Chicago-Style Pepper and Egg Sandwich

"Check my DNA and you'll find tomato sauce," quips Fr. Dominic Grassi, ardent gourmand, amateur chef, and full-time pastor on Chicago's North Side. Fr. Grassi has long been stirred by the combination of good food and good stories, and this mixture is the inspiration for his latest book, Bumping into God in the Kitchen. All his literary and culinary talents are on display in this collection of fifty poignant, funny, inspiring, and at times educational stories. Readers will discover, for example, that the dreaded dandelion originally was brought to America to be cultivated as a delicacy! Each of his personal stories in some fashion relates to food and ties into the love of God in our daily lives. Grassi knows very well that reading about food makes a person hungry, so he has also served up his favorite recipes throughout the book. The cuisine? Italian, of course. "After all," Grassi writes, "it was an Italian who invented the fork."

Bumping into God in the Kitchen creates an atmosphere of convivial warmth where friends share stories of God's grace over plates of good food. It's a book that reveals the heart of a dedicated and beloved priest--a priest who just happens to know a good ravioli when he tastes one.