Meet Nonna Gracie and Tony Cash NYC
Reporter Jeanne Muchnick chats with internet stars (and Westchester residents) Nonna Gracie and Tony Cash NYC, Aug. 27, 2025. Tania Savayan/lohud
Christian Petroni, a Westchester chef and Food Network star has a new book — his first — with a forward by fellow Bedford resident Martha Stewart.
“From Parm to Table,” released Sept. 23, is billed as “the most fun Italian-American cookbook you’ll ever splatter red sauce on,” according to a HarperCollins press release. There are 70 recipes with “no pretension, no hang-ups, just good food made to taste like your nonna made it.”
There are also personal anecdotes.
Petroni, who wears his Bronx personality on his (very) tattooed sleeve, spent childhood summers immersed in the culinary traditions of his grandparents on the island of Ponza, Italy, just off the coast of Naples. His food, for those who’ve experienced it, draws culinary inspiration from his time in both New York and on the Italian Mediterranean.
The Chopped (2010) and Food Network winner (2018), who often appears in Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions,” has put his heart and soul into the book which features 70 recipes broken down into Italian-American Classics (definitely skip ahead to the 8-Hour Marinara Sauce and Neapolitan Eggplant Parmigiana), Family-Style Meals, Weeknight Go-To’s (check out My Babe’s Sausage & Peppers and Potato Frittata), Ponza inspired dishes, Condimenti & Basic Sauces, and Dolci (Sweets).
Also in the book: his famous cheesy garlic bread, inspired by the red sauce joints he grew up with. Regular and pepperoni versions have been at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (Sections 125 and 310) for the past two years.
“My life has always been defined by the kitchen,” said Petroni. “Whether I was watching my nonnatransform fresh tomatoes into the perfect Sunday sauce or sneaking bites of garlic bread at The Veniceback in the Bronx, food was always where people gathered, where joy came alive.
“That’s what this book is all about.”
Want to meet Christian Petroni?
Petroni will be signing books at Barnes & Noble in the Vernon Hills Shopping Center in Scarsdale Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
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Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
Dining and Cooking