Hello, again everyone!!! Thanks for ALL the wonderful "welcomes"!!! Now let's see if I can answer all of your questions and not miss any of you!
WEED: Thanks for your lovely post! About the "queen".....nah! While looking thru a King Arthur catalogue, saw the name of their flour and the name hit me! Oh, just LOVE the "Sue"! ! ! Love, love, love Mack, too! Love cycling around the island! Troll or Yooper? Technically, Troll, BUT, I get all over this state! There is just so much here to see. So much history! I truly doubt that Michiganders know just how much is here! From the early days of the Indians....the wars....and what is still here as far as manufacturing and such. Like Holland. When it's tulip time....OMG!!! Not only the sites but the smell of all those tulips in the air! Pinconning and it's cheese. Oh, I could go on and on! Signature dish? Well, that would have to be the homemade ravioli, tortellini, gnocchi, the homemade pastas. Then the sauces. The desserts. I really don't know! Those are the things I just LOVE to make. Everybody else says everything I make is "noteworthy". Go figure!!! To me, it's "just" Italian food.
My dad's mom is the one who really taught me how to cook and bake. She lived in Pennsylvania and during the summer, once school let out, my Dad would drive me down there, he would stay for about a week and visit with his Ma and sibs still living around there. I would spend the entire summer with her and my Aunt/Godmother, and just cook and bake away with her! She would get up around 3:30 or 4 a.m. and would start her day with baking/cooking/prepping for the day! She just passed, it will be 2 years now in October...on her birthday, no less. She was a ripe 99! Sure to miss her and her broken English! She really was a hoot, too, despite her age!
Sattie: Just am having a heck of a time getting around this site!! It's just so HUGE!!! (wasn't being "antisocial" ! ! !) Getting the hang of it, tho!
Ladycook: Where are you from, where did you grow up? There are "Little Italy's" all over the USA! Do you cook a lot of Italian foods? I have soooooo many Italian recipes to share, so if there is something specific you --- or anyone --- is looking for, let me know.
Sizzlin: What field of nursing are you in? are you a GP nurse? hospital? clinic? private practice? I sure do miss my job. I was doing both, the nursing AND pastry cheffing (due to a nasty divorce, had to!). I'm glad I still do so much in the pastry biz. Just did a huge wedding, well huge in today's sense, 400 people. Aside from the cake, they wanted a dessert table. Those are the ones I love the most! You get to suggest things that are not only YOUR fave to eat, but also to make! But I do love it all! Know exactly where A2 and Pickney are! Been there, still go there! LOVE A2 (sorry! That's the "lingo" for the city!). They have an art fair there every year which is just HUGE! If you really want to see all of it, which I would recommend to anybody who does go, you would be best served by spending the night there. There is just so much talent there. And the food!!!! Nothing beats street food, IMHO!!!
Do you recall the name of the restaurant and where it was located? There was this little place even WE used to frequent. (Italians usually don't go out for Italian food). The "chefs" there were the little old Italian women who still didn't speak English, or didn't want to, but they would arrive there early, 7 a.m. and make the sauces, prep the veggies like getting the eggplant ready for the parmagiana, or the caponatina....things like that. So for us to go there, it reminded Dad and Ma of their parents and cooking. But, one day, the place just caught fire. They never rebuilt it. Too bad, cuz it would have been a gold mine today!
I have several sauces you might be interested in. Also, what you say about the man and his "secret" recipe.....don't know what is up with that! There is an Italian-American club we belong to, once a month we gather, and THAT is a subject that comes up every single time! And it's not just the Italian's who do this, I am learning! Some Polish and German friends, their family does the same! I think it's just the pride they have in their cooking, and to see everyone == and I do mean everyone, neighbors, the friends of the kids, the mailman....if you were there when ANY meal was ready to be served, you also joined in! So to see so many people gather around their table, to eat and enjoy, and just have good conversation, etc., THEY just THRIVED on that!!! So, this is what we think is the reason behind their secrecy! We can talk more about these recipes down the road, ok?
Again, thanks all, for your kind welcomes! Look forward to getting to know all of you more as time goes on. (and if I don't answer a post/question, please be patient! As mentioned above, I'm having a slow and hard time finding my way around here! Thanks!)
Ciao!