food lovers flock to the Piedmont every year, partly to try distinct regional dishes such as vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce).

Yet if you were to tell your dinner guests that you were serving whipped tuna and anchovies as part of an appetizer, some of them might be tempted to say, "Can we just move onto the entree?"

Although there are endless variations on tonnato, every recipe I've seen includes tuna, anchovies, capers, olive oil and some type of acid, either lemon juice and vinegar.

At Oliveto, the restaurant where I work in Oakland, Chef Paul Canales makes a silky smooth tonnato by blending the basic ingredients with trickles of cream and olive oil.

At a recent dinner, we served it with sugar snap peas, cauliflower and other vegetables.

There are other interpretations. Vintage recipes call for whipped hard-boiled eggs in a tonnato, whereas some modern recipes include mayonnaise (homemade only, please). Jacques Pepin adds a little Dijon mustard to his tonnato, a French corruption that would likely spark riots in Italy.

Whatever the combination, your goal is to create a glistening sauce that is rich with the flavor of tuna, seasoned by background notes of capers and anchovy.

My version has a more rustic texture than what is served at Oliveto, but it is similar in taste and execution. You can see how I served the sauce with some vegetables from my garden, including squash, green beans and tomato.

Feel free to put your own twist on this dish and accompany it with a variety of vegetables or meats, such as chicken or turkey. But try not to skimp on the basic ingredients. High-quality tuna (or canned tuna), anchovies, capers and olive oil are essential.

Dijon mustard? Only if you want to trigger a riot.

Tonnato with Summer Vegetables

Serves: 6-8 appetizer-size portions

Ingredients:
12 ounces of fresh ahi tuna (or canned tuna)
6 anchovy fillets, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup olive oil or more
1/2 cup cream or an equal amount of milk and unsalted butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Vegetables of your choice
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Cut up and cook your vegetables, either by steaming or blanching. Try to include some that remain crunchy, like string beans or carrots and cook them in separate batches until just tender. Plunge in an ice bath and drain.

2. If using fresh tuna, add oil and tuna steaks to a skillet and heat until just barely bubbling. Maintain that gentle heat, turning once or twice until tuna is just cooked through. Do not overcook.

3. Add tuna and oil (or canned tuna) to blender or food processor. Add other ingredients, except for vegetables, and blend until smooth. Add additional cream or milk if mixture is too thick. [edited for clarity]

4. Your final sauce should be smooth enough to barely pour, without being runny. If still too thick, add more olive oil. (Go on. Just add it. It's good for you.)

5. After checking for seasoning, pour or spoon your tonnato onto a plate, arrange your vegetables in an artistic fashion and serve.

Note: Tonatto can be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or two. The flavors will meld and enrich the sauce. Bring to room temperature and rewhip before serving.

If you stepped into Donato Enoteca in Redwood City on opening night, you might have thought you were in Italy. It seemed just about every Italian in the Bay Area was there. Not only that, as a guest of honor, in attendance was the chef's mother, who flew in from Italy on a whim.

The space feels a bit like three or four restaurants in one. In the front is a casual and inviting space facing the open kitchen.

The middle section is across from the bar and is a bit more chic. After all, "enoteca" means wine bar.

At the far end is the most formal Wine Cellar dining room.

All along the outside of the restaurant is outdoor seating.

Chef Donato Scotti, a native of Bergamo, Italy, envisioned Donato Enoteca, after years working at well-known Italian restaurants in Italy and the US. His food is the sort to make any Italian happy, there was plenty of stuffed pasta, risotto and pizza to go with endless glasses of Prosecco. While not specializing in a particular region, I suspect the food will often reflect the cuisine of Lombardy.

Some of the tastiest dishes of the night were creamy risotto and braised wild boar served on crostini.

Clearly the chef has skills beyond cooking just the dishes of his own home turf, in particular, the seafood dishes including some grilled shrimp and calamari were succulent and delectable.

That said, the dish I will be most eager to try when I return will be the Costoletta alla Milanese, a thin, crisp breaded veal cutlet that is a speciality of the region and a favorite dish of mine. The Bay Area can always use another great Italian restaurant and if opening night was any indication, Donato Enoteca is well on it's way.

Here is the recipe for one of Donato Enoteca's signature dishes:

Insalata Biete e Fave

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Chioggia and Golden beets 2 each medium sized
6oz fresh peeled & poached fava beans
1.5 oz wild organic arugula
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 stem rosemary
2 glasses dry white wine (Pinot Grigio preferred)
1 Tablespoon Chianti vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 ounce Pecorino fresco or goat cheese
1 clove garlic
Salt & pepper

Method:
Place the beets in a high-edged baking pan. Pour the dry white wine over the beets and add the smashed garlic clove, chopped rosemary and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum and bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove aluminum and finish baking until done (poke with toothpick, should come out dry and easy). Set to cool until warm approximately 30 minutes.

Once cooled, gently peel skin from beets and cut beets into segments. Set aside.

Prepare vinaigrette dressing by whisking 1 tablespoon Chianti Vinegar with a sprinkle of salt then 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Toss segmented beets and fava beans with dressing after gently place on bed of arugula topping with a choice of cheese. Lightly drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and ground pepper.

Next Monday May 5th you can join the Cinco de Mayo crush at local Mexican restaurants, or you can meet the authors of celebrated Italian and French book on food, instead. We suggest the latter, besides, the best community celebrations will take place on the weekend, such as San Francisco Cinco de Mayo San Francisco in Dolores Park on Saturday May 3rd from 10-5 or Cinco de Mayo Oakland on Sunday, May 4th in Fruitvale.

First up--Italy

Join Mario Batali, celebrity chef, and television personality at Il Fornaio for lunch to celebrate the release of Italian Grill, which combines his passion for Italian cuisine and tasty grilled food. No ordinary backyard bbq book, it includes appetizers, flatbreads, meats, seafood and vegetables along with his signature olive oil, citrus, wine, herbs, and garlic rubs. This luncheon is at Il Fornaio Restaurant in San Francisco, with food selections from the restaurant’s own excellent menu).

What: Lunch with Mario Batali

Cost: Tickets are $125 and include lunch and a signed copy of the book Italian Grill
When: Monday, May 05, 2008, 12:00 PM
Where: Il Fornaio Restaurant, 1265 Battery Street (inside Levi Plaza), San Francisco
How: Purchase tickets online

Next up--France

Clotilde Dusoulier the blogger behind the popular Chocolate & Zucchini blog returns to the Bay Area for a book signing. Her latest book, Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris is in stores now.

In her own words, "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris is a window onto my Paris, this delicious stomping ground for the food enthusiast. It is the companion I wish I had for every city I visit, pointing me to the edible highlights and giving me the lowdown on the dining scene, the best food shopping haunts, and the locals' favorites."

What: Clotilde Dusoulier At Books Inc. in Opera Plaza
Cost: Free
When: Monday, May 5, 2008, 7 pm
Where: Books Inc. 601 Van Ness San Francisco
Why: Get a chance to meet Clotilde in person.

Have you ever given up a long-held family food tradition? I have. Years ago I gave up Italian Sunday Gravy, which is basically manna for Italian Americans. Although I stand by my decision, I often regret it as well.

Like many other Italian-American families, my mother made Gravy -- a rich tomato-based sauce with numerous cuts of meat -- each Sunday. It was almost always served with pasta, eggplant Parmesan, and other dishes and we ritually ate it each Sunday at around 2:00 p.m. (we had to eat earlier because we would then be full for hours). It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized how time consuming it was to make this enormous meal each week. My mom would start cooking by 7:00 a.m., first seasoning the meat for the meatballs and chopping the onions, parsley, and garlic. I would then come downstairs and eat a freshly cooked meatball for breakfast.

While she cooked, she would often reminisce about the long and wonderful Sunday Gravy dinners of her youth. These were spent at her Grandparents house in the Bronx and almost always had more than 20 people in attendance, with aunts, uncles, and cousins crowding around tables in the back garden or basement dining room table. When my parents moved from New York to California when I was four, the tradition of intergenerational family Sunday dinners ended for us. My mother continued the custom for the five of us in San Diego, making this enormous meal on her own each week. I loved those Sunday dinners, but often wished I had cousins and other relatives to play and eat with, as my mother had.

My love for Sunday Gravy faded once I became an adult and had to make gravy myself. Gravy's incredibly high fat content – it has pork butt, chuck roast, meatballs, braciole, and Italian sausage in the mix – places it in the "special occasions" category for me, not the "weekly" category. I also like to sleep in on Sundays while my husband makes us steel-cut Irish oats (which is probably healthier than a meatball for breakfast, although not as delightful). I think the main reason I gave up Sunday Gravy, however, is that I am too culturally removed not only from Italy, but from the even closer New York Italian American traditions of my mother's childhood. I also do not have a large local family community to create the experience that seems the natural partner of this meal, so making the extra effort required to keep this custom going for a family of four just seems insane. My mom and I occasionally make her Sunday Gravy recipe, which was passed down and tweaked generation after generation, but now only occasionally on Christmas or in larger family gatherings.

Although I am fine not eating Sunday Gravy each weekend, I realize that its absence is a reflection of how different family life is now than it was when my mother was a child. The sense of community my mother felt while gathered with her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins nourished her more than the gravy itself, while the respect for traditional foods made from local ingredients is something she learned in her grandmother's kitchen, and then passed on later to me. I know, however, that although I love what Sunday Gravy represents, it's not really a part of my life anymore.

I am wondering if anyone else out there has family food traditions you'd like to share. If so, do you regularly take part in them, or have you also given them up? Why and do you have any regrets?

Note: Although I would love to include my mother's (and grandmother's and great grandmother's Sunday Gravy recipe) I have been told that it is a family secret and so it's off limits for publication. I've found a few Sunday Gravy recipes online and have listed them below. None of them seems equal to my mother's Neapolitan masterpiece, but I am a good Italian daughter and so therefore quite biased:

This site says the recipe is for the Soprano's Sunday Gravy.

Here's a Sunday gravy recipe from the Food Network that seems the most authentic to me.

The Chicago Sun Times lists this Sunday gravy recipe.

Epicurious lists this Sunday gravy recipe.