53Ancestors52Weeks Week 5 Theme: In the Kitchen (Brondolo/ Boothby)

Me (Patti) on the floor of my Nino's kitchen on Mainhart Drive, Grass Valley, California.  Marked on the back in pink ink:  Xmas 1962.

  The theme for this week is "In the Kitchen".  I am taking a break from my mother's side of the family for a moment to remember my dad's maternal Italian side...the side of the family that always made food that smelled and tasted so different from my mom's more predictable Cornish/English side of the family.  Eating food prepared and cooked by my "Nino" (Tersilla Palmina Brondolo) was always a treat for the senses.  Simmered garlic and onions,  savory lamb, rosemary, oregano,  yummy cheeses, a medley of  Italian lunch meats she called "miscolanza", and of course, salami come to mind.  Oh, and the sourdough bread.  And the bread sticks wrapped in prosciutto.  

   And olive oil!  Everything had olive oil in it or was cooked in olive oil.  Way before it was popular on our current cooking shows. Nino  also made a marinade that involved chopped  Italian parsley, garlic,  and olive oil which she put over button mushrooms, anchovies and artichoke hearts. I suppose it would be very similar to a chimichurri sauce, which is an Argentinian sauce  also  made with parsley, olive oil and garlic but usually with some version of peppers thrown in.  

  My earliest memories of Nino in her kitchen were from Mainhart Drive in Grass Valley, California.  Looking at the picture taken of me when I was just a baby makes me wonder how she cooked  meals for her family in that tiny and nonfunctional-looking  space.  It was indeed her "Villa Rusticana" as she called it.   I do know that many BBQ's were held outside in the summer time in the beautiful wooded backyard. 

             

Backyard BBQ on Mainhart Drive, Grass Valley.  Friend Muriel with Terry (Nino). 

  Most of what she made became regular fair at our annual Easter dinners at her home in Sonoma, California, after she moved out of Grass Valley.  The smell of her frita (she pronounced it free tah ) is what I remember the most.  These were small cakes made with egg, swiss chard, bread crumbs, and lots of seasoning.  They were fried in, of course, olive oil.  She made copious amounts of these to serve along with the mescolanza spread  before our Easter dinner.  You could smell them even before you got in the house!  We still make these every Easter , except every year they turn out just a little different than the year before.  Our goal is to get them to taste "just like Nino's", but it is difficult, as she never liked to write down any of her recipes.  

  I am fortunate to have a typed version of her frita recipe.  It was typed out by Aunt Dena.  My Auntie  Eilene (Boothby) watched Terry prepare her recipe one afternoon and wrote everything down.  Nino made Auntie Eilene promise not to make frita until "after she was gone", as these were her specialty.    The recipe still doesn't help much...with directions like "go by smell".  We have the basic ingredients down, but the portions are a little different every time.  But, when we do make them our house still smells the same as her house did and evokes the same memories, which is what is most important in the end.  

Little Mary with Aunt Dena (Brondolo).  I am sure they were fretting over setting the table for the big Easter dinner.  Aunt Dena was always in charge of the table.  

Sonoma, California

If Easter was in March, we celebrated two birthdays!  Nino's birthday was March 31, and Mom's birthday was March 30th.  Nino always loved any kind of celebration. 

Aunt Dena (Brondolo), Dottie, and Nino with Mom blowing out her candles. 

                                               Sonoma, California (1990-something). 

  Of course, along with the food came all the memories of loved ones that made our lives so special.  Nino kept her  dear childhood friends for her whole life, and they in turn became a part of our family.  My sister and I have many fond memories of visiting in Sonoma during the summer and playing cards with Dottie and Muriel, or spending time with Little Mary and Aunt Dena.  Aunt Dena was Nino's sister-in-law, but they considered themselves sisters.  

  I have many of Nino's old wooden spoons, cooking pots and pans as well as hand crocheted potholders made by her mother, Nonna.   I also have her set of beautiful china which I try to use at least once or twice a year.  Having these things, as well as being able to recreate her famous fritas, bring back many wonderful memories.  My children's memories will be a little different from mine of course, but at least we can share this recipe for several more generations.  And the salami.  And the prosciutto.  And the mortadella.  And the marinade mushrooms.  And the lamb.  I could go on and on! 

 

Caterina "Nonna"  Bertonasco Brondolo in her garden in San Francisco.  She was born in 1876 in the small village of Vesime in Northern Italy.  She came to America aboard the SS Giuseppe Verdi in 1917.  

Relationship Reference:  Me->Dad->Nino->Nonna