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The fall after she took over Tony Mandina’s, Kolette reached out to me with an idea for a cookbook. Once I met the family and heard their wonderful story, I knew this was a unique hometown tale that deserved to be told. Tony Mandina’s Kitchen generously shares both the family’s charming history and the delicious recipes that have made the restaurant a Gretna landmark. Authentic, unusual Sicilian delicacies like cassatedde , a sweet filled pastry; ‘nfigghiulata , a savory filled pastry; and sfince di patate , or potato donuts, courtesy of the Salaparuta cousins, are also included in the collection. Tony Mandina’s Kitchen can be ordered at www.tonymandinas.com, and visitors can purchase autographed copies

violin. And I ate the food made by skilled hands and with lots of love. I had my cheeks pinched by professionals. And I danced with people of all ages as we celebrated the culture. As my grandchildren have gotten older, I have tried to explain this waning Sicilian culture to them. But they have no lived evidence of it. I speak English. We don’t go to gatherings where the songs and dancing are spontaneous. Today those events are staged and rehearsed. They are a memorial to the past, but not the living past. So, I did two things: I looked for first-person accounts of living in New Orleans written by Sicilian immigrants, and I engaged in cooking therapy by making the foods I ate and loved growing up. I couldn’t find first-person accounts of Sicilian life in New Orleans from the 1950’s on. There are histories of businesses, newspaper accounts of various events in the Sicilian community, and just the historic record of the impact of the Sicilians. But these are third-person accounts. I wanted to find firsthand records. So, while I still could, and encouraged by the memories jogged by all the food I was cooking and eating, I decided that I would write my own first person account of this Sicilian immigrant community, which was already waning as I grew up. I had never written a cookbook before, and I was daunted because it required measuring. (I am a “throw in a handful of this and a slurp of that” kind of cook.) But finally, with memories illustrated by recipes, and with lots of help and encouragement of a good editor, I had a book finished. We finished the book with a few old photos, and I had something to give to my children to pass on my story, their heritage, and the food that we ate along the way. As I give book talks, people tell me their immigrant and children-of-immigrant stories. I am gratified that the immigrant story is universal, and the subsequent generations gradually meld into all of America. I dedicated the book to my two children and my two grandchildren. But

I also feel that I wrote the book to honor those people who were unafraid to forge a new life in America. — Liz Williams

TURKEY AND THE WOLF, FLAVOR TRIPPING IN NEW ORLEANS

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Mason Hereford has been causing quite a stir in New Orleans since he opened the unassuming Uptown sandwich shop, Turkey and The Wolf, in August 2016. When it was proclaimed “America’s Best New Restaurant” by Bon Appetite Magazine a year later, heads everywhere turned. No one was more surprised by the acclaim than Hereford himself, who is both owner and chef. Praise and success followed Hereford when his second restaurant, popular breakfast spot Molly’s Rise and Shine, opened in late 2018. When the announcement came that Hereford was writing a book, it quickly became one of the most anticipated cookbook titles of 2022. But in early spring, a large wave swell and winds of 22 knots caused the container of printed books to slip overboard near the Azores, ending up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean instead of bookstore shelves. The disaster turned into a boon for Hereford, later, when The New York Times bestselling author Melissa Clark discovered that her latest cookbook, Dinner In One , was in the same container. The resulting coverage turned Turkey and The Wolf, Flavor Tripping in New Orleans into a bestseller long before it finally hit bookstore shelves in June. It is safe to say you may never have seen a cookbook quite like it. From Gas Station Tostadas flavored with “Dorito

at the restaurant. — Poppy Tooker

NANA’S CREOLE ITALIAN TABLE

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT I had the good fortune to grow up in the Sicilian community in New Orleans. I watched as the original immigrants died off and the next generation spread around the city and beyond. It was wonderful to experience the people who left their homes and culture and had an influence on their new home. But my experience of being a part of this special community cannot be passed on to my children and grandchildren, because the people who made it special are no longer with us. I grew up with the sounds of the Sicilian language being spoken at parties and other gatherings. I heard folk songs sung as others played the mandolin or the concertina, and even the occasional

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