Small Bites: Domenica Marchetti’s Cookbooks
The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy [Amazon]
Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style [Amazon]
Everyday Italian Cookbook: 90+ Favorite Recipes for La Cucina Italiana [Bookshop, Amazon]
The Glorious Pasta of Italy [Bookshop, Amazon]
The Glorious Vegetables of Italy [Bookshop, Amazon]
Rustic Italian: Simple, Authentic Recipes for Everyday Cooking [Bookshop, Amazon]
Preserving Italy: Canning, Curing, Infusing, and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions [Bookshop, Amazon]
Ciao Biscotti [Bookshop, Amazon]
Pre-order! Italian Cookies [Bookshop, Amazon]
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Domenica Marchetti Shares the Stories Behind Her Cookbooks, Her Family, and So Much More
Domenica Marchetti never went to culinary school. She’ll be the first to tell you that. But what she did do is raise two kids while building a career as a nationally published food writer, cookbook author, and trusted voice in Italian home cooking—rooted in the kind of meals that are made by hand, passed down through generations, and full of love (and maybe a little splash of cream in the carbonara).
Domenica is the author of eight cookbooks (with the ninth coming soon!), including The Glorious Pasta of Italy, Preserving Italy, and The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy. Her recipes and stories have been featured in The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, The Kitchn, NPR’s Kitchen Window, and more. Through her website domenicacooks.com, she teaches small-group online classes, shares beautifully seasonal recipes, and offers intimate culinary tours through Italy’s quieter, more delicious corners. You can also subscribe to her Substack, Buona Domenica, where she shares her writing and recipes every Sunday (highly recommend!).
In this week’s Order Up! interview, Domenica opens up about her mother’s Abruzzese cooking, learning to make ravioli at the kitchen table, and raising two very different eaters (one of whom is now the cook in his house). We talk about feeding picky kids, passing on cultural traditions even if your pasta loses out to frozen potstickers, and why making food from scratch is less about perfection and more about trust—especially in yourself.
And yes, if you’ve ever been intimidated by making fresh pasta? Domenica says go ahead and roll up your sleeves.
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A Conversation with Domenica Marchetti
Introduce Yourself: I’m Domenica Marchetti. I’m a cookbook author, food writer, and cooking teacher—and occasionally, I guide small-group culinary tours in Italy.
I never went to culinary school—I’m not a chef. I’m a home cook, and I really identify as that. I’ve lived outside Washington, D.C. for over three decades, where my husband and I raised our two now-grown children.
I’ve written over eight cookbooks on Italian home cooking, and before this career, I was a newspaper journalist with a master’s in journalism from Columbia.
As a home cook, I learned to cook by experimenting on my own, watching my mother, and diving into recipes I loved.
What are some of your strongest kitchen memories from childhood?
I have a few photos of me with my maternal grandmother in Italy, and even though she passed away when I was eight, I remember little glimpses. My mom was the real cook in our house. She grew up in the Abruzzo region of Italy and came to the U.S. in the 1950s, where she basically taught herself how to cook with a few cookbooks and a lot of instinct.
She made pasta often. I remember helping her fill ravioli and press them closed with a fork. My sister and I would always help with little things like that. As a teenager, I was more interested in stir-fries and pies than Italian food, but as I got older, I found my way back. I’d go home to New Jersey for weekends and my mom would teach me how to make gnocchi or different pastas. It really stuck with me.
How did you go from journalism to food writing?
It was a winding path. I was working for newspapers and later for a publication called The Chronicle of Philanthropy, writing about the nonprofit world. But once I had two kids close in age, full-time work just became too hard to manage. So I started freelancing.
Around 2000, I decided to reinvent myself as a food writer. I loved cookbooks, I loved to cook, and I started pitching stories to the contacts I had. Over time, I added cookbook writing and teaching to the mix. And eventually, because I was going to Italy for research, I started offering culinary tours. They’re small—8 to 12 people—and focused on real immersion with local food artisans, not big tourist destinations. It’s been a really meaningful part of my work.
Did your kids spend time with you in the kitchen growing up?
I’ll be honest, and this is where I actually think about my own mother…I wasn’t always the most patient! I had that feeling of, “It’s just easier if I do it.” But I did try to get them involved when I could—especially with pasta-making or baking.
My daughter got into cooking in her teen years. She made pho from scratch, sourced ingredients for sushi, and experimented a lot. My son wasn’t interested at all back then, but now? He’s the cook in his house. He makes pasta, follows food creators online, and is really good at it. We’ve had some great pasta sessions together recently. So even if it doesn’t click right away, it can come later.
That’s encouraging for all the parents with picky eaters!
My son was picky! He hated yogurt, jam, and tomato sauce for years. He’d gag if his sister had yogurt on her face. But now he eats everything—including jam and tomato sauce. He always liked bold flavors, and I mean things like anchovies, eel, and fish sauce, but textures were tough for him. It just takes time. Parents of picky eaters: take heart.
What were your kids’ favorite weeknight meals growing up?
One of their absolute favorites was cold sesame noodles, not Italian at all! I had clipped the recipe from the Detroit News years ago: spaghetti tossed with a peanut butter-tahini sauce, scallions, cucumber, I would add shredded chicken, and a little chili oil. They loved it.
We also made a lot of frittatas, and my daughter always loved carbonara. That’s a fast, weeknight staple in our house. And soups—tons of minestrone, chickpea soups, vegetable stews. My first cookbook was on Italian soups and stews, so that’s always been a comfort zone for me.
Do you have any advice for parents trying to pass down their cultural heritage through food, even if they didn’t grow up cooking it themselves?
Start small and let it happen through osmosis. Even if your kids aren’t helping with every meal, if they’re around the food and exposed to the stories behind it, it sinks in. We took our kids to Italy when they were little—six and eight—and they came often after that while I was working on cookbooks. But if travel isn’t possible, you can still bring culture into your home through books, food, music, language. Just make it a part of everyday life and they’ll absorb more than you think.
As a food writer, how do you feel about food trends vs. tradition?
Food is always evolving, and I try not to be too much of a purist. I add cream to my carbonara, and some people in Italy might call this sacrilege, but I’m not ashamed of it! It cuts the egginess and that’s how I like it. I think there’s room for everyone at the table.
The flashy clickbait stuff online isn’t really my thing, but I love that so many people are excited about food and cooking. For me, tradition is always the starting point. But creativity and intuition matter, too—especially among home cooks. Some of the most inventive food I’ve seen in Italy comes from regular people cooking for their families.
What do you hope your readers—and your grown children—remember most about cooking and mealtimes?
One thing is that we almost always had dinner together. It wasn’t easy, and sometimes we had to wait late for my husband to get home. But we made it happen because sitting down together really mattered to us. For busy families, it doesn’t have to be every night. If once or twice a week is all that’s realistic, that’s okay. Sunday dinner, or a regular family meal when sports and schedules allow—it’s worth it.
Do you have a favorite recipe from your books?
So many! But Gabriella’s Pot Roast from The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy is one I come back to again and again, it’s special also because it’s my mother’s roast. It’s a chuck roast braised with carrots, onions, celery, tomato, wine, and herbs. It’s even better the next day, and the sauce makes an amazing pasta topping.
I also love a slow-cooked zucchini and garlic pasta with pancetta from my pasta book, The Glorious Pasta of Italy [Bookshop, Amazon]. And my pickled sweet-and-sour peppers with capers and parsley—those go with everything. I keep them in the fridge and put them on sandwiches, salads, bruschetta, you name it.
What’s one cooking skill you think all home cooks should practice?
Make homemade pasta at least once! Then make it again. It’s one of those skills that builds muscle memory. At first it feels intimidating, but once you get your hands in the dough and start to feel the texture, it clicks.
During the pandemic, I taught online pasta classes, which is a very different experience than in-person pasta classes. People would hold up their dough to the screen and say, “Does this look right?” instead of being able to have me, the teacher, come around and touch their dough. It forced the students to trust themselves. That’s what I want more home cooks to feel—confidence. Whether it’s pasta or something else, do the thing that intimidates you. You’ll surprise yourself.
Sign up for Domenica’s Substack at – Buona Domenica – and follow her on Instagram @domenicacooks
& Don’t forget to follow US on IG @onepotatobox ❤️
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