I was talking to a friend of mine at work recently about Italian customs and hospitality.  His wife is Italian and when he was first introduced to his wife’s family, he was, understated, overwhelmed. One of the things about which he remarked was how food was such a central part of the Italian household and how it is extended to everyone. Being brought up with these same customs, I fully related to what we were discussing. 

Literally, from birth to death, food is the focal point.  You celebrate, you mourn, you appreciate, and you share everything with food.  My guess is that most of the Italian immigrants who came to the U.S. at the turn of the 20^th century, came here because of poverty and, obviously, better opportunities.   These poor had little possessions and came here with nothing except what little clothes and prized possessions they could carry with them.  I am certain from what stories I heard that one of their initial reactions to the NEW WORLD was the abundance of food, especially meat. So they probably ate better than most had their entire lives. And they shared it too.

Hospitality is a universal theme.  You welcome people in your home in many ways.  Being Italian, our family welcomed you with food.  If someone came to the door, and when I was growing up, it was sometimes unannounced, by the time the coats and hats were off, the coffee was brewing and the refrigerator door was open. It was simply just that.  It wasn’t as if you were expecting it as much as it was the way it was.

My mother’s grandmother, nee Lucia Massaro, was the grand dame of the family. She wasn’t the oldest, but she was the head of family. It was from her that my mom learned about the family, Italy and history. And from what I heard, she was quite a character too. Had she had the opportunity to be fully educated, she could have been quite a formidable force. She possessed great worldly wisdom and imparted that to her family.  My mom was the one who passed all those wonderful stories and wisdom to me.

Here’s one of my favorite stories.

Anonna, as she was affectionately known, decided to visit a friend who was from the small town in southern Italy from which they both had immigrated. I believe she was somehow related.  But, somehow, everyone in Italy is related. Zi Felice lived a bit of a distance away.  At the time, the family did not have a telephone so visits were done by merely dropping in. She arrived unannounced and alone. Coffee was offered and served but nothing else.  Anonna did notice that there was an aroma coming from the oven. From what she surmised, it probably was from chestnuts. She thought that Zi Felice would offer her some of those as they came out of the oven.

The conversation went on and Zi Felice still offered nothing but the coffee.  Finally, Anonna figured it out. She wasn’t going to offer her the roasting chestnuts.  By now they should have been done.  So she decided to linger there.  Zi Felice still didn’t pull out the chestnuts from the oven. Finally, the smell in the apartment made it obvious that the chestnuts had burnt. This is when Anonna decided to leave. 

As she left, she turned to Zi Felice and said (I remember my mom telling me this in the Italian dialect that they spoke at home) “See, you don’t want to share what you have and now you don’t have any either.” I am certain this sounds better in Italian.

I can’t leave you without entering a recipe here.   Following recipe is for a classic Italian cookie, easy to make and so good to eat.  There are many recipes of this cookie but I do like this one.  This is one of those cookies that you can make when company arrives and you are looking for something quick and easy to serve.  The ingredients used in this recipe are those you usually have on hand. I have one more, that is slightly different, but equally as good and I will share that with you another time.

Taralli

(Lemon Knot Cookies)

2 cups of flour                                   3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup of sugar                                   ¼ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of baking powder            1 teaspoon lemon extract

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1.     Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

2.     In a larger bowl, blend eggs, oil and lemon extract. 

3.     Slowly add dry ingredients to egg mixture and blend with a wooden spoon. 

4.     When all the flour mixture has been incorporated with egg mixture, remove from bowl and knead for two minutes.  The dough will be sticky.  Do not add more flour.

5.     Break off a piece of the dough about the size of a walnut and roll on floured surface until it resembles a rope about 4 inches. 

6.     Tie each rope into a knot and place on a greased cookie sheet.  

7.     Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.

While cookies are cooling, prepare icing.

2 cups powdered sugar

4 to 5 tablespoons water.

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Food coloring, optional

1.     Place powdered sugar in a large bowl. 

2.     Add water, lemon extract and optional food coloring and stir until a smooth.  Add just enough to make the mixture thick and not runny.

3.     Add more powder sugar or water as needed. 

4.     Dip tops of cooking into icing and let stand for about 5 minutes until icing has hardened.

EASY CHICKEN DISH

When I was 12 years old, my mom went back to work.  I then became a latch key kid.  School was over at 3:00 and I usually came straight home. But, considering Aunt Bridgie lived in the same building as we did and Auntie Ang was 4 houses away, it really was no big deal.  And I knew every neighbor in the entire building and they all had kids who came home at the same time. And there were not a lot of working moms in those days.  There were plenty of people around to worry about being a latch key kid.  And I dare not get into any trouble on my own for the same reasons.  TOO MANY PEOPLE AROUND TO TELL YOUR MOTHER.

I was a bad eater and drove my mom nuts.  There weren’t a lot of things I would eat, ESPECIALLY LIVER, and to make things easier, I decided to start cooking.  I have to laugh now because I thought my mom would have a problem with that, but I realize now she didn’t.  It was a chore she didn’t have to face when she got home. It was just the two of us then so it wasn’t that difficult for me to cook.  I obviously chose to cook what I liked to eat. Chicken was always, and still is, a favorite.  The very first chicken dish I made was with tomatoes, onions and mushrooms.  I made this at least once a week. This was always served over rice too. I use canned tomatoes and canned mushrooms, making this easier to prepare and less time consuming.  It’s great dish to prepare during the week after work.   I am sharing this recipe with you.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND ONIONS

4 chicken boneless breasts (4-6 ounces each) legs and thighs can be used also

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 small can sliced mushrooms

½ cup black olives (optional)

1 14.5oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

2 tablespoons oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-teaspoon black pepper (more or to taste)

1-teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

1. Remove any excess fat from chicken and rinse
2. Place chicken in shallow baking dish
3. Add sliced onion and mushrooms and black olives into the baking dish
4. Drain tomatoes of all excess water/juice
5. Hand squeeze tomatoes over chicken
6. Add seasonings and thoroughly mix all the ingredients
7. Bake for 30 minutes
8. If you want, serve over hot spaghetti and sprinkle Parmesan cheese.