For over three decades, Nancy Wilson collected anecdotes and recipes from Louisiana's Italian immigrants, including her family and friends, as a way to preserve her children's Italian heritage. Included here alongside her lively personal commentary are historical and cultural facts about Italian-American immigration patterns, religious institutions and festivals such as St. Joseph's Day, and the importance of food and family in daily life. Louisiana's Italians, Food, and Folkways contains more than 100 recipes, from homemade wines, appetizers, and vegetables, to savory sauces, fish, and meat. There is also a chapter on unusual pastries such as cannoli, pinnulati, scadalin, and more. Chock full of both sentiment and practical tips on making bona fide Italian cuisine, this is a one-of-a-kind cookbook that will interest anyone curious about the history, food, and folkways of Italian immigrants in Louisiana. Included is a St. Joseph's Altar glossary and information guide and instructions and illustrations on how to build a "mud oven" so you can make your own authentic Italian bread.