Little Italy is as much a state of mind as a geographic location. Even those of us not born Italian can feel Italian for a little while when we cook Little Italy-style. It's about cooking with love and pride. It's about making soul-satisfying meals for family and friends. It's about using ingenuity to transform a few humble ingredients into sublime creations. In Little Italy Cookbook, three-time three-star chef David Ruggerio, owner of several of New York's finest restaurants, returns to his Italian roots. Ruggerio tours New York's Little Italy, exploring and celebrating traditional Italian-American family recipes. The delicious offerings include such dishes as Grilled Vegetable Pizza, Fusilli with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Sausage, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Orecchiette with Peas and Prosciutto, Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, Polenta with Ragu of Wild Mushrooms, and Amaretto-Chocolate Cheesecake--dishes that are easy to cook and fun to eat. The book also includes illustrated features on the bakeries, pastry shops, and pizza restaurants unique to Little Italy. With evocative photographs of the people and places that represent Little Italy for Ruggerio--from Coney Island to Mulberry Street--Little Italy Cookbook invites us to enjoy the culture and cuisine he loves. Little Italy Cookbook is the companion volume to the public television series "Little Italy with David Ruggerio."