When Life Hands You Lemons, Throw Tomatoes - by Donna Rapaccioli (Paperback)

About the Book

Over one hundred delicious, from-scratch recipes for making at-home, full-course meals, especially for those who want to learn a bit more about business and enjoy life lessons through food.

Book Synopsis

"Beautiful in its words, lessons, and recipes, this wonderful book takes you on a journey of family, food, and life. You will relish every page and every dish!"

-CHESTER ELTON, author of the New York Times bestseller The Carrot Principle

"Utterly charming."

-LIDIA BASTIANICH, Emmy award-winning television host, bestselling cookbook author, and restaurateur

"A love letter to the art of cooking, a testament to the power of nostalgia, and a source of inspiration for anyone seeking comfort, connection, and a deeper understanding of life's simple pleasures."

-MANDELL CRAWLEY, chief human resources officer, Morgan Stanley

Part cookbook and part memoir, When Life Hands You Lemons, Throw Tomatoes takes you on a culinary journey while highlighting the ties among business, everyday life, and, of course, cooking. Here you'll find more than 100 recipes to create multi-course, delicious meals for you, and for your family and friends.

Each chapter includes foolproof recipes for at-home meals, from appetizers (try the Salty Guacamole) and main courses (a warming winter Chicken Cacciatore), to side dishes (always-a-hit Syracuse Salt Potatoes and Classic Tomato Salad), desserts (a super-simple Affogato alongside some complicated cookies), and even savory cocktails (the best Espresso Martini you'll ever have). Hungry yet?

Donna also serves up stories from her life--some about her large, loving (and loud!) New York Italian family, and others that highlight key attributes of successful leadership. Tales are told with each meal, just as we tell stories around the family dinner table.

The specific ingredients featured--lemons, tomatoes, chicken, carrots, salt, duck, cheese, and fish--have all, in one way or another, inspired Donna's life and leadership approach. For her, it turns out that food and business are forever intertwined.

This book is for anyone interested in delicious from-scratch, at-home cooking, especially those who want to learn a bit more about business while you're at it. Most importantly, Donna hopes you feel the love in her recipes and pass it along--maybe in the form of a cookie, cake, or soup--to someone you care about.

Review Quotes

"Beautiful in its words, lessons, and recipes, this wonderful book takes you on a journey of family, food, and life. You will relish every page and every dish!"

-Chester Elton, author of the New York Times bestseller The Carrot Principle

"When Life Hands You Lemons, Throw Tomatoes offers a harmonious blend of innovative recipes and transformative leadership advice, giving readers a feast for both the mind and the palate. Each chapter serves up delicious dishes paired seamlessly with stories that provide invaluable insights into becoming a more effective, compassionate, and dynamic leader, with a side of humor. This must-read book is more than just a cookbook-it's a manual for living a life of resilience, passion, and purpose."

-Lerzan Aksoy, PhD, dean and George N. Jean PhD chair, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University

"This book is a love letter to the art of cooking, a testament to the power of nostalgia, and a source of inspiration for anyone seeking comfort, connection, and a deeper understanding of life's simple pleasures. Donna invites us into her family's kitchen, not just sharing recipes but cherished family stories and traditions that have been passed down through generations. She is an incredibly accomplished leader and product of deep family roots and strong values."

-Mandell Crawley, chief human resources officer, Morgan Stanley

"As a chef and restauranteur, I realized early in my career that if my passion for cooking was to grow and flourish, I needed to be a good businesswoman, knowing how to balance numbers as well as balance flavors in a sauté pan. It seems that Donna has a gift for both. In her new cookbook, When Life Hands You Lemons, Throw Tomatoes, she ventures into the history of her Italian-American family while offering over one hundred recipes that kept that family happy and fed. I found the book utterly charming, with recipes ranging from true Italian to Italian American to personal renditions, along with some of the different ethnic neighborhood flavors thrown in. A fun read with some great recipes to bring it all to the table!"

-Lidia Bastianich, Emmy award-winning television host, bestselling cookbook author, and restaurateur

"Most business advice books follow predictably boring formulas. Donna Rapaccioli has instead done something uniquely charming, mixing together a pinch of memoir, a tablespoon of life management advice, a dash of accounting history, and some fabulous recipes that you'll surely enjoy!"

-Chris Lowney, bestselling author of Heroic Leadership and Make Today Matter

"This book is--almost literally--one to sink your teeth into. Beyond the scrumptious recipes to fill your belly, Donna takes the reader page by page through a journey of food, brilliantly weaving in life and leadership lessons."

-Patricia David, former chief diversity officer at JP Morgan Chase and author of The 'Her'story of Davidisms: My Straight-Shooting Answers to 30 Years of Career Questions People Have Asked Me