Cooking Up The Past

About the Book

For Louise Renzi Colburn, food has always been central to family life. Taste memories of special occasions and everyday meals are celebrated in Cooking Up the Past, a tribute to Louise’s family history as told through the food they shared together.

The many comforting dishes in Cooking Up the Past refer to Louise’s Italian American family traditions and pay homage to past generations. As new arrivals to the U.S., the family merged its Italian heritage with the American way of life. In the early days, time spent with family most often took place in the kitchen. In the Renzi family, Sunday Sauce with Meatballs and Braciole was a weekly family staple, as were Cold Beef Salad, Aunt Margaret’s beef vegetable soup and Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta. Special occasions celebrated Sweet Macaroni and a parade of Italian cookie favorites at Christmas time while Turkey with Pepperoni offered an Italian twist to a traditional American Thanksgiving tradition

However, with the passing years, life somehow accelerated to a point that didn’t allow time to cook together in the kitchen. Family scattered and times shared together became few and far between. Like many families, many of the dishes that had marked earlier occasions were lost to convenience, fast food and hectic lives.

Cooking Up the Past’s collection of memories and recipes is a family heirloom. It preserves family traditions and meals so they can be shared with future generations. Hopefully, it will also inspire other families to uncover the meals and traditions that defi ne their own heritage and preserve these heirlooms for future generations before they are lost forever.

About the Author

Louise Renzi Colburn Louise has been cooking since she was a teenager at first, imitating her mother and then striking out on her own creating some new dishes. Her passion for food and entertaining has endured through her years as a mother and grandmother and influenced everyone around her including her children and even her husband who, for years, mastered Sunday sauce. Now retired after successful careers in bedside nursing, nursing education and pharmaceutical marketing, Louise loves to cook with her grandchildren, Rachel, Adam, Mia and Ava who all show a keen interest in preparing and eating good food. It is her hope that this book will someday be treasured by this and next generations. Lisa Colburn Stewart Lisa’s love for cooking and baking started at the tender age of 10 with her Portuguese Sweet Bread made for entry in a local country fair. While she left without a ribbon, word of her famous bread braids spread throughout the neighborhood leading to a bread-making business. While expanding the recipe to accommodate a growing clientele, the rising dough expanded throughout the kitchen quickly overcoming the counters and refrigerator. It became a choice between bread or shelter, thus ending the business as quickly as it began but her love for all things culinary continued. As an adult, Lisa enjoyed a successful career in public relations but now stays at home with her children Mia and Ava who already love to help with the cooking.