Welcome to My Culinary Journey! Get ready to embark on an exciting adventure filled with flavors and fun!

 

Growing up in North Andover, MA, as a proud Sicilian-American, my love for cooking emerged at the young age of seven.  While most kids were busy pouring cereal, I was busy mixing up magic in the kitchen!

 

My childhood was a whirlwind of dance classes, piano and voice lessons, while my parents had dreams of me opening a successful dance studio.  But my dreams of stardom had not yet emerged as I found my true calling in the delicious world of multicultural cuisines.

 

​

​

​

​

​

My dad adored pasta and mom , who was usually absent at dinner time because she chose to work outside the home, often times would leave me to be responsible for preparing the evening meal.  But on her nights off,  who by the way disliked cooking intensely, she would religiously prepare the same dishes on the same day each week   It was like a scheduled school menu - Sundays and Wednesdays it was pasta and salad, Mondays was pork chops, Tuesdays chicken and the rest of the week some variation of those dishes.  Occasionally,  whenever mom would try something new which usually lacked identity....that's when we prayed after we ate. 

 

Conversations around the table were rare as we would eat in silence - me watching my dad guarding his food like a police dog with his head just a few inches from his plate.  My mom would sit patiently waiting for some reaction, finally asking "Well,  do you like it?".  That's when my dad would  raise his head, big cow eyes glaring,  obviously annoyed at being interrupted and say,   "I'm eatin' it, ain't I ...if I didn't like it, I'd tell you."   

​

At the age of 20, I moved to the Big Apple in pursuit of a stage career with my dad hovering close by as he helped me move into a small 150 sq ft. apartment  in midtown Manhattan.   The room was furnished with just a single bed and a chair...no bathroom.  That was outside in the hall and shared.    How small was the room?   I'd put the key in the door and break the window.  It was so small, that even the mice were hunchbacked.  

 

But soon after I was on my way auditioning for various roles on Broadway, TV and film and happy to be in my own space pursuing my dream and not the dream of my parents of marriage and a family - not the usual plight of a young, Italian girl in the 1960's.  

 

​

​​

​

​

There is so much more to tell but it will all be in my forthcoming book.    So, fasten your seatbelts and join me on this thrilling ride filled with laughter, mouthwatering flavors, and the joy of eating as though in Italy...virtually

 

And just a tip—if my dad were still around today and was asked for a meal review, you would most likely get a satisfied grunt as he would lower his head closer to his plate!   Buon Apetito!!