Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook: From Mom’s Kitchen to Mine and Yours

Avalon, former teenage film and music heartthrob, now QVC food retailer, presents 85 family-favorite recipes in this homage to his parents’ Italian table. Steeped in his South Philadelphia roots, dishes are inspired by his butcher father’s sausage and “those gravy splattered pages” of his mother’s time-honored recipe collection. There’s nothing surprising, but the recipes are simple and inviting. Antipasti feature bruschetta and stuffed mushrooms or artichokes. Soups and salads offer twists on pasta fagioli, and caprese with grilled tomatoes, pesto, and melting mozzarella. For seafood, there’s spaghetti with crab marinara, a branzino-fennel-pancetta dish, and creamy lemon-sauced fettucine with shrimp. A sparerib-based Sunday gravy with veal meatballs and sausage, or tender braised braciole are special occasion dishes. Desserts feature limoncello pound cake and ricotta fritters with berries. Photos of the Avalon table, Frankie’s extended showbiz family, and Philly neighborhood food haunts appear throughout. There’s also a list of essential kitchen staples for the Italian-American pantry. For Avalon, large family meals mean comfort and a way to preserve family memories. In this labor of love, future generations of Italian food fans will find something to sing about. Agent: Alan Morell, Creative Management Agency. (Sept.)