Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli Whips Up a New Cookbook
The recipes in 'Italian American Forever' represent an exploration of the celebrated chef’s heritage
Maybe you've admired her for her laser-like focus as she cooks against the clock along with gifted competitors on "Alex vs. America," or for her incisive assessments of dishes prepared on "Ciao House." Maybe you've glimpsed her lighter side as she cheers on contestants cooking in parking lots on "Supermarket Stakeout," or on "Beat Bobby Flay" as she mocks her dear friend.
If not, it's time you met Alex Guarnaschelli, she of the extraordinary culinary skills, discerning palate and sweet nature, all accompanied occasionally with a feisty side of snark.
Food Network star Guarnaschelli, 55, also exhibits each of those admirable qualities in "Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat," her fifth cookbook. The 120 recipes are served with family stories, cooking tips and notes on possible substitutions for some ingredients, Many of the dishes are illustrated with Johnny Miller's mouth-watering color photographs.
"Cookbooks are a space where we chefs can express even more dishes."
In a meaty introduction, Guarnaschelli notes that the recipes are "the dishes we make again and again to perfect them" and "the dishes we eat again and again because we crave them endlessly." She adds that they also are dishes that she "rarely, if ever," has cooked in a restaurant.
Why not? "Not everything can be expressed in the demanding forum of a restaurant," Guarnaschelli told Next Avenue in an email from her home in New York City. "Cookbooks are a space where we chefs can express even more dishes." Many a renowned chef did just that under the guidance of her mother, Maria Guarnaschelli, who edited and published cookbooks.
A Cannoli Rum Cake That's 'Heaven'
"My mother cooked avidly from books all the while I was growing up. She taught me that writing a cookbook is a sacred act," Guarnaschelli said. "The result is that it took me many years to actually put pen to paper. It will always be like this no matter how many books I get the chance to write."
"Italian American Forever" includes recipes for Italian wedding soup, fettuccine Alfredo, onion flans, chicken alla Diavola, baked broccoli with garlic, swordfish piccata, cauliflower risotto, Carmella Soprano's lasagna, ricotta gnocchi, pork shoulder ragu, panettone bread pudding and Italian pinch cookies.
The book also features Guarnaschelli's daughter Ava Clark's recipe for focaccia and three red sauces — two marinaras and a triple-tomato — from her mother, her father and her Grandma Guarnaschelli. Her go-to is the one from her mother. "The sweetness of the carrot is special; so is the fact that the sauce is such an easy weeknight solution," Guarnaschelli said. "The sauce tastes great fresh, dropped over pasta, or heated up out of the fridge."
Guarnaschelli is particularly nostalgic about the recipe for her mother's cannoli-rum cake. "We used to go to a bakery on the Lower East Side in Manhattan and pick up this specially ordered cake. You had to be 'in the know' to order this off-menu item," she said.
"Year after year, the cake grew on me. The cream. Ricotta. The layers doused in rum. Every time I make it and take a bite, I feel like my mom is sitting next to me. It's a cake that improves taste and texture-wise as it sits in the fridge. Get a cup of searing hot coffee and eat a slice. Heaven."
A Love for French Food and a Croissant for a Heart
Guarnaschelli's previous cookbooks are "Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook," "The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart," "Cook With Me: 150 Recipes For The Home Cook," and "Cook It Up: Bold Moves for Family Foods," which she wrote with her daughter, who is now 17.
Though she grew up in New York, Guarnaschelli was born in St. Louis, Missouri, which explains her shout-out to that city's signature gooey butter cake on the "Chopped Legends Tournament" episode that aired recently. On the show, the basket of ingredients Guarnaschelli packed for the competing chefs included beef, a slice of cheese pizza, parsnips and a jar of Italian maraschino cherries. "This basket is a Gemini mood swing," she explained to the bemused chefs.
"Cut open my heart and there's a little croissant."
After graduating from Barnard College in 1991, Guarnaschelli started cooking for Larry Forgione, known widely as "the godfather" of American cuisine. "That nurtured my passion for great ingredients and their geography," she said. Next, she studied at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy, France, and then worked in Paris for Guy Savoy, whose restaurants have earned numerus Michelin stars. "That cemented my love of French food."
That love remains strong. In many cooking competitions, Guarnaschelli demonstrates her deep passion for and understanding of French cuisine. On a recent tv show, she quipped, "Cut open my heart and there's a little croissant." Back in the U.S., she worked at restaurants in New York and Los Angeles and then opened Butter, where she serves as executive chef.
Food Network Says 'Yes, Chef'
Guarnaschelli was first featured as a competitor on "Food Network Challenge" in 2006. Since then, she has appeared in more than 600 episodes of programming. In August, she signed a multi-year deal with Food Network that will include projects "across…linear and digital platforms" and "opportunities to develop and produce new creative concepts."
Not bad for someone who once considered becoming a marine biologist. "I fell in love with the ocean and really saw myself tagging squid and categorizing jellyfish," Guarnaschelli said. "I always joke that I started out wanting to find the world's largest squid and ended up deep-frying it instead!"
Even in her chosen field — one that clearly chose her — Guarnaschelli didn't anticipate such an abundance of opportunities. She says she still isn't sure how it all happened. "I used to come home after working all day in the restaurant and watch 'Iron Chef America.' I fell in love with the show," she said.
"I wanted to go on and be a challenger, and didn't think anything past that. Then I started cooking and judging on 'Chopped,' and the rest is history!" Here's an important part of that history: In 2012, Guarnaschelli beat nine rivals to win on "The Next Iron Chef: Redemption," making her the second female to earn the title of Iron Chef. (Cat Cora was first, in 2005.)
New Cookbook Is a 'Walk Down Memory Lane'
Through four seasons of "Alex vs. America," which features Chef Eric Adjepong as host, she has remained a fierce competitor, and she will again serve as a co-host with Chef Gabe Bertaccini in the third season of "Ciao House" next year.
"I never dreamed my work would go in so many directions, and I consider every experience a gift," Guarnaschelli said. "The truth is that the common denominator is cooking. Whatever I get to do where I'm at the stove makes me the happiest."
What makes her happiest about the new cookbook?
"I realize how very deeply I'm connecting with my childhood in this book. I learned how truly Italian my parents really were, recalling all these recipes they made," she said. "It was a real walk down memory lane, with a fresh pair of glasses."
