Cooking has always been integral for this South Philly couple. “The first thing I ever cooked for Ashley was pork loin stuffed with cornbread and andouille from Emeril’s cookbook,” Lisewski says. A high school Spanish teacher, Lisewski gets home from work earlier than his wife, who is an assistant vice president at Temple University. He does the cooking, and it’s often something from the pair’s well-worn cookbooks. “Tonight, he’s making Bolognese,” says Lomery, with a smile.
And for dessert? Well, that will be saffron frozen yogurt from their current favorite cookbook, The New Persian Kitchen (Ten Speed Press) by Philly native Louisa Shafia. The couple discovered Persian food just last year, when Shafia partnered with Zahav restaurant in Old City for a special dinner that featured her recipes. Since then, they’ve cooked many dishes from the book, including rice with favas and dill as well as lamb kebabs with pomegranate and walnut. But this dessert is their very favorite. Though the recipe calls for the fro-yo to be pressed between two homemade pizzelles, Lisewski’s adaptation swaps the sandwich action for a crunchy topping made from crushed store-bought pizzelles and cardamom.
