Author Archives: Loretta Giacoletto

About Loretta Giacoletto

Loretta Giacoletto is an American writer of family sagas, mysteries, and contemporary fiction, all of which contain elements of crime. She divides her time between the St. Louis Metropolitan area and Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks where she writes fiction, essays, and her bi-monthly blog, Loretta on Life, while her husband Dominic cruises the waters for bass and crappie. Their five children have left the once chaotic nest but occasionally return for her to-die-for ravioli and roasted peppers topped with garlic-laden bagna càuda. An avid traveler, she has visited numerous countries in Europe and Asia but Italy remains her favorite, especially the area from where her family originates: the Piedmont region near the Italian Alps. - See more at: http://www.loretta-giacoletto.com

Ravioli or Agnolotti: Either Way They Make Sense

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Loretta Giacoletto

A two-hour morning project ready for the freezer–ravioli, or to be more precise, agnolotti. Instead of using two pieces of dough, these filled pastas are made with one piece of dough folded over like little pillows in the style of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Family, Food, Italian American, Italy, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged agnolotti, Italian-American, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, Northern Italy, Piedmont Region, ravioli | Leave a comment

TOM (A Mother’s Day Tribute)

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Loretta Giacoletto

My daughter never smiles any more. It’s a shame because she always had such lovely teeth. I blame her lack of humor on that crazy job. Teresa calls it a position and claims she needs to work. “Give up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Italian American, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Italian American, Lifestyle, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, Mother and Daughter, Mother's Day | Leave a comment

Moving On

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Loretta Giacoletto

Twenty years ago Hubby D and I, along with four of our five offspring plus spouses, bought a place at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. We christened it Casalago, the Italian version of Lake House, a name we had engraved … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Italian American, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Italian American, Lake of the Ozarks, Lifestyle, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life | Leave a comment

Family and Friends

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Loretta Giacoletto

It’s always something at our place in Lake of the Ozarks, otherwise known as Casalago. A few weeks ago one of the cables holding our 3-boat dock and swim deck broke away from the seawall. Fortunately, a neighbor called to … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Friends, Lifestyle, Writing | Tagged COVID-19, Deer, Lake of the Ozarks, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life | Leave a comment

Peanut Butter Etcetera Cookies, My Way

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

A partial repeat of a blog I posted back in December 2014 … Cookies, anyone? The basic recipe for these peanut butter cookies came from my Aunt D who passed it on to my mother and later to me. Where … Continue reading →

Posted in Baking, Family, Food, Uncategorized | Tagged holiday baking, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, peanut butter cookies | Leave a comment

The Audition

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

Night School, Chicago’s most innovative brothel. 1931 at the height of The Great Depression Up close, he looked younger than from the short distance Paris Mallory had observed him two nights before. She figured Matt Pagano to be around her … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargain Kindle Fiction, Books, eBooks, fiction, Italian American, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Chicago 1930s, Chicago's Headmaster, Chicago's Headmistress, Great Depression, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta of Life, Prohibition | Leave a comment

Don’t Get Me Started

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

Oops too late. Last Sunday when I went downstairs to get some ravioli from our upright freezer, I discovered the dial was turned to off (must’ve been those damn faeries). Bummer! Everything inside the freezer had defrosted. I’m talking soups, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Family, Food, Italian American, kitchen, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged French onion soup, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, Roast turkey | Leave a comment

Remembering Italy. A timely repeat of a blog from three years ago …

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

It’s Me—Giuseppe! One of my fondest memories of visiting the Piemonte family villages in Northern Italy is the year Uncle J and my brother K went with Hubby D and me. The last time Uncle J had been in that … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Friends, Italian American, Italy, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life | Leave a comment

Lincoln Zoo, Chicago 1931

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

An afternoon at Lincoln Zoo with two kids he barely knew was not Matt Pagano’s idea of utilizing time to his advantage although he had to admit these kids were kind of cute. Instead of the drab clothes of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, fiction, Italian American, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Chicago 1930s, Chicago's Headmaster, Great Depression, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, Sequel to Chicago's Headmistress | Leave a comment

Pure Gold in the Eye of the Beholder

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Loretta Giacoletto

A good friend and colleague of Offspring #4 stopped by yesterday with a promised gift of hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, otherwise known as quarin in the Piemontese dialect of Italian-Americans in our Illinois town and barbison or quarin in Colleretto and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Italian American, kitchen, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged barbison mushrooms, Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, Loretta Giacoletto, Loretta on Life, Northern Italy, Quarin mushrooms | Leave a comment