Amore Amore

Italian-born chef of global cuisine, Alessandra Meschini, founder of instructional restaurant Cooking with Alessandra in Des Moines, IA, invites you to slow down, breathe deep, and cook with all of your senses. Each page of Amore, Amore: Cooking with Love is a celebration of food as art, memory, and story, a reminder that cooking is much more than a task; it’s a connection between the hands and the heart.

Hear the whisper of olive oil as it meets the pan, the rhythmic chop of garlic and onions forming a melody of anticipation. See the bright contrast of verdant basil against crimson tomatoes, the golden shimmer of freshly baked focaccia cooling on the counter. Smell the comforting perfume of rosemary and fennel drifting through sunlit windows, awakening nostalgia for long afternoons in Nonna’s kitchen.

From the first simmer of a rustic soffritto the Italian way to the final dusting of frosting on a Wanda cookie, Alessandra weaves together recipes, stories, and poetry that remind us that cooking is an act of love—a way to nourish not only the body, but also the spirit. Her dishes, steeped in tradition yet inspired by seasons of adventure, invite you to rediscover the sacred rhythm of the kitchen: slow, intentional, and full of life.

This cookbook is both a sensory experience and a heartfelt meditation on the joy of creating and sharing food. With every story told alongside each recipe, Alessandra encourages you to listen, taste, and feel your way back to what truly matters—connection, presence, and the simple, enduring pleasure of cooking Amore, Amore, slowly and with love.