In further contrast, my grandmothers were radically different in personality. My paternal grandmother or "Nan" as we called her (short for nanny) was a gentle soul. Her skin was always softly perfumed, as if freshly dusted by one of the powder puffs that sat on her dresser. Always dressed to the nines in a dress, jewelry and a heeled shoe, she carried herself with a grace that belied her modest lifestyle as the wife of a mechanic and mother to five children. Later in life, I came to learn that she had been pregnant nine times, only five of those pregnancies carried to term.
My maternal grandmother was a trust fund baby. The daughter of a lawyer, her mother had died in the flu outbreak of 1918 in New York City. This left my grandmother to be taken care of by a series of aunts and relatives while my great grandfather worked. When she married my grandfather, it was her trust fund that purchased their house in the tony neighborhood of Garden City, with the reason for moving there, "the Parish" or church that was part of the larger Rockville Center Diocese. She ruled her house with with equal parts love and authority. She never felt small to me, as her personality, fiery red hair and generous smile made her seem larger than life.
These two ladies both died early in my life; my grandma when I was four and my nan when I was twelve. This makes me extraordinarily grateful that my own children (both out of their teens), have my mom in their life. Sadly, their grandma on their dad's side, passed away in 2012.
My grandmothers were both instrumental in my love for food and cooking, each being an anchor in my early memories of family dinners and contributors to my personal play list of favorite foods.
This Mother's Day, we honor all the moms and grandmothers, past and present that have graced our lives, built our families and stocked our memories with rich, happy nostalgia. Here are two recipes from a family cookbook that I wrote last year. The purpose of the book was to hold on to the strong food traditions that are part of my blended family. These recipes are humble and delicious and are foundational to who I am as a cook and a mother.
With love...
Sunday
Sauce with Meatballs and Sausage
Serves 8 to 10
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sausage:
1 ½ pounds sweet Italian sausage, about 6 links (or a mix of
hot and sweet)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle of salt
Sprinkle of pepper
Sprinkle of Italian seasoning
Meatballs: (makes about 16)
4 slices of white or wheat bread, crusts removed
1/3 cup whole milk
2 pounds ground beef (80/20 is best)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
2/3 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 large cloves garlic, minced finely
3 tablespoons flat leaf Italian Parsley, chopped finely
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 29 ounce cans tomato puree (I use Redpack brand)
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes (Redpack)
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar (*optional, see footnote)
1 dried bay leaf
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1 sprig of fresh basil (a stalk with approximately 6 – 8
leaves)
3 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped finely
3-4 basil leaves, chopped (these get added at the last 20
minutes of cooking)
Put the Sausages in a pie plate or small roasting pan and
drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Put them in the
oven for 25-30 minutes to brown while you make and brown the meatballs. You could cook them on the stove top after
browning the balls, but I find that this step saves time and produces a nice
result.
In a small bowl, soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze it with your hands to make a
paste. If there is a lot of excess milk
when you squeeze the bread, you can dump it out. The goal is to just moisten the bread.
Add the beef, eggs, Italian Seasoning, Pecorino Romano,
Garlic, Parsley, Salt and Pepper to a large bowl. Add in the bread and milk mix. Mix well with your hands, being careful not
to overwork the mix. You want to get it
just blended. Set aside.
Add the olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot and heat on
medium until it just starts to shimmer.
Brown the meatballs in the olive oil on all sides, being careful not to
over-crowd the pan (you want an inch of space between each ball, so work in
batches if needed). Once the meatballs
are browned on all sides, remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel. Lower the heat to medium low.
Open all your cans of tomatoes and set aside. You want these
at the ready, so that you can add them immediately after the garlic sautés.
This will prevent you from burning the finely minced garlic.
Add the onion to the olive oil and meatball drippings at the
bottom of the sauce pan. Sauté for a few minutes until the onion starts to get
translucent. Add the garlic and sauté
for 30 seconds. You want to release the
aroma from the garlic, not brown or (heaven forbid) burn it. As soon as the garlic smell hits your
nostrils, turn up the heat to med-high and immediately dump the first can of
puree into the pot. Cook and scrape the
bottom of the pan to pull up the crusted meat bits and incorporate into the
sauce. Lower the heat to medium low and
add the other 2 cans of tomato product.
Stir to incorporate and make sure that the sauce is at a
very low, ploppy simmer. Adjust your
temperature if needed. Add the salt,
black pepper, red pepper, sugar, bay leaf, Italian Seasoning and stir to
combine. Take the stalk of basil and lay
the leaves across your palm. Smack the basil in your palm with your free hand
(smack it like it owes you money) and throw it in the pot. This releases the oils of the basil and gets
out any pent up frustrations. Stir it
in.
Add the browned meatballs and sausages to the pot and stir
gently to submerge all meat.
Cook covered, on low heat, at a slow, ploppy simmer for 2-4
hours. The more you cook it, the better it gets. Check it every hour or so and give a gentle
stir, making sure that the bottom is not burning. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Twenty minutes before you are ready to serve, fish out the
basil stalk and add the chopped parsley and remaining fresh chopped basil. Continue
cooking until ready to serve.
Hungarian
Peach Torte
Serves 6 to 8
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crust:
1 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold and cut into cubes
½ teaspoon lemon zest, grated
1 egg yolk (set the white aside for the filling)
Filling:
6 medium peaches, peeled and sliced thinly
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg white, beaten stiff
Sift flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add butter to bowl. Using two knives or a pastry blender cut the
butter into the dry ingredients. Add the
lemon rind and egg yolk and work in with fingers until the mixture comes
together and is dough-like.
Press the dough into the bottom of a buttered 8 or 9” spring
form pan. Press it up the sides by an inch to form a lip around the crust. Set
aside.
