Authors Electric

  Ma and her lasagna, c. 1973 'Tis the season to be eating. In our family - as in others close and extended - we've always celebrated the holidays with food -- replete with traditional dishes prepared joyfully, savoured to the lively music of conversation. We gathered smiling - sometimes overcoming discomforts -  from near and far. Each year I've enjoyed such meals with the fine wines of cherished memories that stretch unbroken, from my own childhood through the growing up of my daughters, arrival of grandchildren, with ups and downs, joys and sorrows well into my dotage. I name the chapters of my memoir - ever in progress - after memorable entres -- from childhood in Boston: my nonna's ricotta-stuffed ravioli and braccioli in rich ragu, as a struggling dad in Los Angeles and San Francisco: my own lightning linguine al le vongole from scratch : segue into pesto from garden-grown basil, and in California's Central Valley home-made Christmas Tamales. Time and pandem...

The author researching at Riva's Crabhouse on Chicago's Navy Pier  When I get stuck writing, I pace and usually end up in the kitchen. I'm not really hungry. I'm looking for something to satisfy my creative appetite. I poke about cupboards and fridge, playing solitaire amateur Iron Chef  until something mouthwatering comes to mind. I need my improvised dish to be sufficiently challenging and tasty but within my abilities to concoct in an hour or two (I mean, I can't digress all day) -  a steamy aromatic Eggplant Parmigiana or a stir-fried apricot ginger chicken with snow peas will do. I like to vary the menu. I'm no master chef, but I love to cook, mostly, every dish a story that, unlike a novel, you can eat. Dishes go down well in novels too. Anthologist Diana Secker Tesdell highlights the historic theme of feasts and food in her yummy, 2015 compilation of edible literary passages, Stories from the Kitchen .  She includes culinary passages f...