Photo by Bobby Doherty. Food Styling by Michelle Gatton. Prop Styling by Noemi Bonazzi.

… when I was about 14, I threw a dinner party for some girlfriends from school. It was my first time serving Caesar salad, and I was totally old-school: I rubbed the bowl with garlic and mixed in the egg yolks and everything else before tossing in the lettuce. I didn’t make my own pasta; I just bought great fresh pasta from the Italian markets in New Haven and used it for the fettuccine Alfredo. At the time, all I would eat was fettuccine Alfredo — but no parsley on it …

Missy Robbins, chef of Lilia, first dinner party (ca 1985). Menu: Caesar salad, Fettuccine Alfredo, Ice cream from Ashley’s Ice Cream in New Haven.