By Rosalyn Queen
Arrivederci is a cookbook that I compiled and made available to the public around 2000. The book was an immediate success and I ended up having it reprinted four times selling thousands of copies. The book contains about 100 basic recipes that was the staple foods prepared by the immigrant Italian family when they arrived at the turn of the 1900s. What was the staple menu has now become gourmet foods served at top restaurants.
You will find recipes for minestra, tiaela, Easter bread, pita Piata, canned peppers in sauce, wild mushrooms and many other popular Italian dishes.
But the kicker is the many customs passed down through the generations. Why is salt used to ward off evil spirits? Why do we always have almonds at weddings? Why are meatballs added to chicken pastina soup at a wedding? What does the two tailed lizard mean? The custom tales go on and on and makes for interesting reading. This is a way of preserving those customs and recipes in writing.
The book is now in print and will be available in about three weeks. I am offering a deal for pre-orders. Each book will cost $15.00 plus $3.00 for shipping if you want it mailed. I will offer a pick up place and time for those who do not want them mailed. Please make your check payable to RosalynQueen and mail it to PO Box 4512, Bridgeport, WV 26330. Include your phone number and address. Indicate if you want the book signed.
I have been told that Amazon got hold of a few copies and sold them for $27.00. This is a great book.
I have ordered a limited number so be sure to get your order in before they are gone. Get a copy for your kid going back to school, for wedding gift, for birthday and Christmas gifts. This makes a great gift. It is more than a cook book. I have kind of reneged here but this is the first book in Roz’s Book Club. Keep on reading.
My sincere sympathies to the Randall Lynch family on the passing of their mother. Nanette Martin of Charleston passed this week. She was a great supporter of the festival and became a dear friend of mine. My heart is broken.
It hardly seems possible that summer is coming to an end and school will be starting. Stay cool and until next week “Now You Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
