FOOD: She cook!

Memories of my Nonna

Hi Friends,

My love of food and cooking starts with the memory of my Nonna, Maria Felicceti Iacoi.  I am Italian American and home cooking was and is my foundation. Nonna, my Father’s Mother, was beloved in our family. I always remember my Mother telling me how much she learned cooking alongside her Mother-in-Law. Trips to Nonna’s house for Sunday sauce are embedded in my DNA. When we entered her home on Hedge Avenue in Norwich Connecticut we were immediately hit with the smell of her sauce bubbling on the stove. We made a direct beeline from the front door to the kitchen bread drawer where we ripped off a hunk of Vocatura’s Bakery loaf and immediately dipped it into the sauce. Nonna was not a fan of this practice and would shoo us away in her broken English - “Why-a you do?”.  

My Nonna came to America from a small village in Calabria called Longobucco. She was 22 years old and her future was to marry my Papa, start a family and make a home. She didn’t learn to read or speak English because it wasn’t necessary for her to fulfill that role. Loving and feeding her family was her focus.  It never occurred to me growing up that she didn’t speak English.  She had her own language that resembled English and everyone understood it. 

Below is a glossary of some of her regular expressions:

Putta ova they: put over there

Shut it up: close the oven

Junka leg: referring to pain in her leg

I canna no feela my fing: describing numbness in her fingers

Needle ana pin: pins and needles in her hands (see above)

She cook: how she describes herself cooking in her kitchen

In a moon: in a mood

Killa the woodachop!: Yelling to her son Frank to get rid of the pesky woodchuck that ravaged her garden.

Take out the cabbage: take out the garbage

Young and the Wrestle: Young and the Restless - her favorite “story” or soap opera

Bich ana bast: this isan abbreviated version of “Son of a Bitch and Bastard”. She rarely swore, but when she did it was usually directed at the characters on Young & the Wrestle. (See above)

Happy East: Happy Easter

This is the sauce of her heritage. Pork based, as in pork on the bone, seared first in a little olive oil accompanied by several chubby links of hot Italian sausage. Next she added her own canned whole tomatoes that she liquified in the blender.  Once joined, the pork and tomatoes bubble together for about a half hour or so. A small can of tomato paste added later to thicken. A good stir with her battered wooden spoon, and left to gently simmer all afternoon.  The smell was heavenly and permeated every corner of her home.  

Nonna’s meatballs were transportive. Light and delicious; they literally melted in your mouth. The trick was to cook them in the sauce. I loved standing next to her at the stove and carefully, with a slotted spoon, removing the pork and sausages from the pot to keep warm while we made way for the meatballs to cook.  Her recipe was simple: ground chuck, fresh breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, grated Romano cheese, egg, salt & pepper. No measurements -  her hands knew the way. The secret ingredient was a little warm water, kept in a little cup nearby to add as needed.  They weren’t balls per se, more of a miniature football. She barely rolled them - just a quick coming together of her palms to form the shape and then gently rolled right into the bubbling sauce.  

While the meatballs simmered, Nonna let us kids choose the pasta. She kept a surplus of all shapes and sizes under the window bench seat just off the kitchen. I always picked the shells (Conchiglie) because I loved the way they doubled up giving you two shells in one, plus the little well for sauce! 

To serve, she drained the pasta and transferred it to a large shallow bowl. Freshly cracked pepper and a dusting of grated Romano cheese over the top and finished with a swirl of sauce.  I particularly loved that she was light on the sauce. I liked to add my own and there was always a gravy boat with extra for you to add as much as you like.  Alongside the pasta was the platter of meats - meatballs, pork, sausage, and sometimes braciole if we were lucky! Extra cheese of course, a loaf of Italian bread from Voc’s and a mixed salad that my Aunt Rose & Uncle Edge (a nickname, of course) brought over from next door. The salad consisted of chunks of iceberg lettuce, red onion, tomato, and black olives with olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper - simple and delicious.

I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend time with her growing up.  To watch and learn from her, and to share her joy in cooking for those I love.  My sisters and I carry on the tradition and still make sauce and balls for a crowd.  

My future posts will be about healthy cooking, but no matter what I share it will always come from the foundation of Nonna’s heart-filled home-cooking. 

Love, 

Nancy jo