An Italian in the Kitchen
It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like Italian food. And this book makes it easy for you to create Italian food at home. We can thank Clara Lizio Melchiorre, the author of this book, for that.
Clara’s story spans four generations. She spent much of her life in the shadow of her famous mom, Mama Celeste Lizio of frozen pizza fame. Clara’s mother took over that market in the ’70s and ’80s with her charming Italian-tinged English and “abbondanza” slogan. Clara helped build the business for decades. Then Clara came into her own in the late ’80s, when she opened her namesake restaurant in a Chicago suburb. Now, the matriarch of a loving, passionate Italian-American family, Clara shared her cooking techniques and secret recipes with the world in her book, Cooking with Clara: Recipes of a Lifetime.
That’s Clara as a child dressed up as a nun for a big holiday
This is a promotional shot from a series of videos Clara made with her daughter Michelle in the 1980s
Clara has always been a powerful personality. Here’s how one newspaper article described Clara as a child: “Old-timers remember her as a skinny kid with copper pigtails who did her homework at the bar and demanded that anyone who swore in her presence say Hail Marys in penance.” Clara doesn’t do that anymore, but she did reference at least three saints during our interviews for this book.
This self-taught chef loves to follow chef-like standards of procedure. Her favorite term is mise en place, which is the culinary term for “better get all your ingredients in order before cooking.” She’s very committed to her procedure, and once you try out a few of her recipes, you will be, too.
“Clara’s love for life is expressed in her cooking. She wants to share what she knows and enjoys, and gets gratification out of pleasing everyone around her,” says longtime patron and former CEO of Wilton Industries, Vince Naccarato. “Clara is very talented and cooks some of the best homemade food—with love in every bite—that you will ever eat.”
Clara redefined the notion of Italian-American cooking. It’s not just about throwing together some garlic and olive oil and covering it in mozzarella. Each of her dishes has a special touch or innovation.
Clara never stops perfecting her recipes. She never stops, period. She is a feminist at heart. She is strong: Having beat a rare form of cancer, recovering from an infection that took most of her hearing, and coming back from financial adversity. She is compassionate. She’s a food traditionalist who adapts to changing tastes and times—she has gluten-free and nut-free versions of several dishes.
To quote this dynamic woman about cooking, “It’s in the family. Before me, after me.” And hopefully her book and this website capture her essence, creativity, and love of cooking.
Clara’s daughter Michelle with her brothers Anthony and Rudy, and the family’s dog, Max, circa 1970.
Clara when she was young.
Clara’s parents serving her brother Pat’s wedding breakfast at Celeste’s
The children celebrating with Gramma Elsie. (No Mark yet!)
That’s Clara getting a little beer at the family tavern.