Peter Salerno Cookbook Preview: Eight Pasta Dishes That Will Wow You

We recently reported about a highly anticipated series of cookbooks forthcoming from Peter Salerno, CMKBD. (Peter is the owner and founder of Peter Salerno Inc., the most award-winning custom kitchen and bath design firm of the 21st century – and an exceptional chef!)

“The response was so overwhelming I had no choice but to start putting together recipes immediately, so here we are!” Peter recently explained to us in a phone interview.

Lobster ravioli with Grand Marnier sauce, all made from scratch - to appear in Peter Salerno's pasta cookbook. — Lobster ravioli with Grand Marnier sauce, all made from scratch – to appear in Peter Salerno’s pasta cookbook.

Earlier this week, Peter Salerno put out a survey on his Facebook account, asking friends and followers to vote on 8 different homemade pasta dishes for his cookbook. The top 4 dishes in the vote were guaranteed to make the cookbook. There was only one problem…

“The trouble was, everybody kept saying, ‘Put all of them in!'” Peter continued. “So we’re going to publish all eight recipes.”

As a result, Peter is now hard at work refining and perfecting all 8 pasta recipes, based on Sicilian tradition, family secrets, and his travels to fine dining establishments, conversations with world-class chefs, and attending CIA culinary classes.

As if THAT wasn’t enough to get you drooling, Peter also announced a partnership with David Hamburger of Acker, Merrall & Condit, wine merchants of New York City since 1820. David is a top wine educator, and will be working closely with Peter Salerno to create exceptional wine pairings for each of these pasta dishes!

Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles, from Peter Salerno's upcoming cookbook — Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles, from Peter Salerno’s upcoming cookbook

In no particular order, here are 8 pasta dishes that will appear in Peter Salerno’s debut pasta cookbook:

Lobster ravioli with a Grand Marnier cream sauce (the winner of the vote)
Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles (2nd place in the vote)
Rigatoni with a puttanesca sauce
Cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage
Penne alla Norma (eggplant, tomato,basil)
Pappardelle al Cinghiale (wild boar sauce)
Fettuccine with bolognese and sweet peas
Lobster, macaroni and 3 Italian cheeses

The pasta cookbook will only be the first in a series of installments from Peter Salerno, who states that pasta felt like the most organic place to start the series.

“I wanted to make sure each of the pasta dishes we presented was unique,” Peter explained. “There will be classics like Cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage, and then a bit more exotic offerings like Pappardelle with Cinghiale, with is a wild boar sauce.”

Peter Salerno creates homemade pasta with his granddaughter, Jesse.

For Peter Salerno, one of the real joys of creating pasta dishes is the ability to do so with his family. In the beautiful moment captured above, Peter Salerno rolls out homemade fettuccine with his granddaughter Jesse. It’s part of the Salerno family tradition, passing down old-world Sicilian traditions and recipes through generations.

Part of Peter’s appeal as a custom kitchen designer is his expertise in actually using kitchen design to its fullest. For over two decades, professional chefs and avid home cooks have trusted Peter Salerno Inc. to create state-of-the-art kitchen designs that not only look beautiful, but function as a world-class, operational kitchen.

So, we’re curious – which of the eight pasta dishes listed above sounds most appetizing to you? Which one are you most excited to see appear in Peter Salerno’s forthcoming cookbook? Let us know in the comments below!