"Her 2025 cookbook, By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear, chronicles Catalano's family- oriented Midwestern roots, her time spent working in restaurant kitchens, and her unplanned journey toward over 2 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. But a quick flip through the book reveals that Catalano's recipes are more than biographical-she's breaking ground on a new type of personal cooking."
"When I write a recipe, I try to make something reminiscent of the original but easy for everyone to recreate with commonly available ingredients. I try to keep the heart of the dish or the ingredient. That's the evolution of quote, unquote authentic Italian American food. Things change over the years, and we have to adapt along with them. We're not trying to erase something, just to make it work in current times for current tastes."
Hailee Catalano centers seasonal, family-rooted cooking while incorporating experiences from restaurant kitchens and global influences. Her 2025 cookbook By Heart traces Midwestern Italian American roots and a social-media rise past two million followers. Recipes combine biographical elements with creative swaps and fusions, such as mortadella in an egg-and-cheese sandwich and adobong mani transformed into porcini herb snacking peanuts. Catalano prioritizes accessibility by using commonly available ingredients while keeping the core of dishes intact. Catalano frames Italian American food as evolving rather than static, advocating adaptation to suit contemporary tastes without erasing tradition.
Read at Bon Appetit
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