I've heard people around where I live (Chicago), call sauce "gravy" but many including me just call it sauce. I think it's mostly an east coast thing.

I'm in a once-a-month discussion group that meets at a nice nearby Italian place. I've been on a kick recently for their bowl of rigatoni with crumbled spicy sausage. So 48 hours in advance, I'm already planning on not getting any sleep on Tuesday night.

Every Italian household used to be equipped with at least one of two old women: one would always be speaking inordinately loudly in Italian on the phone next to an open window, and the other would be sitting on the front porch (or if no porch, the sidewalk) in a kitchen chair, sullenly watching the world go by.

Growing up, my cousins were a bit older than me. They knew all the curse words in Italian by heart.

They would give us younger ones money if we would run into the kitchen and yell them out as loud as we can in front of all the grandmas and aunts cooking.

When you are 5 or 6, vafanculo usually came out like; "Bah-Svengoolie!"

(Svengoolie was a late night horror movie host on the weekends in Chicago)

My kids want me to eat that I don't enjoy it so no.

The thing I remember was thanksgiving. My brother and my cousin wanted the turkey legs. I never liked the dark meat. But because they wanted a leg I want a leg.

So Ma to shut me up had a third leg for me I never ate it

[quote=Alfanosgirl There is this bakery in Jersey in Hackensack that makes THEE BEST crumb cake ever!!! That was always a favorite next to the Italian pastries from my Grandma's cousins place in Ridgefield, Rispoli's.

Edit: B & W Bakery in Hackensack makes the BEST crumb cake ever


[/quote]

A-girl we had to detour on our way home to stop at B&W. The crumbs must have come from heaven.

My mother in law has never worn blue jeans. My sister in law is 70 years old...she is still Baby Helen.

I really tried but it tasted like cardboard. Even though it was Barilla, it was still very gross.

@MaryCas Their crumb cake has to be the BEST on the planet as far as I know.

True story: I was the editor of a company newspaper for a very big corporation with HQ in suburban NJ. The company had extensive grounds, and they put up a bocce court. A bocce league was formed and playoffs were held. The winning team was a group of mid-level managers, all WASPs, who called themselves the "Fun Ghouls." They sent me a blurb on their win to be published in the company newspaper. I had to tell them I couldn't because of what their club name meant. They were astounded--none of them had any idea of what they were calling themselves.

Stop the presses!
That is funny.

Friggin' WASPs. But that IS the funniest thing that I've read all week .

Did you use ONLY the Italian words to refer to certain parts of the body? I didn't know the English words for the parts of the body until I was much older If you were referring to your butt you said "goolie". And I'm not going to talk about the other parts of the body. Ha ha.

Lol! I remember "peeshadool" getting a big reaction from the ladies in the kitchen! Lol!

Lol Mark.

Your Grandpa sang:
Seesaw, Knock at the Door
Who's there? Where are you?

...while your Grandma was cooking in the kitchen. Then he sang an old folk song in Italian that he learned when he was a kid. You still remember all the words and now you sing it to your kids. (True story)

From Alfanosgirl's Kitchen with Love

Well yeah, you're a kid until you're 40.

I have acquaintances my age (35) and younger who bitch about how they are getting "old", it annoys the fuck outta me. Some of these geniuses are still in their 20s.

People who live their lives like that often end up letting life pass them by. I have twenty years on you, Ivan. I'll be 56 in the fall.

Anyway, the guys who like to wax poetic about the old days when they're only 35 will deeply regret it when they're 55. You can't live your life in the past or in the future. You can only live in the now.

Great advice PB.

@Alfanosgirl. That looks amazing!

Oh Man that looks Great,,,,

We had the same thing today with our Best friends, at home.

Knowing it was going to rain, we planned the sauce loaded with Sausage and Brociole.

And you know you might be Italian,,,, when you know how to oder all the favorites at the Pork Store and your Irish Brothers call you Guido.

LoL

Yes, please!

Meatballs... my Kryptonite!

Get this my kids have been on me to eat better for years. My wife makes a terrific meal. My daughter comes over early to make me stuff that she says taste good but is better for me.

First she shows me to bottle of juice like products that has vegetables in it. She puts some in each cup and puts a cover over it. Because she thinks the cover is a turn off. Actually they both taste pretty good. They have to be served cold.

Then my daughter makes me something that looks like over done spaghetti that has stuck to get her. It is made from a squash. She puts some on my dish with my wife gravy and meat balls.

Well it was ok anything is ok as long as it has my wife's gravy and meat balls on it.

So my kids are happy that I ate the shit she made me and those two drinks.

What they don't know after they left I ate reg macaroni. I would never have the shit she made.

On this two drinks they tasted ok, but I can't drink anything too cold anymore. I drink everything at room temperature or I get the freaking runs

I just made it to the bathroom.

Kids there a pain in the ass.

I still get entemanns donuts with the devil cake for my wife. I used to like their black out cake I don't think they make them any more.

There used to be a company Embenger something like that made good cake they had there own stores went out of business.

if you owned your route that would be decent money for a young kid.

My friend Johnny had his own route beer distributor.

I owned a both ends of a Minnie medallion taxi as a kid. 2 cars. I ran them 20 hours a day. I got 200 dollars a shift. Each car had two shifts per day total 800 dollars a shift per day. 6 days a week. I had the owner of a local gas station maintain the cars. Drivers paid their own gas also had the drivers put down a thousand security if they got in an accident.

Had one guy driver one a shift nice kid. But this guy was a prejudice bastard. He was Irish he came here from Ireland he hated the English. I have a story about him that you would never believe so I will not tell it.

Anyway I quickly found out he was an equal opportunity hater. He hated everyone. He might have even hated me so I had to let him go.

Entenmann's Raspberry Danish is the best.

Does anyone else have the memory of waking up on Saturday morning to fresh homemade Italian bread coming out of the oven? Mmmmm. My mom made 8 loaves a week

We'd always have some form of bread for lunch. Mmmm

TIS

Madonne! Yes. Mom made it like crazy and my Dad was absolutely amazed at how fast we ate it up. From time to time I make it although now I get to eat just about all of it since the kids are grown and gone.

Guys, thanks for the kind words.

TIS, you are making me hungry just thinking about fresh homemade bread. Yum.

Foots, you always have good stories.

Oh, and my Uncle Frank (the bachelor uncle who married later in life. Don't all Italians have that?) lol would without fail come for lunch Saturdays to enjoy the fresh bread.



TIS

We got ours on Sunday then we got donuts jelly and cream donuts 4 or 5 cents a piece. Some times I would go in big SAMs club and play cards with the older guys. I actually think I miss big Sam.

I remember my mom buying the donut dough you deep fry. When I tell my kids/grandkids that was breakfast, they can't believe it. LOL All the pasta, bread, sugar, I am thankful I am not 300 pounds. Ha ha ha!

TIS