Letters from Sicily: The Journey Begins
So many esteemed writers, from Byron to Hemingway, have traveled to Sicily over the years. Many of you may have been there yourselves. I wondered, what more could I possibly say? What would I write home to you about?
Of course, I’d like to share the food I’ve discovered along the way, and what we can learn from Sicilian culture, especially where food preparation is done by hand in the old way. That’s what fascinates me: unprocessed, unfiltered, and undeniably real. I hope it captures your interest too.
Back in 2002, when I first visited Sicily, I noticed some of what was on my plate because I kept a handwritten note on our itinerary with the following: “typical Sicilian fare: homemade bread and breadsticks, shrimp with lime and avocado, seafood and lambsteaks, sausage, hot olives, pasta with homemade sauce, homemade sauce, pastries, and coffee.”
Among my papers and postcards from that journey, I had even saved a menu listing amberjack fish with aromas, breast of chicken with mushrooms, potato mireille, zucchini in meat sauce, and chocolate cake.
Clearly, food was present, but back then the Fischer Kitchen didn’t exist and I was a year away from marrying again. My mind was on other things like a big move from the suburbs to the city rather than the meals I would one day make myself.
I was far from it then and still believed eating out was a good option. It can be, but the best one I’ve found is cooking and eating at home. It’s always my number one preference.
Our first stop is Catania, Sicily, the birthplace of my paternal grandmother, Grace. With tears welling in his eyes, my father once told me she passed away when I was just three.
In that same conversation, he said years earlier, he had served in the army and was supposed to be stationed at a facility in Huntsville, Alabama, where, as he put it, “a German scientist worked, a guy named Braun.”
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. Only later, thanks to Phil and his love of science, did I realize my father might have meant Wernher von Braun, the rocket engineer who contributed to the success of the U.S. space program. That small detail brushed up against something far bigger than Pop.
But my father’s orders were changed, and instead he was sent to Ft. Wadsworth in Staten Island. “I was lucky not to be sent to Huntsville,” he’d say. “I got to see my mother every night, and she wasn’t well.”
Nothing replaces a mother’s love, her meals, the closeness of family. And so, with those memories in my heart, to Sicily we go.
Salutations and Closings Guide
Throughout these letters, you’ll see Italian greetings and sign-offs.
Here’s a short guide:
Salutations (Openings)
Caro Amico → Dear Friend
Cara Lettrice → Dear Reader
Caro Abbonato → Dear Subscriber (masculine form)
Closings (Sign-offs)
Con affetto → With affection
Sempre tua → Always yours
A presto → See you soon
Con calore → With warmth
Con gioia → With joy
Un abbraccio → A hug
Alla prossima → Until next time
Con gratitudine → With gratitude
Con amicizia → With friendship
Other Phrases
torna presto → come back soon