The ITALIAN NONNA COOKBOOK
“COOK LIKE a NONNA”
Authentic Italian Recipes, Family Traditions & The Soul of Italian Home Cooking
What if you could bring the warmth, flavor, and timeless traditions of an Italian Nonna right into your own kitchen?
The Italian Nonna Cookbook takes you on a delicious journey into the heart of Italian home cooking—where recipes are made with love, generous portions, simple ingredients, and the kind of time-tested techniques that have been passed from one generation to the next.
Written by bestselling Italian cookbook author Daniel Bellino Zwicke, an Italian-American New Yorker with more than 30 years of experience in New York City’s Italian restaurant and Italian wine businesses, this book is the result of a lifetime immersed in Italian food.
For more than 40 years, Daniel Bellino Zwicke has traveled throughout Italy, eating, cooking, tasting, and gathering recipes and food traditions from Italian Nonnas, restaurants, trattorias, salumerias, markets, and food artisans. From the bustling streets of Naples and Rome to the kitchens of Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Tuscany, Liguria, Genoa, Florence, Venice, Capri, and Ischia, these experiences have helped capture what makes Italian food so beloved around the world.
A Taste of Italy in Every Chapter
Inside The Italian Nonna Cookbook, you’ll discover an enticing collection of classic Italian dishes inspired by the food Italians actually love to eat at home.
From comforting bowls of pasta and soup to leisurely Sunday dinners, you’ll find recipes for:
And, of course, the book celebrates those legendary dishes that seem to taste even better when served around a crowded family table.
Discover the Secrets of Nonna’s Kitchen
Italian cooking isn’t about complicated techniques or expensive ingredients. It’s about knowing how to coax incredible flavor from simple, honest food.
It’s the aroma of garlic and onions slowly cooking in olive oil, a pot of Tomato Sauce simmering on the stove. A batch of Nonna’s fresh made Meatballs, Lasagna, Ricotta Cookies and so many good things. Tasty Italian Food – It Nourishes, it makes us Happy!
Whether you are an experienced Italian cook, an Italian-American who grew up eating Nonna’s food, someone with Italian roots who wants to reconnect with the cuisine of your family, or simply someone who loves great Italian food, this cookbook belongs in your kitchen.
Open the book. Tie on your apron. Put the pot on the stove.
Then cook like a Nonna.
Mangia!
RECIPES INDCLUDE :
LASAGNA
TOMATO SAUCE
PASTA PUTTANESCA
DOLLY’S MINESTRONE
PASTA FAZZOOL
RAGU NAPOLETANA
BRACIOLE
SUNDAY SAUCE
FRITTATA
PACINO PASTA
TASTY DESSERTS – Including SINATRA CHEESECAKE
PASTA alla PACINO
Daniel Bellino
Al Pacino’s favorite pasta? It’s Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, (Spaghetti Garlic & Oil). Al’s favorite. I know. Al used to come to the restaurant Barbetta, in New York’s theater district. I was the wine director there. Mr. Pacino once asked me, “Can you guys make me Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.?” To which I replied, “Of course we can. For you Mr. Pacino, we will make it.” And so we did. We had. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. The dish, as you should well know, is beloved by most Italians, whether in Italy, or here in America. We Italian Americans just love it. Especially in the New York Metropolitan area of New York & New Jersey. We grew up with it, as Al Pacino growing up as a boy in the Bronx, New York, and as a young man living in Manhattan. It’s part of his life, and is in his blood. He’s Italian. Italian-American from the Bronx. New York Italians? We love: Baked Clams, Sunday Sauce, Lasagna, Meatballs, Linguine Vongole, and yes, as Mr. Pacino, “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.”
Take note, that Parade Magazine April 1, 2025 picked up on my story of Al Pacino and myself (Daniel Bellino Zwicke). The wrote a little piece, quoting me, and telling the story of Al Pacino and me. That night at Barbetta, and the subsequent act of me telling the story (with recipe) in my book Positano The Amalfi Coast – Travel Guide – Cookbook. Parade magazine picked up on it, and my story and Al Pacino and I (Daniel Bellino) has snowballed, in print and all over the internet. And yes, “I’m proud it is.”
And so I could not resist telling the story again. The story and myself – Daniel Bellino Zwicke, and the great Al Pacino. I’ve been a huge fan, as most Americans of Mr. Pacino for some 50 plus years now. “We are Paisons,” and blood brothers in a way. We are both Italian-American New Yorkers, with Sicilian ancestry and roots, from the same area of Sicily. Al Pacino’s family, believe it or not, are from Corelone, Sicily. Yes I said Corleone, the same town in Sicily as the fictional character Pacino played in the movie The Godfather, as one Michael Corleone, whose father Vito is from the Sicilian town Corleone.
My family, the Bellino’s are from the nearby town of Lercara Friddi, Sicily, the same town that the famed Mafia Boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano is from, as well as Frank Sinatra’s father – Martino Severino Sinatra. That’s our connection – Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino, and Me – Daniel Bellino.
And yes, I greatly admire both Frank Sinatra, and Al Pacino, and I’m proud of our small connection as Sicilian Americans. “Paisons.”
PASTA alla PACINO – RECIPE
INGREDIENTS :
8 ounces imported Italian Spaghetti
8 tablespoons Olive Oil
5 cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced
½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley (optional)
Note : Make sure to use good quality imported Italian Spaghetti, and Italian Olive Oil.
Fill a 3-4 quart pot ¾ full of water and add 1 teaspoon Sea Salt. Turn heat to high and bring the water to the boil.
Add olive oil and the garlic to a large frying pan. Cook on low heat until the garlic just starts to brown. Turn the heat off. Add the red pepper and stir.
Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water. Cook, following the directions on the box (about 9 – 10 minutes).
When the spaghetti is finished cooking, drain it into a colander, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water.
Reserve a ¼ cup of pasta water to mix into the finished plate of pasta.
Place the drained spaghetti into the pan with the garlic & olive oil. Toss and mix the spaghetti so it is completely coated with the sauce. Add a little of the parsley and a little of the pasta cooking water if needed. Mix everything together.
Plate the spaghetti on two plates, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle on the remaining Parsley. Serve immediately. It does not require cheese, but you may put on a little if you like. Just not too much. Enjoy.
Note : Yes, this book is all about Italian Nonnas and their wonderful home-cooked Italian food recipes. Going a little bit out of that realm with this story and recipe of Al Pacino’s favorite pasta – Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Yes. Well yes and no. Al is Italian, of Sicilian ancestry, and though he does not at the time of this printing have any grandchildren, but we are certain with having 4 children that he will one day have grandchildren and become an Italian Nonno.
Anyway, we love Al. And who doesn’t? So, we have included our Italian-American brother here. “Basta”
…. Daniel ….
Excerpted from soon to be published book by author Daniel Bellino Zwicke. Working Title – Italian Nonna Cookbook … Anticipated publishing date – November 2026
Author DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, often known as Daniel Bellino, is a New York based cookbook author, particularly known for his Italian cookbooks. He is also recognized as a prominent figure in New York’s Italian wine scene, and as the chef / wine director, and creator of America’s 1st Venetian wine bar (Bacaro) Bar Cichetti.
Bellino has authored several best-selling cookbooks, including La Tavola, The Feast of the Seven Fishes, Got Any Kahlua?, Sunday Sauce, and Segreto Italiano/Secret Italian Recipes & Favorite Dishes. He is currently working on books about Chianti and other Italian and American cookbooks.
Daniel is a prominent figure in the New York Italian Food & Wine scene.
He has more than 30 years experience as a wine and restaurant Professional.
A forgotten generation of late 19th century Italian pizza makers in America has been discovered, changing our understanding of how pizza arrived in the United States. After 10 years of searching through archival records for an upcoming book, Peter Regas is going public with his findings by launching pizzahistorybook.com and announcing a presentation at the U.S. Pizza Museum in Chicago on February 23.
Of this forgotten older generation, one baker stands out. Filippo Milone came to New York in the late 19th century and likely established two of the most famous New York pizzerias that still exist today, Lombardi’s on Spring Street and John’s of Bleecker Street.
Regas explains, “Filippo Milone likely established pizzerias in at least six locations throughout New York City. Of these locations, three later became famous under different names: ‘Pop’s,’ ‘John’s,’ and ‘Lombardi’s.’ Pop’s in Brooklyn closed decades ago, but the other two in Manhattan still exist. Milone, a pioneer in what has become a $45 billion industry, later died in 1924, without children to preserve his story buried in an unmarked grave in Queens.”
The documents Regas discovered reveal a pattern of Milone establishing pizzerias—sometimes classified as delicatessens, groceries, or bakeries—and then handing them off to others while he moved on to other locations. Regas says, “Intentionally or not he planted seeds all over Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some of these pizzerias quickly died off. But three of his pizzerias became iconic lasting for decades. No one else can say that.”
Until now, Lombardi’s origin story has commonly been understood to be that Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi, opened a grocery store at 53 1/2 Spring Street around 1897 that eventually became America’s first licensed pizzeria in 1905. While proof of that license has never materialized, Regas has tracked down Gennaro Lombardi’s birth record, naturalization papers, and other supporting documents that tell a different story. Gennaro Lombardi first came to America in November of 1904 at age 17, classified as a “laborer”. If he became involved with the pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring Street in 1905, it was as an employee not as an owner. By that time, it had already been established as a pizzeria probably by Milone in 1898 but certainly by another proprietor named Giovanni Santillo who followed Milone in 1901.
Likewise, John’s on Bleecker Street has long been understood to have been established in 1929 but documents show 1915 to be the actual year. In 1915 Milone took over a bakery at 175 Sullivan St. The 1916 city directory notes him selling “Pies” there which given Milone’s career is almost certainly a term for pizza. By the time John Sasso (a relative of Milone’s by marriage) takes over the pizzeria with a partner, the 1925 city directory lists “Pizzeria Port’Alba” at 175 Sullivan St. which, given his history, was likely Milone’s name for it in 1915. The pizzeria eventually moved to Bleecker Street and is known today as “John’s.” A neon sign in the window still shows the name “Pizzeria Port’Alba”—an echo of the true history of the pizzeria.
Regas, an independent researcher, was originally researching Chicago pizzerias when he discovered holes in New York’s origin story. His findings include the earliest known documents that mention pizza and pizzerias in America. While historians have speculated that businesses where the dough was made primarily for pizza, may have existed in America during this period, no record of these establishments, or their owners, has been brought to light until now.
Regas’ book on the history of pizza in the U.S. will be released later in 2019. He has started sharing information that supports his claims including archival records, newspaper advertisements with translations, photographs, and family stories at pizzahistorybook.com.
Perhaps the most famous early 20th century U.S. pizzeria was at 53 Spring St. in New York City. Now called “Lombardi’s Pizza” (relocated at 32 Spring St.), it’s often claimed Gennaro Lombardi established the first U.S. pizzeria there in 1905. However recently discovered evidence shows this claim to be false in two respects: it wasn’t the first pizzeria, and it wasn’t established by Lombardi. City directories show Giovanni Albano’s pizzeria at 59 1/2 Mulberry St. (NYC) was already operating in 1894. Additionally, Filippo Milone, perhaps the U.S.’s most significant early pizza maker, very likely established the 53 Spring St. store as a combination pizzeria/grocery in the summer of 1898. By August 1904, Italian-American newspaper advertisements show a subsequent owner, Giovanni Santillo, operating “Antica Pizzeria Napoletana” at 53 Spring St. months before Lombardi even arrived in the U.S. in November 1904. Gennaro Lombardi may have worked for Santillo in 1905 as a newly arrived 17-year-old immigrant, but he didn’t own it in 1905. After a series of owners, Lombardi—who owned the pizzeria briefly in 1908—repurchased it from Francesco D’Errico around 1918 and ran it until he died in 1958. Once called “Antica Pizzeria Napoletana,” then “Grande Pizzeria e Ristorante Napoletano,” and then—after the family bought the building in 1939—”Lombardi’s Restaurant”, this post details the forgotten early history of the men who owned this legendary pizzeria.
City and business directories are the easiest and most direct way to find out who owned what in Manhattan at the turn of the last century. Searching directories for “53 Spring St.” or “53 1/2 Spring St.” (both addresses were used for the pizzeria at different times), one finds these owners and their occupations shown on the chart below:
If we had no other evidence, directories alone would be enough to falsify the claim Lombardi established the pizzeria in 1905. We have to wait until 1920 for Gennaro Lombardi to appear in a Manhattan city directory (shown in red). Directories are not perfect and its important to understand their limits. But to claim directories misidentified a business owner for more than 15 years is untenable.
While city and business directories are a great source to find a proprietor’s name and address, they are sometimes ambiguous in the description of the business. Note, for example, how various directories described Filippo Milone’s occupation in 1899. At times he’s listed as a grocer, other times he owns a delicatessen, and still other times he’s a baker. All of these different directories describe the same store at roughly the same time. And note not until 1922 do the directories describe the store at 53 Spring St. as a pizzeria. To determine when this store started selling pizza, we need more detailed information. For this, we turn to NYC Italian-American newspapers.
Tommasi Braibanti owned the restaurant at 53 Spring St, probably from the summer of 1897 until the summer of 1898. Did he establish the pizzeria? Probably not. After finding this August 1897 advertisement in the newspaper L’Araldo Italiano, we can probably rule out Braibanti as he looks to be operating a pastry shop and not selling pizza in the ad below.
In 1907 the following ad was published in “Piedigrotta alla Villa Vittorio Emanuele III” a pamphlet edited by Luigi Pane.
The backstory here is that Santillo took a trip back to Naples with his wife Rosa during the period 1906-1907. Giuseppe Amabile, Rosa’s nephew, along with Agostino Perera ran the pizzeria in their absence. When the Santillo’s came back in October, 1907 Giovanni Santillo took over again. Apparently this caused a conflict with Perera as he thought he owned a share of the business. After a bitter falling out, in 1908 Perera left and briefly opened “Nuova Pizzeria Port’Alba” across the street at 50 Spring Street.
What evidence supports Lombardi’s claims? The earliest and only known evidence showing Lombardi owned the business before 1918 is the famous photograph of Antonio Pero and Gennaro Lombardi in front of the pizzeria. Previously, the photo was thought to have been taken in 1905. However, a detailed analysis shows the photo was almost certainly taken in the fall of 1908 shortly after the 21-year-old Lombardi bought the pizzeria from Giovanni Santillo who then returned to Italy.
However, in 1908 Lombardi doesn’t remain owner for long. When the 1909 Trow’s Manhattan Business Directory is released in the spring of 1909 a baker named Francesco D’Errico (a relative of Lombardi’s through marriage) is now listed as the restaurant’s sole owner. D’Errico was previously a baker at 234 N. 5th St. in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). It appears likely that D’Errico and Lombardi exchanged businesses as Lombardi eventually appears for the first time in a directory in the 1912 Trow’s Brooklyn Business Directory as the owner of the bakery at 234 N. 5th Street.
When did Lombardi buy back the Spring St. pizzeria from D’Errico? We’re fortunate WWI Registration Cards document when the buy back occurred. They show an ownership change after June 5, 1917 but before September 12, 1918. Since the 1918 City Directory still listed D’Errico as the owner the ownership change probably occurred sometime in mid-1918.
And from then until the day he died in 1958, Gennaro Lombardi was the owner of the pizzeria at 53 Spring Street. Initially called ….
Putting together all the primary source evidence we get the following chart as to who owned the Spring Street pizzeria.
La TAVOLA
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
Ever Dream of taking a Wonderful Journey. A Journey through Italian-American New York and Italian America., complete with pots of Sunday Sauce, Ethereal Bolognese Sauce, Platters of Antipasto, Perfect Espresso, with trays of Cannoli and Sfogiatelle. Do you Dream of one day Eating the famed Christmas Eve, “Feast of the 7 Fish” or crave a perfect plate of Spaghetti Carbonara?
Do you have visions of the Amalfi Coast of Lemoncello, Fiano, and a flawless Plate of Linguine al Vongole. Would you like to know how to throw the perfect Italian Dinner Party, complete with Antipasti, Pasta, Chianti, and Dolce, while the sounds of Frank (Sinatra) and Dino play along? Do you want to know which are the best; Italian Restaurants, Caffes, Pastry Shops, and Pork Stores. Would you like to know how to make the Perfect “Negroni” or pick out the perfect Italian Wine and how to make a textbook Bolognese? Where to go in Italy and what to see? If you’d like to live these things, or just read about them vicariously, then take the journey, the Beautifully Wondrous Journey of La Tavola. Eat as Al Pacino, Jake LaMotta, Sinatra, and Dino had eaten over the years. La Tavola is part Cookbook, Guide-Book. Some have said it’s like a Italian-American New York version of a YEAR in PROVENCE, but with Italian Food in New York, and with Italian-Americans instead of French Food, people, and places?
LA TAVOLA entertains and Inspires with stories, antidotes, and recipes of Sunday Sauce (Gravy), Sausage & Peppers, Meatball Parms, and the “FEAST of The 7 FISH” Then MANGIA!Italian-American New Yorker’s Adventures of the Table. With 30 Wonderful Bellino Family Recipes.
Daniel Bellino Zwicke & La TAVOLA
Google Synopsis / Review
Daniel Bellino Zwicke & “GREENWICH VILLAGE NEWPORT STEAKS
SINATRA BELLINO & PACINO
“Sinatra Bellino & Pacino” is a famous cultural and culinary trio championed by New York Italian cookbook author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke. His work and cookbooks celebrate iconic Italian-Americans and the legendary New York City restaurants where icons like Frank Sinatra and Al Pacino frequented or loved the food. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Dnny Bolognese is a Professional “Pen Nam” of Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, a Bestselling Italian-American cookbook author, Wine Professional, and former Chef. Based in New York’s Greenwich Village, he is a recognized authority on Italian cuisine and wine with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
Culinary Career and Contributions
New York Italian 