by Ken Robinson

If you have ever fancied yourself as an author--"You should write a book!-"-then this story might make you a little jealous.

Lee and Bob Casazza are a West Seattle couple who have just published Big Mamma's Italian-American Cookbook, a two-year project that began when they married in 1967. Big Mamma isn't Lee Casazza, but her husband's grandmother.

"Family dinners at the Noviello house were special to me. Once I tasted their 'Sunday Gravy'' , I was hooked. This is where I discovered my 'Italian Heart' and the dream of writing my first cookbook."

Raising a family filled in the gap between those early dinners and Lee's opportunity to fulfill her dream. At their getaway cottage on Saltspring Island in British Columbia, Lee wrote her book. She also took all the excellent photographs (with technical guidance from her photographer son). Bob helped, too, working on the design format.You might want to bite the cover.
The thrust of the book is to offer authentic home-style recipes of the type Bob's family used. In Seattle, Bob said, it is hard to find a good Italian restaurant that cook homestyle dishes like grandma." Lee agreed. "We are trying to honor the traditions of homestyle cooking.

The book contains a selection of menus that cover the gamut of north and south Italy. But it also contains things like a Seattle dish with salmon and cannelloni beans. There are pizza varieties too, with a sauce that is not 'cooked' but fresh, then baked.

"We're not food snobs," Lee said. They simply wanted to present traditional recipes using pure ingredients.

There is a 'good Seattle recipe' on page 148 for grilled flank steak. On page 170, you will find out how to make "Eggs in Purgatory" and on 168, "Eggs in a Hole."

The book was printed in the United States and edited by food and cookbook editor and Ballardite Lisa Gordanier.

Many of the recipes are of a character that favors slow cooking with many ingredients. In the back of the book are recipes you can make in 30 minutes.
With one book in print, they are already working on another one. This time, it is from Lee's side of the family. She grew up in Washington, D.C.

Her mom, Izetta, was born in Tennessee and raised in Virginia. Her dad was from Virginia, On Sundays, they would drive to the country to have dinner with relatives. "Nothing says comfort like southern food," Lee said. "Izetta's Southern Cooking" is already in the works. Black walnut pound cake, anyone?

Learn more by going to www.leecasazzacooking.com