MY GODFATHER SALVATORE

Saying you were Italian AND say you were Catholic to me was redundant. Your Italian, therefore you are Catholic.  We did actually have relatives who weren't Catholic.  My mom told me that they were 'duped' in changing their religion by a fast talking PROTESTANT minister. Yet it didn't affect the relationship because after all they were still family.  It wasn't until I was 33 years old and living in New York City did I actually meet an Italian who was Jewish (Was was that?)

The Italian/American subculture was and, to a large extent, is intertwined with religion..  Being born in the same family is the primary connection.  And, of course this means aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins and even 3rd cousins.  I went to a family reunion this past winter and meet 3rd cousins whom I had seen in years.(But that's another story.)  To a lesser extent, family also meant your cousins' Aunts and Uncles. I can remember referring to my Aunt Ang's sisters-in-laws and brothers-in-law as Aunt and Uncle.  And they referred to my mom and dad as Aunt and Uncle.

And just as important as being related by BLOOD, was the relationship you had with people contected with RELIGION. The term COMPARE (GUMANDI in Italian dialect.)  I remember in the film The Godfather, an American referred to all Italians as GUMBAS.  He meant as a derogatory term.   But being a COMPARE to Italian is a sacred relationship (We got got even with the Americans by referring them as MEDIGANS. This is another dialect term for which I have no idea how it would be spelled but it is spelled here phonetically.  Being a member a bridal party is the first way to establish this relationship because you are at the alter with the bride and groom and are witness to this religious sacrament. Many times, family members are part of the wedding party but just as many times, friends were chosen.

The second and probably more important religious connection was through Baptism. Being chosen as Godmother and Godfather was an important privilege.  This established your connection with the family and it was meant to mean everlasting.  You then became connected with your Godparents families, if they were not already connected.

I love the above picture so much. It SAYS more than I can ever aptly put into words. This picture was probably taken in 1948. The baby in this picture is me. The little boy in front of me is cousin Rocco. The older boy is cousin Dan and the girl is my sister Annette. The man upon whose lap I am sitting, is my Godfather, Salvatore Imbraguglio (I will have more to say about him and his family in a another blog). And the faceless man in the background is my father. I just love this picture, it’s so indicative of my Italian-American family experience. In this picture are members of my immediate family, my dad and sister; members of my extended family, my cousins; and my godfather, who though not related by blood, is connected to me by religion.

I wondered what recipe I could use with this narrative and because this is the Lenten Season, I thought I would use this one.  Enjoy.  And please add your comments at the end of this narrative.  If you would like to see some specific recipe please add that to your comment also.

 

                                                   ROASTED STUFFED PEPPERS

 

4 medium onions or red peppers

1 package (10 ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 egg

1 lb. fresh ricotta cheese or 1 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

1-teaspoon black pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup grated Romano, Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1.  Cut tops off of pepper and remove pulp and seeds and set aside. Set in roasting pan.

2.  Drain off excess water from spinach and set in large mixing bowl.

3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix.

4.  Fill centers of peppers with mixture and bake for 50 minutes.