Irene Ritter

Irene (Doti) Ritter, author of The Cobbler Crusade and Italian Desserts, is a Chicago native. The Cobbler Crusade expands the notion of cobbler to include savory meat, seafood and vegetable main dishes. "Anyone--and I mean anyone--can make these cobblers because they're so easy," says Irene. "All you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon."

The Cobbler Crusade was inspired when Irene lived in a mountain hamlet in the Columbia Gorge surrounded by wild blackberries and huckleberries. "As an urban girl from Chicago, I was amazed when I found all of this wild fruit of the Pacific Northwest growing right in my backyard," she says. "Then I thought: Why not sprinkle a cobbler's biscuit crust with herbs; then place the herb biscuits over a fabulous seafood roué recipe that's totally Pacific Northwest?"

Italian Desserts, her second book, was written under her Italian American surname, Irene Doti. Growing up in a traditional Italian-American home, Irene inherited a rich tradition of Italian dessert making from her Sicilian born mother, Carmelina Siracusa Doti. Carmelina's recipes, along with her sisters' Francesca and Margareta, passed on a legacy of recipes that can be found in "Italian desserts."

Italian Desserts features tantalizing recipes such as Apricot Marsala Biscotti; Nuns' Chatter Cookies; Sicilian Sesame Brittle with Almonds; Lemon-Ricotta filled Panettone; Chocolate-Espresso Cream Tarts; Date-Walnut Cassata and an incredibly easy and rich Zabaglione.

"Sicilians practically invented desserts in Europe," says Irene. Desserts were created in convents by nuns and by chefs in the wealthy homes of aristocratic families. Doti's maternal great grandfather, Francesco Conti, began the family's legacy of "dolce" when he owned successful bakeries along Sicily's eastern coast that were destroyed by Fascists. Now, the legacy lives on in this insightful book that combines classic Italian desserts with rich family stories.

Irene now lives near the beaches of Southern California and travels extensively throughout the country searching for inspiring recipes. "There's a story behind any great recipe, " she adds.