For the last ten years, William Tribelli, a graduate of the Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts University, has taught cooking at Rhode Island's juvenile correctional facility.

When he first entered the jailhouse, he discovered that many of his students who happened to be serious criminals were also mentally challenged. Some could not speak a word of English. "If that was not bad enough," Tribelli says, "I was in a room where all of the students were given knives."

He believes, and has repeatedly proven over his career, that people just need a few simple directions and a couple of accomplishments before they are looking forward to cooking all of the time. “It is amazing how many people hate to cook, and I think that it is because they do not know how to cook. After they begin to put a few tasty dishes together, they have this great big smile on their face, because they all want to cook for someone who is very important to them,” Tribelli says.

After repeatedly hearing his students say 'hey teach, I am going to cook this dish for my girl when I get out of here,' that he realized how important it was to teach cooking to a wider audience by compiling his jailhouse recipes into a cookbook. In his book, Tribelli offers recipes ranging from chicken parmigiana to steak umbriago and veal marsala. Tribelli includes pasta dishes, such as penne pink vodka, seafood dishes like scallops Nantucket, and delicious desserts.

Perhaps even more important, he provides easy-to-follow directions, helpful tips, and a shot of confidence for those who even have trouble with microwave dinners.

Americans seem to have forgotten the art of cooking, giving way to fastfood meals of burgers, fries and milkshakes. Many people say they’ve forsaken cooking because it takes more time than they’re willing to put in. Tribelli thinks it is because they do not know how, so he created his book, Jailhouse Cooking: The Poor Man’s Guide to Cooking, as his simple remedy.

"The irony is that it was my culinary arts students who taught me how to better explain the methods and the procedures." He learned from them, just as they learned from him. And by sharing what he has learned, Jailhouse Cooking will have even the most reluctant cook preparing succulent dishes that will make the whole family beg for more.

Here's an example from the book...

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon and 1 pinch table salt
2 pounds lobster ravioli
16 oz half & half cream
6 heaping tablespoons ricotta cheese
4 oz grated romano cheese
2 eggs, scrambled and left in bowl raw
1 pinch black pepper
1/2 of a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1oz vodka
1 pinch basil
6oz lobster meat

Directions:

Put a gallon of water and 1 teaspoon of salt into a two gallown, two-handle pot and bring it to a full boil. After the water comes to a roaring boil, add the lobster ravioli adn allow the ravioli to boil until done (about 12 minutes). Look for the ravioli to float to the top. Then drain the pasta in a colander, and put aside.

Usint a two-gallon, two-handle pot, add the half & half cream, the raw beaten scrambled eggs, grated cheese, crushed tomato, vodka, ricotta cheese, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of black pepper, basil, and the vodka After this mixture comes to a low boil, it sould begin to thicken. In the event this mixture deos not thicken, add more grated cheese (a handful).

Then add the fresh lobster meat and the ravioli to the two-handle, two-gallon pot mixture and allow this dish to simmer for about 2-3 minutes and then serve.

Note: When serving this dish, place the lobster ravioli onto the plate, then pour some sauce over the ravioli. Lastly garnish with the fresh lobster meat. Place the lobster meat on top of the ravioli.

Also note: What makes this dish thinck is the cheese and the starch from the pasta. However, in the event that this mixture does not thicken, add more grated cheese (a handful) and that should do the trick.

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