AFIPO

FROM ITALY WITH LOVE

“Meal and a Spiel,” a new cookbook from Young Patrons Circle member Elana Horwich, gives Italian food a California accent.

If you were to take the most delicious Italian dishes, translate them for healthy contemporary California consciousness in recipes seasoned with Jewish comic timing, you’d have the necessary ingredients for a fascinating cookbook.

That’s just what AFIPO Young Patrons Circle member Elana Horwich has done. Meal and a Spiel: How to be a Badass in the Kitchen is a beautiful addition to any kitchen shelf. However, with healthy portions of engaging personal anecdotes and insights into Jewish-Italian history, it may soon find its way to your nightstand. The 480-page, full-color, beautifully illustrated, hardbound book has a denim cover and the elegant touch of gold lettering.

As self-publishing goes, this is three-star Michelin fare.

The recipes are Horwich’s own creation, born out of a love for Italian cooking developed during her years living there, then refined in the cooking classes she has taught in the United States, also under the banner of Meal and a Spiel.

“These are all recipes I’ve concocted,” Horwich said recently from a stop on her book tour. “But it’s not like I’m reinventing the wheel. This is how anyone can make authentic Italian food that tastes the way it should, but using the ingredients we find in the grocery stores here.

“I use humor and wisdom to teach intuitive cooking,” she continued. “It’s like Amy Schumer meets the Dalai Lama meets Julia Child, and I write ‘spiel’ with each recipe that encourages, empowers, and inspires others to create their own stories as they cook.”

TAGS: