‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Alum Dishes Up Italian American Delights in New Cookbook

What is your best advice or strategy for cooking for a large family? 

Keep it simple. Try not to make anything [complicated]. For instance, there are a lot of steps to making Eggplant Parmesan. You’ve got to get the eggplant, then peel, slice and bread it. You have to fry it, make the sauce. It’s a lot of steps. [On the other hand] Sunday gravy [red sauce] — it’s the easiest thing in the world to make because you’re throwing everything in a pot, covering it and letting it simmer for about three hours. You get a couple of pounds of pasta, and you could grow that [for a larger group]. That’s something you could save and freeze. I always have some gravy in the freezer, ready to roll, because if you’re expecting four people, and 10 people show up, you’ve got it in the freezer. All it requires is adding a few more cans of tomatoes, a little more garlic, a little more basil, a little more wine and you’re done. 

If you’re cooking a classic Italian American dinner, what is on the menu?

Well, that would be Sunday, which usually starts [with] making the gravy in the morning. That’s what everybody wakes up to, the smell of the meatballs frying. My meatballs do not make it to the sauce. They are literally eaten out of the pan as I’m making them. Then we will have an antipasto, which is whatever we want: cured meats, cheeses, fruit, rice balls and whatever I feel like putting on the table. It’s grazing time, while the sauce is cooking [for the pasta]. There’s always a second dish, usually a meat dish accompanied with a vegetable. We just never stop eating on Sunday. Everything is centered around the kitchen, where everybody’s just hanging out. 

Do you have a prediction about which recipe might become the standout star of this book? 

Everybody from the Housewives days — when we shared holidays and dinners with the viewers — [a few] things stuck out. People asked for my meatball recipe. They asked for my sausage and pepper and potato recipe. And there was another recipe that my dad made — it continues to be a tradition every Christmas Eve, the only time we make it. It’s olive sauce that was born when we went to our farm in upstate New York, and we arrived late in the evening. There was nothing in the house — only a jar of olives, a can of tomatoes, pasta, and we had salami and dried sausage. My dad made this phenomenal sauce. My dad’s been gone for four years, but we still make Christmas Eve olive sauce. 

You also host friends and celebrities in your kitchen on your Food, Love, and Chaos with Caroline Manzo YouTube cooking show. If you could pick anyone, who would be your dream guest?

My dream celebrity to have in my kitchen, even though she’s no longer with us, would be Betty White. I thought she was just a gem. I love conversation. I love to hear people’s stories about their lives. She lived on her own terms. She was a warrior, and she just exuded kindness and laughter, and that’s what I love in my world. 

Manzo's first cookbook, "Food & Other Things I Love," blends family stories with her favorite recipes.

Courtesy Chronicle Books

Cook with Caroline

Manzo shared three recipes from Food & Other Things I Love for AARP members to try:

One-Pan Branzino and Tomatoes

This dish screams summertime: It’s simple, it’s fresh, and it has a lot of vibrant flavors. 

The Whole Garden Pasta Primavera

This pasta is like sunshine in a bowl. 

Grilled Artichokes with Lemon Aioli

This is a perfect appetizer on its own or as part of an antipasti spread.

Like many Real Housewives cast members, you have had your fair share of drama. Do you have any tips for home cooks to kind of keep their kitchens drama-free?

If I had that answer, I would bottle it and be a billionaire! I just don’t know. I think the wisest thing is to pick your battles. If there’s drama around the kitchen, and if it doesn’t involve you, just skirt around it and try to ease it. Just don’t add fuel to the fire.

It seems like you stay busy and have endless energy. What do you do to keep healthy? 

I walk at least 11,000 steps a day, sometimes 20,000. You know, I could do 4 miles or I could do 10 miles, depending on the day. Instead of sitting down, if I’m doing nothing, I’m walking. My eating habits have changed as well. I don’t eat nearly as much as I used to, and I stay away from cakes and sweets and things like that. I’m eating cleaner as I get older. I’ll never walk away from pasta, but instead of a large bowl, it’s smaller bowls and drinking tons of water, taking my vitamins, and things like that.

What is the best part about being a grandmother?

Everything? It’s a different kind of love. With my children, I let them fall and get hurt because you have to teach them to survive. Although it pains you to see, it’s very important for their growth. My grandchild [Marchesa “Markie” Anna Scalia, 7], on the other hand, if I could put her in a bubble and not have her shed a tear in her entire life, I would gladly do it. When you’re parenting, it’s more like survival, getting through the day. When you’re a grandparent, it’s just joy, because you look at them through very different eyes, through eyes of experience. With age, you’re a different person, and you have more patience, perhaps. It’s magical.