Cooking Like Nonna: Marisa Lambert’s Family Recipes, With Modern Twists

Marisa Longo grew up close to both sets of grandparents — geographically, and culinarily.

Even with a full-time job, her maternal grandmother cooked everything — pasta, bread, dessert — from scratch. Her maternal grandfather made wine.

Marisa’s paternal grandmother made hot lunch for everyone at Marisa’s parents’ clothing store. Every afternoon at 3, she brought espresso: hot in winter, iced in summer.

Marisa’s mother was also a great cook.

As they grew older, Marisa and her 3 sisters shared their grandparents’ and mother’s recipes. They added tweaks here and there, and tested them among themselves.

Marisa Lambert

In 2006 she — now Marisa Lambert — and her husband Thomas moved to Westport. He’s a partner in FLB Law on Riverside Avenue.

She’s an attorney too. Next month, their twins will enter Staples High School.

Food has always remained close to Marisa’s heart. She’s taken cooking classes, and is part of a cooking club that began with parents on her son’s baseball team.

Now she’s sharing her passion with a wider audience.

“Cooking Like Nonna” — a nod to the beloved Italian word for “grandma” — began a year ago. When Marisa shared it with a wider audience in January, it took off.

On Instagram and TikTok, she offers recipes with personal twists. Often rooted in her heritage — whether a slow-simmered Sunday sauce, pasta primavera or ricotta pancakes — her goal is to bring people together through food.

“Just like both my nonnas, and my mom did,” Marisa notes.

TikTok screenshot.

In addition to home cooking, she spotlights local restaurants and businesses. She has featured the “cozy comforts” of Tutti’s Ristorante and Fatto a Mano, and the fresh, healthy offerings aat Organika, among others.

“Cooking Like Nonna” has caught the eye of major brands and platforms.  Appetito recently featured Marisa. Her cooking videos have been shared by Italian companies like Bono di Sicilia (the largest producer of certified EVOO in Sicily) and Mutti, a maker of tomato products since 1899.

Locatelli Cheese — even older, at 200-plus years — gave her a like.

Just as gratifying are comments from individual followers. A thank-you for Marisa’s stuffed zucchini recipe warms her heart. She knows she is following in her nonnas’ footsteps.

Marisa Lambert celebrates National Smoothie Day at Organika.

Like making a family dinner, being a content creator takes plenty of behind-the-scenes work. Marisa constantly tests, adjusts and modernizes her recipes.

The other day it was a microwavable asparagus dish, with Parmesan cheese and olive oil. “Old school recipes, with a modern twist,” she says.

Since going online, Marisa has discovered a “large and friendly community” of creators and foodies.

She also learned new skills — including video editing.

Marisa’s goal is to expand — first throughout Fairfield County and Connecticut, then around the tri-state region.

Marisa Lambert’s pasta primavera, on Apetito.com. 

She’d like too to start an international segment. One friend from the Republic of Georgia, and another from Hungary, are inspiring her to add new dishes.

In the works: a 2-video series on the Westport Farmers’ Market. The first will focus on what’s available there; the second, on what she makes with those ingredients.

Though she now has an international audience — with some of her most avid followers living in Italy — Cooking Like Nonna remains a family affair.

Marisa began by sharing recipes with her sisters. She still does.

Her son and daughter help film her segments.

And of course, whenever she tweaks a recipe, cooks a meal or uplodads a new reel, Marisa thinks of her nonnas.

Buon appetito!

(For links to Cooking With Nonna, click here for Instgram; click here for TikTok.)