DAPHNE, Ala. — Tim Lazarri’s apron says it all. No Fru-Fru.

And if you didn’t get the message, the title of his newly published cookbook makes it clear. “If You Want FRU-FRU this cookbook’s not for you-you”.

Explained in the front pages, fru-fru comes from the French meaning “frilly, heavily ornamental, fancy or overly elaborate” and Lazarri assures the reader his style of cooking is totally the opposite

A labor of love and hard work two years in the making, Lazarri’s book is chock full of homegrown recipes from his family and friends mixed with inspirational stories and descriptions of the people behind the recipes.

Growing up in the farming community of Belforest (Daphne) and Loxley in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Lazarri, a fourth generation “Southern Italian” was surrounded by “fresh air, hard work and great food” and more meat and vegetables than you could shake a stick at. His grandparents, Alexander and Ida Lazarri were a tremendous influence on him and he now lives on the homestead where his ancestors settled in 1896.

He and his five siblings were treated to eggs, grits and bacon every morning and all he knows is simple and wholesome, not the overdone, trendy dishes of today.

He explains in his book, “I yearn for the good old days when we did not need so much ‘stuff’. Our lives are so ‘accessorized’ that even our food is all fru-fru. I mean, really, how many people have heard of ‘Grilled Hudson Valley Duck Breast with Carved Portabella Mushrooms on Charred Tomato Couscous with a Port-Cranberry Reduction’ 40 or 50 years ago? Back in the good old days we had great food that did not require a PhD in Chemistry or Plant Biology to figure out what was in it!”

So, out of his frustration of not “getting” today’s recipes and style of cooking, Lazarri decided to create a cookbook every true-born Southerner would appreciate.

Not having any chef experience or formal restaurant training, Lazarri graduated from McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in 1978 and attended Auburn University for a year. He decided to come back home and work on the farm while doing some drafting work for several years and married his wife Kaye in 1984.

And his experience working on the farm gave him lots of opportunity to gather up recipes and learn by the side of his dad and uncles on how to perfect them.

“Love, food and family are uniquely and beautifully interwoven to create a wholesome life and as Kaye says, ‘I live to eat and she eats to live’. So you can see why I am the one putting the cookbook together.”

Up until two years ago, Lazarri was partners in a machining and fabricating business, RMS Precision, Inc. and over the years, has hosted many parties where good food was in abundance. And through the prodding of friends and his son, Brian, he began seriously working on the cookbook.

Divided into seven sections representing various food groups, Lazarri said “I wanted to create a book and a concept that promotes simple living and cooking. I was tired of hearing of outrageous combinations of things and weird ingredients that noone had heard of, but sounds cool and must obviously be trendy.”

Some of the people and recipes that have inspired Lazarri through the years are:

Uncle A.V. Lazarri: “He lived next door to us and worked on the farm, He would cook lunch for me, my dad and two brothers every Thursday and taught me how to make biscuits. He retired from cooking lunch at 83 but still bakes biscuits at 86”

Bessie Duncan: “She is such an inspiration to me. Her husband died in 1967 in Vietnam and she raised three boys on her own. She made some angel biscuits for us and they were heaven-sent.. Always had a smile and never complained.”

Aunt Vickie and Uncle Lincoln Parker: “They were married for 55 years and raised six kids. We stayed with them for six months when we lost our house in a fire and I discovered this awesome tomato gravy she fixed. Poured over smoked sausage and a biscuit it’s to die for. Loved caring for children and loved to cook. She knows how to enjoy life.”

Lottie Woodard: “She was a special education aide for my son Corey at Daphne Elementary School when I met her in 1996. I have never seen her have a bad day and she has always been positive. Her faith, humility and perseverance have been an inspiration to my life. She brought me some turnip greens from her mother’s recipe and I think they were the best I’ve ever eaten.”

Louis H. Lazarri, Sr.: “My dad is 80 years old and is still frying the best chicken around. He is known as ‘Pepa’ by his 22 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren and has been a great example to me and countless other men, and loves the Lord. He drove a school bus at the age of 15 in 1945 and has had a long career as a farmer. Began hosting “barn cookin” lunches with my Uncle Angelo, who baked the bread, and my brother Larry would fix the baked beans. Dad also fried his share of chicken for the Daphne High School Football team and the Robertsdale High School Softball team. He even fried chicken for Kaye and I’s rehearsal dinner.”

Ida Lazarri: “My maternal grandmother raised 10 children and a mess of turkeys. She buried an infant son and sent two sons to fight in WWII but died in 1945 at the age of 45. She was an amazing woman and my Aunt Margie sent me a recipe for her Sour Cream Raisin Pie. It has a flavor like I’ve never experienced. It’s kind of custard-like and the sour cream makes it tangy, but the raisins make it more like bread pudding, maybe. “

Aunt Margie (Margaret Lazarri Defilippi): “My ‘salt of the earth’ aunt is 88 years old and has been making Pecan Tassies (pecan pie cookies) for 40 years. She raised five children and worked on fighter plane engines at Brookley Field during WWII. She has always been so jolly, funny and has the happiest laugh I’ve ever known. What a precious person she has always been to me. “

Mary Priemer: “My mom has always made peanut brittle for me and I love it. I just learned to make it and I found out my Aunt Margie started making it on an old wood stove in 1942. And she taught my mom to make it. Thanks Aunt Margie and mom for making this wonderful candy.”

Lazarri has some ideas for future books that involve a “simplicity” theme and hopes to start on them sometime in 2011, he said.

Because of his volunteer work with Prodesee Pantry in Spanish Fort, Lazarri and his wife are donating ten percent of the gross profits from the book to them.

“You have been a God-send to so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ and you are the hands and feet of Jesus in our community to help our neighbors in need by providing food and services. Many of you at the Pantry have encouraged me throughout the writing of this book, and it has been placed upon my heart that if I benefitted from the writing and publishing of this book, that I should share a portion of the profits with the Pantry,” Lazarri explained in the book.

“We are honored to do this for those in need and we hope and pray that it will bless many, many people for years to come,” Lazarri said.

And be sure to stay tuned for details about the upcoming “No Fru-Fru Tour”. Lazarri and friends Connie and Scarlett will be cranking up the bus and hitting the road soon.