Buon giorno a tutti!

I’m thrilled to introduce you to a regular contributor: my mom, who will be known around here as “MaMaMiaRita”. This is her very first blog post (ever!). She could not be more enthusiastic to get blogging and let me tell you — she has a lot up her sleeve! She has been sending me multiple emails each day with ideas, drafts and photos for future posts. So, without further ado….

mamamiarita high school yearbook georgia avenue dinner rachel beach

I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey, called “Ducktown”. It was a place where everyone had one foot in Italy while trying to place the other in America. My family’s ideas and rules were very old world Italian. And then there was me — a product of the Sixties who was excited to explore the world and show my independence. While I became a total American woman, I managed to keep a few “toes” planted in my Italian culture.

I eventually married and moved to Philly but would visit my family in Ducktown often. When my daughter was born I chose an American name, “Rachel” yet I wanted to acknowledge my Italian roots. So, I decided for Rachel’s middle name I would Americanize my great Aunt’s name “Antonietta” (who is the Lupa of Lupa & Pepi) to “Annette”. Lupa refused to accept this version of her name as an honor. Instead she called her “Piccolina Pizzelle” (“Little Pizzelle”) because I bathed Rachel in her pizzelle tub. This tub — large enough to bathe a baby — could hold enough pizzelle dough to feed the entire Italian army. That was pretty much how my family cooked every day — enough to feed the entire neighborhood. The kitchen table sat a dozen people — most nights it was full but we always had leftovers galore and we never threw anything out!

So, that’s a little bit about me and where I’m from. I would love to talk with you about food, vino, entertaining and all the good things in life. Let’s share thoughts, recipes, old times and talk about how important it is to link the past with the future.

We all have great life stories to tell. I look forward to sharing mine and hearing yours.

Ciao,
MaMaMiaRita

{Photos from left to right: my high school yearbook photo, seated for dinner at our kitchen table in Ducktown — I’m in the center wearing orange and Lupa on the bottom right forgot to smile, Rachel and I on the Atlantic City beach}

 

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