Overview

Several years ago, on a break between theatrical gigs in Alabama, Mark traveled to Italy and fell in love with the people, food and culture. Armed with just enough courage, minimal Italian language skills, and a certain proficiency in the kitchen, he enrolled in a full-immersion cooking and language program. He would travel to Viterbo, Italy and live with an Italian family. His teachers were beyond his wildest dreams-he learned to cook from the grandmother, or Nonna, of the family, who prepared every meal in a bustling, busy household, as women in her family have done for generations. Her daughter, Alessandra, taught him the language with patience and precision. Besides culinary secrets and prepositions, they opened their lives to him, and made him a real part of their extensive family. Though the book contains 39 authentic, delicious family recipes Nonna shared with Mark, Beyond the Pasta delves into food memoir subject matter not found in a typical cookbook. It was the day-to-day shopping with Nonna, exploring the countryside and le gelaterie, where he truly developed his language skills, and a new, more joyful and uniquely Italian way of looking at the world.

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Reviews

"""Alabama and Italy-what a delightful and delicious combination."" -FANNIE FLAGG, Best-selling author and actress. ""Mark has captured the essence of the Italian people!"" -BIBA CAGGIANO, TV chef, cookbook author, and Sacramento restaurateur. ""Mark so beautifully conveys the transcendent nature of true cooking, cooking that comes from the heart and feeds not just the body but the soul. His writing is smart, sensitive, and wittily observed. Beyond the Pasta exemplifies how the act of cooking is intrinsically an act of sharing and affirmation."" -SCOTT PEACOCK, chef and co-author with Edna Lewis of ""The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks."""

Author Information

"Mark Leslie, seen nationally cooking on NBC's ""Today"" and Hallmark Channel's ""Home & Family,"" loves to cook for anyone with an appetite, vacations in Italy every year, and lives to eat his way through every plate of pasta and cone of gelato placed before him. He leads cooking classes nationwide. His historic home and family-style recipes have been featured in national publications, books, and blogs such as ""House Beautiful,"" ""PaulaDeen.com,"" ""Food Republic,"" ""Apartment Therapy,"" ""Field & Stream,"" and ""The Daily Meal."""

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