Cooking Up the Past: Celebrating Generations of Family Recipes

For Louise Renzi Colburn, food has always been central to family life. Taste memories of special occasions and everyday meals are celebrated in Cooking Up the Past, a tribute to Louise's family history as told through the food they shared together. The many comforting dishes in Cooking Up the Past refer to Louise's Italian American family traditions and pay homage to past generations. As new arrivals to the U. S., the family merged its Italian heritage with the American way of life. In the early days, time spent with family most often took place in the kitchen. In the Renzi family, Sunday Sauce with Meatballs and Braciole was a weekly family staple, as were Cold Beef Salad, Aunt Margaret's beef vegetable soup and Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta. Special occasions celebrated Sweet Macaroni and a parade of Italian cookie favorites at Christmas time while Turkey with Pepperoni offered an Italian twist to a traditional American Thanksgiving tradition However, with the passing years, life somehow accelerated to a point that didn't allow time to cook together in the kitchen. Family scattered and times shared together became few and far between. Like many families, many of the dishes that had marked earlier occasions were lost to convenience, fast food and hectic lives. Cooking Up the Past's collection of memories and recipes is a family heirloom. It preserves family traditions and meals so they can be shared with future generations. Hopefully, it will also inspire other families to uncover the meals and traditions that defi ne their own heritage and preserve these heirlooms for future generations before they are lost forever.