December 2011 A Christmas Adventure in


Little Italy By Katie Malin


A stocking stuffer your children will enjoy,


“A Christmas Adventure in Little Italy,” is a heart- warming tale of love and charity. The backdrop is Chicago’s Little Italy in the 1950s. Jimmy learns about charity while visiting his grandmother, Nonna. Together they bake biscotti to give to the poor on Christmas Eve.


As they leave the church that eve, Jimmy’s faith-


ful dog, Blackie, is frightened by traffic and runs off. Blackie is lost. They search the city streets for the little dog for hours and return home to find…you will have to read the book to learn the answer!


I had an opportunity to interview the author,


James Doti, President of Chapman University, and I asked him why he wrote this book. Doti said he always loved children’s books, both as a youngster and as a father reading to my son and daughter.


“I chose ‘Little Italy’ in Chicago because that’s


Jim Doti, president, Chapman University, author of A Christmas in Little Italy


where my nonna lived. Since the story is based on an actual adventure in my life, I wanted the locale to be as close to factual as possible,” Doti explained.


Wondering if he would be writing another chil-


dren’s book soon, he told me, “In fact, I’m in the pro- cess of working with my amazingly gifted illustrator, Lisa Mertins, on a new book that will be titled ‘Jim- my’s Adventure on Stage.’ I hope it will be available for sale by late next year.”


Besides writing what do you like to do when you


are not overseeing the administration of the Univer- sity? “Over the years I have enjoyed mountain climb- ing. I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, the highest summit in Africa; Aconcagua in South America, Elbrus in Eu- rope, and Vinson in Antarctica. Now I exercise by running and I am excited about running the Boston Marathon this coming April for the 7th time.”


Doti earned his B.S. degree in economics from the University of Illinois, Chica-


go, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. He was named president of Chapman University in 1991 and holds the Donald Bren Distinguished Chair in Business and Economics. His articles have appeared in academic journals as well as periodicals such as The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He is the co-editor of a collection of readings that received the Temple- ton Honor Award for Scholarly Excellence and he is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.


A Christmas Adventure in Little Italy, was selected by Italian America magazine for its fall Book Club. You can buy this book on line at www.amazon.com for about $10. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will be donated to the Katleen Muth Reading Center at Chapman University.


Nonna’s Biscotti Recipe


1/3 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs


1 cup sugar 1 Tablespoon anise extract, 3 drops anise oil 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 Tablespoon baking power ½ chopped almonds ½ cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets


In medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and anise extract until well blend- ed. Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl; then stir into the egg mixture. This should form a heavy dough. Add chocolate chips and almonds last and stir. Divide dough into two pieces and place one on each cookies sheet.


Form the dough pieces into rectangles (about 7 x 10 inches) and using a rolling pin press down to ½ thickness.


Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown. Using a pancake turner or large spatula, placethe biscotti rectangles onto a wire rack to cool.


When the biscotti are cool enough to handle, cut each rectangle into ¾-inch slices, lengthwise.


Lay the slices flat on the cookie sheet.


Bake for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, then flip to the other flat side and bake another 3 – 5 minutes, until lightly toasted.


Enjoy the biscotti warm, or cool and store in an airtight container. www.ChronicleMediaGroup.com The Chronicle


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