Happy Italian-American Month!

As we enter into the second week of Italian-American Month, it’s an appropriate moment to review the upcoming book by Marguerite Marceau Henderson: Heirloom Italian: Recipes and Stories from a Sicilian Grandmother’s Kitchen (Gibbs-Smith, October 27, 2026, with photos by Nicole Marriner). I must admit when I accepted the offer to review this book, I thought I would be looking at recipes coming directly from Sicily. That’s not the case — and it is completely fine, because Italian-American cuisine is its own wonderful tradition. I cannot imagine many of our major coastal cities without their Italian neighborhoods, mom and pop groceries, and traditional eateries. 

As promised in the title, Heirloom Italian is peppered with the author’s family anecdotes. They are my favorite parts of each section and give the book heart. Each recipe also has a brief introduction, which is often where we learn it is a family heirloom. It is a delight to browse. 

Among the recipes are the author’s mother’s and grandmother’s recipes: fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto with Cambozola cheese and roasted walnuts; Grandma Rose’s zesty lemon muffins; winter lentil, Swiss chard, and Italian sausage soup; classic Sunday supper sauce; braciole; pizza dough; and her profiteroles — and there was even one from Grandpa (her father) — his tomato-mint sauce.

It also offers a variety of traditional Sicilian recipes: caponata; arancini; Sicilian seafood salad; pasta con le sarde; pasta alla Norma; pesto alla Trapani and pesto di pistacchio; swordfish in agrodolce; and several desserts, including cassata and torta della nonna. But Henderson doesn’t limit her book to Sicily by any means. She incorporated many Italian regional dishes like the Roman bucatini al’Amatriciana and fettuccine alla carbonara; apple strudel from the northeastern part of Italy; and chicken cacciatore from the north (while there are variations in Sicily). And, of course, this cookbook would be remiss without some traditional Italian-American dishes, loosely based on Italian concepts but very much American: manicotti; pasta alla primavera; and tomato-vodka sauce.

Finally, she shares some of her favorite recipes from her restaurant Cucina (Salt Lake City), which closed in 2001, and others that are not Italian but are much loved by all, such as jambalaya, salmon cakes, and fried green tomatoes. In the end, it’s all about what your family eats, and — most important — what your family loves.

The book’s sections are titled in Sicilian dialect: Cullazioni  (breakfast), Antipasto (appetizers), Suppa (soup), Insalata (salad), Pasta, Sugo (sauces), Entrées (mains), Verdure (vegetables), and Dulci (desserts), with a final section on Vacanza (holiday meals). The recipes are well written, and are carefully worded to help the home cook achieve success. 

I chose three recipes to make — one from the Antipasto section and two from the Entrées. The Tart of Heirloom Tomatoes and Five Cheeses is among the antipasti. It is definitely more like quiche than pizza; it is very easy to make and is intended to be served as a first course, or a main course for brunch, or taken along on a picnic. The family loved a good picnic — a theme that recurs throughout the book. The recipe makes two tarts serving 12. I made two, but the recipe could easily be halved. 

From the Entrées section I chose to make the Asparagus and Pecorino Romano Risotto. While risotto is traditionally a dish from the Po River Valley in the north, risotto is well-known in Sicily too, where it is used to make Arancini (though maybe not with asparagus). This recipe follows the traditional method of cooking the condimento (in this case, the asparagus) separately from the risotto, adding it at the end of the cooking with butter and cheese. Henderson also gives a nice tip from her restaurant days on how to make risotto in advance.

The second entrée I tested is a dish that never existed in Italy — either with chicken or veal scaloppine. It is a Sicilian-American dish that pays homage to the famous fortified wine of Sicily’s west coast: Marsala. Chicken Marsala was a favorite of mine as a young man who, at the time, hadn’t thought much about the difference between authentic Italian and authentic Italian-American cuisine. I knew what was good, and that was all that mattered. Make sure to use dry Marsala, as its sweet sibling will overwhelm the dish. I am sharing Henderson’s recipe with you today.

Marguerite Marceau Henderson is a distinguished culinary professional whose career spans over four decades as a cooking educator, caterer, restaurateur, food writer, and consultant. She is the author of four previous cookbooks. She resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.

~ David

Chicken Marsala

David Scott Allen, Cocoa & Lavender

5 from 3 votes

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Ingredients

  

• 4 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied
• 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
• 8 ounces baby crimini or porcini mushrooms stems removed and thinly sliced
• 1 large shallot finely diced
• 1/2 cup dry marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• mashed potatoes or polenta, or pasta for serving

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 200°F. Put the chicken breasts in a large plastic Ziploc bag or lay on a cutting board with plastic wrap under and over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4 inch thick. Put flour in a shallow platter and season with salt and pepper; and mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
• Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons butter over a medium-high flame in a large nonstick skillet. When the oil is hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Carefully place the cutlets into the pan and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden, turning once. Do this in batches if the pieces don’t fit comfortably in the pan. Transfer the chicken to a large platter in a single layer and keep warm in turned-off oven that had been heated to 200°F.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the mushrooms and shallot to the skillet. Don’t stir just yet. Allow the shallot and mushrooms to brown for 1 minute first. Then continue to sauté for about 5 minutes until they are nicely browned, and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat, pour the marsala in the pan, and place the pan back on medium heat for a few seconds to cook out some of the alcohol in the liquid. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to slightly reduce the sauce. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken pieces thoroughly. Season with more the salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving. Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, or a thin pasta, such as linguine, spaghettini, or capellini.

Notes

Serves 4.