My name is Patrizia and I like to cook. Plain and simple. I don't claim to be an expert on all things culinary...I'm not the next Food TV Food Superstar; I'm just a woman who has grown up around some of the most amazing and delightfully simple dishes.
My parents immigrated here from Sicily in the 70's. My parents didn't really rush to integrate themselves into the American culture...hell they are still fighting it! They migrated to an Italian social club in Newark where they met fellow Italians who came over. The friends they met there became family and so they surrounded themselves with fellow Italians. 40 years later...my parents & I still call them our friends.
Try to imagine what it was like growing up not knowing what Macaroni & Cheese was? TV Dinners?? Oh God no! I remember begging my mom to buy me a TV Dinner just so I could be like my friends. But alas, I would have to wait until I was in my late teens before I got my first and LAST TV Dinner. We grew up on homemade tomato sauce (made once a year in batches of almost 100 mason jars), vegetables from dad's garden, and everything...was made with fresh ingredients. My mother never had a cookbook...wait, I take that back - she had a book full of recipes from her friends, all Italian and all original. They never used a cookbook. They brought their 'recipes' over from Italy. A lot of times my mom would just throw together what was in the pantry or in the fridge and dinner was served.
The best thing was that no matter where we went or who we visited, we always ate good, homemade food nothing heavy, no creams, no heavy sauces, nothing deep fried - my father still hasn't tried mayonnaise, sour cream and has never, ever eaten jarred tomato sauce..can you imagine going your whole life never trying mayo??
I can go on and on about my upbringing and my love of all food homemade and simple..but you can see that as you visit my blog. So, check this page often as I'll update it as time passes.
