No word in the Italian language means more to an Italian than the word “famiglia” or family. The tight-knit nature of italian families bring us much joy and often drive us crazy. I can remember the explosive nature of my own family growing up. There was always a balance of peace and extreme excitement.

Typical Sundays always consisted of my mom spending 98% of her time in the kitchen making any number of things: sauces, pastas, roasts, cakes, cookies, etc. The house certainly couldn’t have been any hotter with all the cooking. But the smells were amazing! Certainly better than Febreze.

Then we gathered together around an already crowded dining room table. By the way, one of my jobs was to put the extension leaves into the table so that we could get at least 10 more people at the table. We then piled enough food on the table to feed a small nation, which, of course, was exactly the number of relatives invited to come for dinner.  

The menu reflected something from Dr. Seuss including the Who Pudding and Roast Beast. Traditionally we had the antipasti which was every form of smoked, salted, and dried pork product. This was followed by a chicken soup, 2 pasta dishes, salad, roast something depending on the occasion or season, mashed potatoes, veggies (pre-steaming, so they were boiled and soft enough for the nonni to eat without teeth) and gallons of wine or soda.

Then came the hand to hand combat involving competing desserts from my mom and my aunts. Now the competition was always good-natured, or so I was told. My aunt Venice always brought Italian pastries, something we so seldom saw in the house. Yes, that was her name. She was one of 3 daughters named for a popular turn of the 20th Century Italian song, “Venezia la Stella d’Italia.” Of course my aunt’s sisters were appropriately named Stella and Talia. Mom made homemade coffee crumbcake, a chocolate chip cake, pies and cookies. Other relatives brought other things.  

Now let me ask you a question. In the midst of this “battle” the weapons of choice are as follows: cannolis, sesame cookies, jam cookies, black and whites, apple pie, chocolate cake, chocolate chip bundt cake, sfogliatelle, coffee cake and ice cream. What do you say when someone asks the question, “What would you like?” These were fighting words because your choice was a point in favor of the one who brought or made the item.  

I love my mom’s cooking and baking. I’m 25 pounds overweight because I like it too much. But it was so seldom that I had cannolis, especially the ones with the chocolate chips in them, I wasn’t crazy about the dried fruit. So I ALWAYS had cannolis, and cake, ice cream, shall I go on?

Once we were thoroughly stuffed with milk or coffee and the assorted sweet treats, it was time for the men, that is my dad and his brothers to sit at the table in complete control. Out came the cards and the preferred game of choice was pinochle. This is the moment that is actually most memorable for me. You see, as a kid, I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t hear my dad and my uncles arguing over the game. “What the hell did you play that for?!!! Didn’t you see what I played. What are you new to this?!!” This was always followed closely by some mumbled choice words in Sicilian. What a sweet sound.

There it is. This is what “famiglia” means to me. I’d love for you to share some of your memories. Send them to me at   blog@triadsonsofitaly.com.