300
298 301
299 302
300 303
301 304
302 305
303 306
304 307
305 308
306 309
307 310
308 311
309 312
310 313
311 314
312 315
313 316
314 317
315 318
316 319
317 320
318 321
319 322
320 323
321 324
322 325
323 327
324 328
325 329
326 330
327 331
328 332
329 333
330 334
331 335
332 336
333 337
334 338
335 339
336 340
337 341
338 342
339 343
340 344
341 345
342 346
343 347
344 348
345 349
346 350
347 351
348 352
349 353
350 354
351 355
352 356
353 357
354 359
355 360
356 361
357 362
358 363
359 364
360 365
361 367
362 368
363 369
364 370
365 371
366 372
367 373
368 374
369 375
370 376
371 377
372 378
373 379
374 380
375 381
376 382
377 383
Introduction
“Donne, ricette e mode, chi li capisce gode.”
“Women, recipes, and fashions, who understands them, enjoys them.”
~ ITALIAN PROVERB
Recipes have always been an integral part of my life. Much more than just technical instructions, both oral and written recipes have the power to create cultural bridges between ourselves and others. They narrow the distance between time and space and give us the opportunity to be in touch with people and places that we may not be able to physically reach. Whether we are preparing recipes of those loved ones who are no longer with us or those who live on another continent, the act of doing so brings us closer to them.
It was the desire to be with those I could no longer be with, and in places that I couldn’t travel to, that fueled my passion for recipe reading, writing, and collecting as a young girl. Growing up in a family with Southern Italian (Calabrian) roots in New York state, food was our main link to our culture. Like many Italian-American families, and families of immigrants during those times, we lost many aspects of our culture due to the erroneous belief that assimilation was necessary for the good of our nation.
It is often said that food is the last component of a culture to be lost when people emigrate, and, in the case of our family and community, that is definitely true. I apprenticed under my grandparents on both sides of my family and my mother since I was three years old. Making bread, meatballs, cookies, pastries, and holiday recipes with them was the highlight of my life growing up. Later, I learned that the very same Cuzzupe di Pasqua (Calabrian Easter Bread), Petrali (fig cookies for Christmas), and other recipes that my beloved Nonna Angela taught me, were the same recipes that our family in Crotone, Calabria, still make for the same holidays. In fact, we often prepare them at the same time on the same days without knowing it! This means that a century after my great-grandparents emigrated to the United States, those recipes acted as edible time capsules that kept our family’s culture connected in a way that’s hard to explain. The Riolo family in the U.S. lost contact with their Italian relatives for more than four decades, yet our recipes lived on. What a joy it was to discover that we still had an edible connection to one another when we reunited.
Twenty-seven years after I first stepped foot in Italy and rediscovered my family in Calabria thanks to my cousin, Joyce Riolo, I am proud to say that I have lived and continue to work there. I am the Brand Ambassador for Ristorante D’Amore in gorgeous Capri, Italy. I lead cuisine, culture, and wellness tours to the majestic (yet still relatively unknown to tourists) regions of Abruzzo, Molise, and Calabria. I have a line of Amy Riolo Selections products that come from genuine single-estate producers in Italy, and I have maintained beautiful relationships with my relatives there. I also have formed a marketing company for Italian products called Italian Sensory Experience, LLC. I speak fluent Italian and often travel to Italy for personal reasons, for work, and to attend conferences on olive oil, wine, and other products. In the United States, I am the Brand Ambassador for the Pizza University and Culinary Arts Center, which enabled me to get pizzaiola certification with Maestro Pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia. I am also the chef at Casa Italiana Language School in Washington, D.C., and am very involved with Italian and Italian-American organizations throughout the world. Recently I became a founding member of the Italian non-profit association called A.N.I.T.A (Accademia