Mystery Uncovered
Benvenuto! Witamy! Welcome! Are you ready for some secrets? Contrary to what I may have led many of you to believe I am not about to divulge my deepest darkest personal secrets to you in this rather public forum, mostly because I don't have many. Instead I plan to share some even more interesting secrets in the form of recipes and stories.
Coming from a half Polish half Italian family I have my fair share of amazing, secret recipes that will change your life forever if you continue to read. Many of you may be thinking, "well I'm Polish or Italian, I bet my family's recipes are just as good." I'm telling you right now, they probably aren't. If you still don't believe me, well then I challenge you to a cook off! Just kidding(kinda). I know that my fellow Italian and Polish descendants also have some pretty impressive recipes so I encourage you to share them with me if you are willing to give up your secrets as I am about to do.
I will give you a little background into my family so that you better understand why food hold such a special place in my life. My mom's side is comprised of my one hundred percent Italian Nunu (Nunu means grandfather in Italian) who is eighty years old, and has a better social life than my entire family put together. He is a resident of State College so if you ever need a recommendation on the hottest bar or hangout in town I could reach out to him, and he would be happy to offer a few suggestions.
He also LOVES food and is especially known for his practice of starting every day with a pork product (because we all know how healthy that is). This usually comes in the form of a pork roll egg and cheese on a bagel or some other bread. He is an amazing cook and has passed down the recipes from his mother, who was born in Italy, to his four children, one of which obviously being my mother. My mother and aunts have now taken on the task of hosting and preparing holiday meals, so that my Nunu can relax and enjoy. Every holiday, is done the real Italian way, which means a variety of courses served throughout the entire evening(and also always accompanied by wine). Also an important tip: It's best to wear forgiving clothing any time Italians are involved in the cooking.
Now onto my Polish heritage. While this side of my family is less food obsessed, the quality of the food is equally good. On my dad's side my grandmother is one hundred percent Polish, and darn proud of it. She is one of the toughest, most impressive people I know. At age eighty one(or as she likes to say "thirty-nine and holding") she still walks over four miles a day, attends tai chi and yoga classes, and often babysits her great grandson. Her amazing wealth of energy is also put to good use in the kitchen. She cooks every big holiday meal for all of my extended family, and in the past few years has begun teaching me, my sister and my cousin the tricks and trades of all of the family recipes, which I will soon share with all of you.
Coming from a half Polish half Italian family I have my fair share of amazing, secret recipes that will change your life forever if you continue to read. Many of you may be thinking, "well I'm Polish or Italian, I bet my family's recipes are just as good." I'm telling you right now, they probably aren't. If you still don't believe me, well then I challenge you to a cook off! Just kidding(kinda). I know that my fellow Italian and Polish descendants also have some pretty impressive recipes so I encourage you to share them with me if you are willing to give up your secrets as I am about to do.
I will give you a little background into my family so that you better understand why food hold such a special place in my life. My mom's side is comprised of my one hundred percent Italian Nunu (Nunu means grandfather in Italian) who is eighty years old, and has a better social life than my entire family put together. He is a resident of State College so if you ever need a recommendation on the hottest bar or hangout in town I could reach out to him, and he would be happy to offer a few suggestions.
He also LOVES food and is especially known for his practice of starting every day with a pork product (because we all know how healthy that is). This usually comes in the form of a pork roll egg and cheese on a bagel or some other bread. He is an amazing cook and has passed down the recipes from his mother, who was born in Italy, to his four children, one of which obviously being my mother. My mother and aunts have now taken on the task of hosting and preparing holiday meals, so that my Nunu can relax and enjoy. Every holiday, is done the real Italian way, which means a variety of courses served throughout the entire evening(and also always accompanied by wine). Also an important tip: It's best to wear forgiving clothing any time Italians are involved in the cooking.
Nunu in his happy place.
Now onto my Polish heritage. While this side of my family is less food obsessed, the quality of the food is equally good. On my dad's side my grandmother is one hundred percent Polish, and darn proud of it. She is one of the toughest, most impressive people I know. At age eighty one(or as she likes to say "thirty-nine and holding") she still walks over four miles a day, attends tai chi and yoga classes, and often babysits her great grandson. Her amazing wealth of energy is also put to good use in the kitchen. She cooks every big holiday meal for all of my extended family, and in the past few years has begun teaching me, my sister and my cousin the tricks and trades of all of the family recipes, which I will soon share with all of you.
Grandma and Grandpa Reed (Grandpa can only make dessert (i.e. store bought ice cream))
In my next post I will share my first secret family recipe with you. THE AMAZING ITALIAN GNOCCHI! There is not only a debate about how to pronounce "gnocchi" but also how exactly to shape them. So have your forks and thumbs ready for next time when we tackle the gnocchi.
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