This Is Sunday Dinner

March 18, 2019
Caponigri’s enjoyable second cookbook follows a similar premise to her first, Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner?, in which she provided 52 dinner menus to be enjoyed each Sunday of the year. This time, Caponigri, who has a line of prepared foods called Lisa’s Italian Kitchen, presents the menu based on the four seasons, with each season represented by an Italian region. The summer section, for example, lists 13 menus inspired by Sicily, where bright citrus flavors are prevalent in dishes such as lemony lentil soup, chicken with oranges and olives, and orange polenta cake. She dedicates the winter chapter to Piemonte, where many of the recipes call for creamy sauce bases, such as linguine with aja (a walnut sauce), risotto with melted fontina cheese, and filet mignon with a Gorgonzola sauce. Caponigri makes a convincing case for involving the entire family: “Cooking with your children is a gift you give to them and yourself.” Some Italophiles, however, may question the authenticity of a few recipes, vodka sauce and chicken Francese among them. Nevertheless, Caponigri’s welcoming, accessible collection of Italian weekend recipes will be a boon to those preparing dinner for the entire family.