Pride and Prejudice Meets the Kardashians in ‘Meet the Benedettos'

By Kristin Fritz

Dec 19, 2023

The Benedettos are quite the crew: Five sisters share the center of their world’s orbit, daughters of a dad who made his (now fleeting) fortune in the pizza and meatball business. As their security starts to come loose at the seams, they carry on with nary an unusual worry. Love, purpose, appearances all come into play in Katie Cotugno's novel, Meet the Benedettos. Most centrally featured is Lilly, whose unexpected crush on a new neighbor is not without all the drama one would expect when there’s no such thing as a private life. As she considers her true passions, she tries hard to drop her defenses in order to let the possibility of love in.

Obvious parallels between the Benedettos and the Kardashians come immediately to mind, but a little deeper — for those in the room who tend a little more toward classic romance — might instead be reminded of Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters, or perhaps Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Our advice is to go with whichever tendency shows up and — to enjoy the tale.

And when you're done reading, continue on for a few delightful gems from the author, including a note on Jane Austen, a writing-inspired playlist, and a few of the author's favorite things lately.

Meet the Benedettos

by Katie Cotugno

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Mollz Ballz

From More Is More by Molly Baz

The patriarch of the Benedettos found his fortune via red-sauce empire The Meatball King — tagline: “You won’t believe the balls on us.” We’re celebrating the pure geniusness of the business and its marketing with a recipe from one of our faves, Molly Baz. Her latest cookbook, More Is More, is a joy — and a perfect follow-up to her first collection, Cook This Book. Take a peek at her meatball recipe — Mollz Ballz — in all its saucy glory. They’re classic at first glance, but there’s so much more than meets the eye.

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INGREDIENTS

12 garlic cloves
1 bunch of mint
1 large yellow onion
1/2 cup fresh whole- milk ricotta cheese
2 ounces grated Parmigiano Reggiano (½ cup), plus more for serving
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
3/4 pound 80% lean ground beef
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, plus 1-1/2 tsp of their oil
1-1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
Red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
Garlic-rubbed toast for serving

STEPS

MAKE THE MEATBALLS:

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs, 6 grated garlic cloves, 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 2 ounces grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2-1/2 tsp salt, 1-1/2 tsp anchovy oil from the tin, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Add 1-1/4 cups panko bread crumbs, whisking until well hydrated by the egg mixture.
Finely chop the leaves of about half of 1 bunch of mint. Add the mint and 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage to the panko mixture, and work with your hands until the meat is evenly distributed. Add 3/4 pound ground beef and work together gently until well mixed.
Divide the meat into 8 equal portions and roll them into balls — they’ll be about the size of tennis balls. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate.

MAKE THE SAUCE:

Finely chop 1 large yellow onion.
Thinly slice the remaining 6 garlic cloves.
In a large Dutch oven, heat a few more glugs of olive oil over high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning every minute or so, until browned in most areas, 6 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a plate — the meatballs will still be raw in the center but will finish cooking in the sauce later on. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of fat from the skillet.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the chopped onions, sliced garlic, 6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and just barely beginning to brown at the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
Stir in 1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree, 3 tbsp unsalted butter, and a few more mint sprigs (reserving some for garnish). Season the sauce with salt — it’ll need quite a bit. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat as needed to maintain a very gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 4 to 6 minutes.
Nestle the meatballs back into the sauce, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat, turning the meatballs occasionally, for 8 minutes. Uncover the pot and continue to cook, reducing the heat as necessary if the sauce is boiling too rapidly, until the meatballs are springy/bouncy when pressed with your fingers and cooked through and the sauce has reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.

SERVE:

Pick the leaves of the remaining mint, scatter the leaves over the balls with more Parm, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Serve with garlic-rubbed toast alongside, if desired.

More Is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen

by Molly Baz

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Meet the Benedettos begs all sorts of questions about appearances, the merits that lead to fame and the costs that come with it, what loyalties one owes to their family… We can go on. And we did! Check out these questions to kickstart your conversation about this oh-so-fun and oh-so-relevant novel.

Discussion Questions.

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A novel like Meet the Benedettos is perfectly poised for a soundtrack. The pace, the gorgeously placed scenes and settings, the modern-day setting. Peep this note from author Katie Cotugno plus some of the songs she's recommending for your reading list, and the lines from those songs that grabbed her.

"Here are a few of the songs I listened to on repeat while drafting Meet the Benedettos. You will note I love both a cover tune and a millennial breakup jam.

Walking on Broken Glass, Lake Street Dive: And if you’re trying to cut me down/you know that I might bleed
Love on the Brain, Rihanna: No matter what I do I’m no good without you and I can’t get enough
Cold Heart Elton John, Dua Lipa: And this is what I should have said/ Well, I thought it, but I kept it hid
Stay, Jackson Browne: We do so many shows in a row/and these towns all look the same
Back at Your Door, Maroon 5: Every time, I wind up back at your door
One Too Many, Keith Urban + Pink: I go out with some new friends but it just makes me miss you more
Last Train Home, John Mayer: I’m not a fallen angel/I just fell behind
Save Your Tears, The Weeknd + Ariana Grande: I saw you dancing in a crowded room/you look so happy when I’m not with you
Time After Time, INOJ: If you’re lost you can look and you will find me/time after time
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Billy Joel: Brenda and Eddie would always know how to survive"

Listen on Spotify.

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"My favorite thing about Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has always been the abject cringe-iness of the Bennets. They’re strivers! They’re desperate! Their best days are behind them; they’re accepted by polite society, but only barely. They are 100 percent reality stars, and as soon as I started thinking that, I knew I had to write this book.

“I always say I write messy, complicated love stories, and Meet the Benedettos is no exception, but more than any other book I have written, I think this one is about love in all its different iterations – old love, new love, the love between sisters or between two male best friends. It feels like a prism to me. I had such fun writing it.” –Katie Cotugno