Several years ago, I realized that some of our family’s recipes were rarely prepared and would likely be lost if no one used them. So began my journey, with my Mom, Theresa, as my guide. (She’s pictured on the left.) After Mom was taken from us in 2001, her Sister, my Zia Lea (pictured on the right), took over the reins. Although my cooking skills will never equal those of my two wonderful teachers, at least the recipes are being preserved, used, and now shared. To be sure, a blog of just our family recipes wouldn’t be very long, so, I’ll be adding some of my own favorites as we go along.
For first time visitors, here are a few tips to help you navigate around this blog. In the lower left-hand corner of the picture above are the words “Home,” “Welcome,” where you are now, “The Roots,” “The Tree,” and “Contact.” If you click on “Home,” you will go to the recipe page. Click on “The Roots” and you’ll go to a page containing a brief family history. Click on “The Tree” and you’ll see pictures of some members of the Bartolini clan. All of the pictures here, and most elsewhere within the blog, will enlarge if you click on the image. The “Contact” page may be used if you wish to send me an email. For your convenience, the recipes have been grouped by type and those types are, also, listed on the right. Click on “Family Recipes,” for example, to see a list of all of my family’s dishes. It’s easy enough, once you get the hang of it.
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Mom (l) and her sister, Zia Lea, circa 1928. These are their recipes.
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© ChgoJohn and “from the Bartolini kitchens” (2010,2011). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to ChgoJohn and “from the Bartolini kitchens” with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Nice work John, very professional.
Thanks, Bill. I’m sure there will be many changes ahead, once I get more familiar with WordPress. This certainly has been an educational experience, on so many levels. Thanks, again, for the kind words.
Awesome recipes, dude. Calamari is missing, though. Any chance of posting a squid-do before the Oscars?
Sorry, Jake, but the calamari recipe won’t be published before this year’s Oscar telecast. It’s just not ready yet. Now that you’ve subscribed for emails, however, you’ll be among the first to know when that recipe is published. Keep checking your inbox and thanks for joining us.
Sign me up. pisello odoroso!
Nice blog! Always nice to see good and real Italian recipe!
Thank you for the encouragment. For the most part, these are the recipes that Mom & Zia learned when they were little girls and that I was raised on. I wanted to make sure that they were written down somewhere — and it’s the perfect excuse for cooking them all again. Wednesday is “new recipe day.” Come back and see what I’ve been cooking. Thanks again.
I think you stole your recipes from the Olive Garden.
David Puddy
I wouldn’t know, Puddy. You see, I’ve never been to one of those restaurants, nor do I plan on going anytime soon. By the way, I hear you’ve lost your fur coat. Pity.
Puddy, I’ve held my tongue for a long time but I cannot anymore. Everytime I read your post, I get nauseated.
The Olive Garden would LOVE to have some of these recipes!
Then again, I’m talking to someone who thinks Italian cuisine starts with Chef BoyarDee.
J/K, Puddy….lol
Dog friendly and Bunny approved!
Yes, we made sure these recipes were properly referenced and approved.
Bellisimo, Giovanni!!!
Mille grazie, Paolo!
Hi there, came across your blog through several that I follow and I love what I´ve seen! I too learned a lot of my cooking from my Italian family and it´s so great to carry on the old traditional ways of cooking “proper” Italian food. Grazie! Tanya
You are so welcome, Tanya, and thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Your words of encouragement are appreciated. I, thankfully, grew up seeing these recipes prepared countless times. Not all of the Bartolini Clan have been so lucky and I wanted to make sure that they have a website that will teach them. A side benefit is knowing Mom would be pleased to see how well-received her recipes are, just as her Sister, Zia, is … John
I’ve only looked a few recipes, and my mouth is already watering. Can’t wait to try some of these out!!
That’s great! Please let me know how your taste tests go. Good luck!
Hi ChgJohn, I’m looking forward to cooking your recipes. I tried subscribing via e-mail and for some reason WordPress will not recognize my hotmail e-mail address (which I’ve had since the beginning of the internet) as being valid anymore! In any event, I will keep up to date with you via my “reader” for now.
- Michael
Hi, just wanted to pop in and say thanks for subscribing to my blog, I’m loving the recipes you create here, and of course your wonderful family photos. A real pleasure to read
And I’ve just returned from your blog. Welcome aboard! My gardening space is limited so I garden vicariously through a number of others’ blogs. It’s great and yours will make a fantastic addition — except that pickings are mighty rare around here come harvest time.
I always enjoy your comments on Celi’s blog and your insights into cookery, things-Chicago, and so forth, so it’s time I had a visit here myself and got to enjoy learning some classic Italian cookery and history through the lens of la Famiglia Bartolini. Thanks for doing this!
Hello, Kathryn, and welcome! I started this a year ago as a family “thing” and we’re all surprised at the reception it’s received. It’s been quite an experience. Thanks for stopping by; I’ll be visiting your site shortly.
What a beautiful homage to your history John! A wonderful gift to pass along to future generations.
Thank you, Eva, for your kind words. Zia and I are both happy to hear when one of the “younger ones” checks in to say they’ve read this or that or have tried one of the recipes. My plan is working!
There is so much to enjoy here, I hardly know where to begin. I love the recipes, of course, but I also really enjoyed reading about your family and especially looking at the wonderful family photos. My family went to the US from China in 1937, and family photos are like precious heirlooms to us now.
I look forward to following your culinary adventures. Thanks so much for your generous servings!
I so agree with your cherishing family photos. We really do not have many and some of the subjects are only names under the photos. I want to try to give future family members stories and facts of their Great-Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles so that when they see the pictures, they will know something about those individuals. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
Great recipes and wonderful story. The 1928 photo is fantastic.
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave such a nice comment.
What a wonderful idea! Preserving recipes from our past is important – good for you. What actually got my attention was that you live in Chicago and I am hopefully traveling there in early March for a couple of days. What can I expect weather wise? I’ll be back to visit and drool over your delicious recipes. Glad I found your blog.
Thank you! Our March weather is really a mixed bag and will be a tough one to call this year, given this Winter’s unusual patterns. Normally, you can expect high temps in the mid 40′s with overnight lows in the upper 20′s. We can get snow, rain, or a mix of both. Much will, also, depend upon where you’ll be staying. The closer you are to the Lake, the colder the temps will be. So, if you’re in the western suburbs, you can expect warmer temps, to be sure. I wish I could be more definitive for you but that’s our Spring. The saying goes, “If you don’t like our Spring weather, just wait a day.”
Thank you-I guessed it would be chilly. We will stay in the airport area as its a company paid room! We will however be in the city and near the lake at times. I’ll just hope it’s sunny. In Texas we say “if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes”. And it’s true!
Who knows? It could be a true Spring-like few days with temps in the 50′s. We just won’t mention the possibilities from the other end of the weather spectrum.
You might be interested … I hosted “Flat Ruthie” and we toured some of the sights. You can see our day together here: http://cardboardmetravels.com/2012/02/01/my-kind-of-town-chicago-is-flat-ruthie-sings/
I really enjoy your blog so I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. While you may have received this award before, I do enjoy your blog and thought I would share it with you again. More information at http://remcooks.com/2012/04/02/versatile-blogger-award/. Happy Blogging.
Thanks, Richard, for your complimentary words and nominating me for this award. You’re right, I’ve already received the award and I just want to acknowledge your kindness by nominating me.
Hiya
I know you have one for 2011 but I’ve nominated you again for a Sunshine Award, my friend. No obligations, just letting ya know.
I ran across your blog while searching for recipes for various pasta shapes – namely strozzapreti. I finally decided the Imperia machine my wife got for me years ago needed to be dusted off and I think I may never buy dried pasta again. Thank you for sharing your stories, insight, and recipes – they make for very good reading and make me want to try many more pasta recipes. I completely understand your desire to document and share your family’s love of food – it is very near and dear to me as well to learn all that I can from the “cooks” in the family while they are still here to teach me. I look forward to reading your blog regularly and learning more about food in general.
Welcome! In all families, how often do we hear, “This was Grandma’s favorite …” or “this is Aunt So-and-So’s …”? To feed their families, Grandma and Aunt So-and-So cooked more than 1 or 2 dishes. Where’d the other recipes go? I didn’t want that to happen here. Best part of this experience is seeing how much it pleases my Aunt, “Zia“, to see how well-received her recipes are.
Feel free to come back as often as you like and ask any question that you may have. I’ll do my best to answer them for you. Thanks for leaving so thoughtful a comment.
John, I have given out this website to more people than I can count. The response I get is always the same; “Great”
Keep it up, bro….
Italian food rules!!!
Gee, thanks, Paul. I’d no idea you’ve been passing this around. Thanks for that and for stopping by to let me know the reception it’s getting. Too bad Mom isn’t here to see this. She’d be amazed, just as Zia is.
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Thanks so much for following my blog… I have enjoyed your blog, especially the homemade cheese. Can’t wait to see when else you post. Thanks again!
Welcome, Anna, and thanks for subscribing. If you like making cheese, you’ve come to the right place.
Great work John. I really enjoy the site! Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the encouraging words.