Welcome Book Club and Episode 1908 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. Today Richard is in conversation with Melissa Muller, discussing her cookbook, Sicily, Recipes Rooted in Traditions.   On the bookshelf:   The books mentioned in today’s show were:   Sicily, Recipes Rooted in Traditions by Melissa Muller Su di te sia pace, Marco Lupo In the kitchen: The recipes discussed in today’s show were: Pasta con le sarde Mamma Adele’s Braised Goat Cannoli Melissa’s recommendations for the best cannoli in Sicily: Filici di Paolino Scibetta, Cammarata Pasticceria Cappello, Palermo Pasticceria Maria Grammatico, Erice Euro Bar, Dattilo Extra Bar Piana degli Albanesi   More about today’s guest Melissa Muller spent her early years hearing about the international tax treaties that her father composed from his Wall Street law firm. While an official “desk” in his office was waiting for her, Melissa had another destiny in mind. Although exposed to foreign travel and study abroad from a young age, every year Melissa felt the need to spend her summer months in her maternal grandmother’s small village in Sicily, in the island that would later inspire both her studies as well as her professional realm. She studied anthropology at Columbia University, where she also obtained a master’s degree in journalism. Her research focused on the gastronomy of the Mediterranean regions. She was intrigued how Sicily is a unique crossroads of civilizations and how its history is visible and tangible in the island’s cuisine. Through food, Melissa had found a way to travel through the past centuries of Sicily. After her studies, Melissa chose to open a Sicilian restaurant in New York that became a laboratory where she shared her love of Sicilian cuisine, along with her cultural research of the island. After several years of intense research, she wrote a cookbook, Sicily: Recipes Rooted in Tradition, published by Rizzoli.   Connect: Website: https://melissamuller.it/index.php/about    More about the host Richard Hough: Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine! With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.   Connect: Twitter: www.twitter.com/rick_hough Instagram: www.instagram.com/ricksnotesfromverona  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/ Coming soon: In the next episode of Book Club Richard will be in conversation with David Way, discussing his new book The Wines of Piemonte. _______________________________ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram www.instagram.com/italianwinepodcast/  Facebook www.facebook.com/ItalianWinePodcast  Twitter www.twitter.com/itawinepodcast  Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@mammajumboshrimp  LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/italianwinepodcast  If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/