EXIT THE NONNIE.

After a giggly, gourmet, ninety-six-ish year journey, my grandmother (“Nonnie”) has taken a seat at that great macaroni house in the sky. When a family member dies, I’m usually asked to write a eulogy.  It’s a task that, quite frankly, I’d be happy to do without. But in Nonnie’s case, the eulogy was easy. I’ve been … Read more

ANOTHER POST FOR POSTERITY: NONNIE’S FUCAZZO.

And now for another installment of our continuing series. This classic Nonnie recipe is for Fucazzo (pronounced, “foo-GOTS”)—an Italian onion and anchovy pie that, oddly enough, was one of my childhood favorites. Nonnie made her Fucazzo in the form of a calzone—spreading the ingredients over a layer of pizza dough, covering it with a top … Read more

ANOTHER POST FOR POSTERITY: NONNIE’S ITALIAN SAUSAGE RECIPE.

Long time patrons of this VTB know that I have—from time to time—released prized family recipes into the public domain in order to assure their immortality. Most of those recipes have been Nonnie’s—including The Oliva Family’s Macaroni Sauce and the now-immortal pusties. In today’s installment, I am releasing another recipe. This is one that I … Read more

A POST FOR POSTERITY: NONNIE’S PUSTY RECIPE.

Our good friend and VTB-VIP, Culinary Fool, has been blogging lately about her grandmother’s Christmas cookie recipes. That got me thinking about my own Nonnie’s holiday specialty—pusties! I’m not sure if pusties (also known as “pasticcioti”) are an Italian or Italo-American invention…although I suspect the latter. And I’m not sure if they’re available in other … Read more

AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF…NONNIE!

I was leafing through my electronic photo archive tonight and stumbled upon this photo. It’s of a fully-haired, tackily-dressed, 19 year old Sal hanging out in the kitchen with his grandmother (whom I shall refer to as “Nonnie”…because that’s what I’ve called her since 1967). I’ve mentioned Nonnie several times in the past (here and … Read more

PERFECTING PUSTIES: UTICA’S MOST FRUSTRATING (YET WORTHWHILE) DESSERT.

If Tomate Pie is Utica, NY’s favorite entrée, then pusties are its superstar dessert. Pusties (aka, pasticciotti) are little pastry tarts filled with custard and baked in a unique fluted tin. It’s a culinary jewel that is maddeningly difficult to find outside of upstate New York. It’s also maddeningly difficult to make at home—which may … Read more

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