def: \a-‘myuz bush\ [Fr. amuse the mouth] 1: a small bite before the meal begins . 2: greeting of the Chef de cuisine.
Hello. My name is Viveca and I live in New York City. I’d like to be brief on introductions for the sake of delivering the goods: delicious recipes, informative reviews, and practical advice on cooking.
Why sicilianwitch? I am a critic by nature, as my friends and family can attest to, and I wear my heart on my face, so when something doesn’t satisfy me, it shows. The most common manifestation of this is known in my family as the “Sicilian witch face,” or the infinitely perturbed face I would make as a baby, a face that I still sport to this day.
What elicits such an expression? Many things, of course, but as a culinarily-obsessed individual, there is nothing quite as disappointing as a bad, or even mediocre meal that I’ve paid for. We all know cash money is hard to come by these days, so I want to be damn sure that when I spend it on food , it either tastes great or is great for me (when dining out, usually these are mutually exclusive, except in some rare cases… see: Angelica Kitchen). That also includes my grocery shopping habits, and I’m a big believer in perusing your local farmers’ market to find the best produce. If you don’t already shop there, you will be surprised how inexpensive it is and how much better your food will taste.
A lot of people are intimidated by cooking — I hope I can allay some of those fears and show you that good food is well within your reach. Now, let’s eat.
sicilianwitch 
I really enjoyed your blog. I was a writer in the ad biz for 20 years. I reported to your Mom when I first started out, and I followed her rec on FB to check it out. I love your “voice” and your perspective, and look forward to future helpings. In the meantime, check this out. It’s a link to my stepson’s blog about waitering. (He is Chicago based.) http://www.zenandtheartofwaitering.blogspot.com/ .
Good luck!
You sound like a kindred spirit! I also love cooking with fresh, seasonal produce, but am not afraid of a little fat, and I try to get by with minimal kitchen tools. Mostly because I’m too lazy to do extra dishes, but also because I find any recipe that reads “get out your food processor” as a first step to be a wee bit pretentious. People cooked for thousands of years without those gadgets, and so can I. Although I won’t say not to a stove and refrigerator. 😉 Looking forward to reading new posts.