From Italy with Amore: A Q&A with Jessi and Alessio Pasini

Known for their funny and heartfelt reflections on life and food, the Pasinis share authentic Italian recipes crafted with love alongside insider tips, from choosing quality olive oil to making homemade pasta. Read on for an exclusive Q&A with Jessi and Alessio Pasini on writing From Italy with Amore.

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Brenda Allison: Can you describe your inspiration for this cookbook?

Jessi Pasini & Alessio Pasini: From Italy with Amore really grew out of our life together. We started cooking for each other early on in our relationship, and over the years we’ve enjoyed not only the tried-and-true meals Alessio grew up with, but also created new recipes inspired by our experiences and travels. When we started sharing our food content on social media, we quickly learned that many of the “Italian Classics” weren’t being prepared the authentic way and a lot of people didn’t even know it. Alessio started sharing his own tips and tricks online, but we wanted to take it a step further and put that knowledge into a cookbook that shared authentic Italian home cooking the way Italians make it every day. Our hope was to preserve those traditions but also make them approachable for people cooking in their own kitchens. 

BA: What was your favorite part of creating this cookbook together?

JP&AP: Without a doubt getting to revisit so many memories of family gatherings and trips to Italy. We really loved sitting down together and writing the recipe intros because we were able to relive lunches with Alessio’s grandparents, funny moments when I tried something unexpected on one of our trips, or moments when we tried a dish we loved so much that we knew we wanted to recreate it in our own home. It felt less like writing a cookbook and more like piecing together a scrapbook- preserving pieces of our life together. 

BA: What was the most challenging part of working on From Italy with Amore?

JP&AP: We were writing it during one of the most challenging and emotional seasons of our lives. Between fertility treatments, our IVF journey, and a difficult pregnancy, there were times when we felt like finishing seemed almost impossible. Looking back now, it makes the cookbook even more meaningful to us.  

BA: When you think of the meals that you have shared in this cookbook, what do you hope they mean to people?

JP&AP: We hope the meals become more than just recipes. Just like a meal is tied to a memory for us, we’d love for this cookbook to make memories for other people too. Whether that’s cooking a special date-night dinner, or a holiday feast for a large family, we’d love for people to look back and say- “do you remember that amazing meal we shared when...” and have it come from this book. Overall we hope the meals encourage people to slow down, enjoy cooking for the people they love, and create traditions of their own that they’ll look back on for years to come. 

BA: What meals are you most looking forward to sharing with Lorenzo?

JP&AP: We're definitely excited for him to try Frico Friulano. It's a regional dish from Friuli Venezia Giulia, where Alessio is from in Italy. Alessio takes a lot of pride in being Friulano, so getting to share this specific dish with our son will be very special. I imagine a moment in the future when Alessio is showing Lorenzo how to make the dish and he's teaching him all about his heritage and speaking to him in their local dialect. A bonus is that he's pretty much guaranteed to love it because who doesn't love potatoes and melty cheese??