Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes & Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women

As a child of Italian immigrants, Anna Francese Gass grew up eating her mother’s Calabrian cooking. But when this professional cook realized she had no clue how to make her family’s beloved meatballs—a recipe that existed only in her mother’s memory—Anna embarked on a project to record and preserve her mother’s recipes for generations to come.

In addition to her recipes, Anna’s mother shared stories from her time in Italy, intriguing tales that whetted Anna’s appetite to learn more. Reaching out to her friends whose mothers were also immigrants, Anna began cooking with dozens of women who were eager to share their unique memories and the foods of their homelands.

In Heirloom Kitchen, Anna brings together the stories and dishes of forty-five exceptional women, all immigrants to the United States, whose heirloom recipes have helped shape the landscape of American food. Organized by region, the 100 tantalizing recipes include:

• Magda’s Pork Adobo from the Phillippines
• Shari’s Fersenjoon, a walnut and pomegranate stew, from Iran
• Tina’s dumplings from Northern China
• Anna’s mother’s Calabrian Meatballs from Southern Italy

In addition to the dishes, these women share their recollections of coming to America, stories of hardship and happiness that illuminate the power of food—how cooking became a comfort and a respite in a new land for these women, as well as a tether to their native cultural identities.