Alex Guarnaschelli Tells Us Her Perfect Sunday Dinner

Alex Guarnaschelli is a force in food media. She’s the host of Food Network shows like Ciao House, Supermarket Stakeout and Alex vs. America, a regular judge on Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay and is a best-selling cookbook author. Most recently, the chef released her newest book to add to her collection: Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat. The book features classic and modern recipes that embrace the flavors commonly found in an Italian American household.

To talk more about the new cookbook, we chatted with Guarnaschelli about the launch—including its delicious Stracciatella (Italian chicken soup) we have the recipe for. Learn more about the Iron Chef, like her favorite Sunday dinner and the pantry staples she always has on hand, below.

EatingWell: A veteran cookbook author, all of your books feature Italian dishes, but Italian American Forever is exclusive to it. What inspired the idea to focus on the cuisine?

Guarnaschelli: It’s funny sometimes how it takes a while to make your way around to the things that mean the most to you? After multiple cookbooks, I wanted a book that covered the majority of dishes I ate as a young Italian American. So many stories about the dinner table too. My parents grew up American (but acutely Italian), and this cookbook has 120 recipes I hope people love to cook as much as I do. 

EatingWell: Could you talk more about the Stracciatella recipe and the memories you have with it?

Guarnaschelli: Stracciatella means ‘little rags’ and its definition finds its name on a type of cheese, a type of gelato and this simple chicken soup layered with Parmesan cheese and eggs. My mother would randomly make this soup and I have rarely made any form of chicken soup without Parmesan since. It’s hearty broth, eggs making little “rags” in the broth and the salt from the cheese are super nostalgic and always delicious.

Get the Recipe: Alex Guarnaschelli’s Stracciatella

EatingWell: At the front of the book, you go over the Italian must-haves in your pantry. Are there any underrated items that more people should have on hand at all times?

Guarnaschelli: For these particular recipes, tomato paste can instantaneously add a burst of deep flavor, acidity and texture to a sauce or soup.  Anchovies in oil can be great for the tasty filets (Caesar salad) or for the precious oil they are stored in. The oil can enhance and add umami to sauces and salad dressings.  

EatingWell: Favorite easy meal to make from pantry staples? 

Guarnaschelli: I think the Angel Hair and Marinara recipes with dried pasta are my favorite simple weeknight meals made from pantry basics.  

EatingWell: What does your perfect Sunday dinner table spread look like?

Guarnaschelli: Chicken Marsala is a Sunday favorite. Ava loves to make baked clams and a Caesar salad to go with. That’s my favorite, although I love Baked Chicken Cacciatore too. 

EatingWell: What does “eating well” mean to you?

Guarnaschelli: I think eating well has a lot to do with our own idea of good food and not what anyone else tells us. Cookbooks and restaurant dishes provide inspiration, and so do family tradition and nostalgia. The result? Some combination of all those feelings and good ingredients. That’s eating well.