As a child growing up in Italy, Lidia Bastianich recalls seeing one particular cookbook in just about everyone’s kitchen. It was called “The Talisman of Happiness” and it was often given as a wedding present to couples starting new lives together. “It has all the basic recipes. And it says the basic thing - that food is a connector, that food is happiness,” she says.
The book by Ada Boni - its Italian title is “Il Talismano della Felicita” - was first published in 1929, and became a go-to place to find the recipe for spaghetti carbonara or pork galantine. Its simplicity and accessibility got it compared to “The Joy of Cooking,” but it predated Irma S. Rombauer’s iconic work.
