From the Kitchen to the Courtroom: Doing Justice to Pasta

Growing up as a first-generation Italian-American, learning how to cook was a must. My favorite food was pasta and I learned by watching and helping out in the kitchen from a young age. It was truly an apprenticeship education. There were no measurements or -fixed ingredients, so you really couldn't make a mistake. Mom and Grandma cooked simple, inexpensive, and delicious homemade pastas and sauces for dinner. Like most immigrant families, we measured our wealth by the times we would sit around the kitchen table together enjoying our food and one another. I attribute much of my success to the life lessons imparted to me over a plate of pasta. Learning to cook was not a task I dreaded. It was so intertwined with the expression of love that we never thought to say we wouldn't try it. This book is just about pasta, and is directed at those who say they can't cook. I would like the novice, inexperienced, apprehensive cook to give cooking a chance. There is so much satisfaction in watching family and friends bond while enjoying a meal made from the heart. Nothing (well, maybe some diamonds) says I care and love you more than a home-cooked pasta meal.

Justice Patricia M. Di Mango serves as one of three judges on CBS Television Distribution's Emmy-nominated syndicated court show Hot Bench, created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. She has appeared on numerous television programs, including Rachel Ray, Wendy Williams and Steve Harvey, and can be heard on many talk radio shows and podcasts. She has also been featured giving legal insight on stories on Entertainment Tonight, Fox News, VH1, and Inside Edition, among others.Justice Di Mango has her B.S. in both Psychology and Education from Brooklyn College. While pursuing her master's degree in Developmental Psychology at Columbia University, she was a teacher in the NYC public schools. Justice Di Mango graduated from St. John's University School of Law and began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney's Office. While there, she was cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, and later worked as a Law Clerk to three Supreme Court Justices. During her time as a Law Clerk she volunteered as a Small-Claims Court Arbitrator. Justice Di Mango was the first Italian-American woman to be appointed to serve as a Judge of the Criminal Courts for the City of New York by then Mayor Rudolf Giuliani. Thereafter, she was elected to the New York State Supreme Court bench, for the 2nd and 11th judicial districts, and again was the first Italian- American woman elected to that position. Justice Di Mango returned to her passion for education and became an adjunct Associate Professor of Criminal Law at St. John's University and New York City Technical College. She ultimately became the Administrative Judge for Criminal Matters for the 2nd judicial district before retiring from the bench to begin her new career as a judge on Hot Bench.Justice Di Mango attributes who she is and her journey to success to her Italian-American heritage and family . . . and, of course, Judge Judy Sheindlin.