‘Tutti a Tavola a Mangiare!’
I grew up in a large Italian-American family in New York. As you can imagine, food was a main focus of our lives. We were probably the only family in the neighborhood that gave the paperboy garlic bread on Thursday and had the mailman over Saturday breakfast.
Sunday macaroni and meatballs dinner was mandatory for our family of seven and, often, for extended family and friends. My mother spent all morning cooking.
A family rule was that, if you went to visit someone, you always brought food; whenever someone visited us, they got a meal. My mother said no one could refuse to eat unless they were sick.
My family home included two full kitchens and dining areas. The basement one was for larger gatherings, of which there were many. We were always encouraged to bring our non-Italian friends for spaghetti dinner.
A few years ago, I traveled to Italy and discovered that there are more rules around food than in any other area. Did you know that you are not supposed to drink cappuccino after eating tomatoes?
Italians love to talk about food and spend a good part of every day planning meals. While we were there, we went to many cooking classes and heard talks from vendors demonstrating their food products. For many, their family businesses went back generations.
Of course, I have carried on my family traditions and love preparing meals. My stuffed mushrooms and garlic bread are most-requested at parties. My sister and her husband wrote a cookbook of my mother’s best recipes, which I have shared with countless friends and extended family. The cookbook is titled “Lasagna for 80” — my mother once cooked a lasagna dinner for her bowling league; she was so excited to tell me that she had made more than 100 meatballs.
Whenever my mother and I spoke on the phone, she often asked what I was making for dinner, and would be disappointed if I couldn’t tell her.
A favorite cooking show is Lidia Bastianich’s “Lidia’s Kitchen” on PBS. She cherishes her food and uses only the best ingredients. I love when her mother comes on the show and they reminisce about the old days in Italy, picking produce at the market with her grandmother.
Lidia ends her show with a phrase I use with my dinner guests: “Tutti a tavola a mangiare” — “Everyone to the table to eat!”
Bobbie “Palazzo” McKay lives in Eureka and still loves cooking for others. Find her recipes for stuffed mushrooms and garlic bread on the website, humboldtseniornews.org.
