Amaretti torte

My grandfather turned 79 today and in his honor I made him an Amaretti torte using small amarettini cookies imported from Italy. My grandfather immigrated to the US from Italy in 1954; his mother was born in Chicago at the turn of the century and thus, she was able to bring her entire family to the states even though she had moved back to Italy as a young girl where she married and had 8 children.

My grandfather came to accompany his younger siblings and only intended to stay in Chicago long enough to make money to take the boat right back. But ... Well, he met a cute italian-american-chicagoan and here we all are 59 years later celebrating his 79th birthday -- children, grandchildren, and now his 2 great grandchildren.

Happy Birthday grandpa!

Cake is the 15 minute Amaretti torte from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From my house to yours."

Recipe here