Me as a author!
Hi! I’m Enza Whiting and this is my blog! I am new to the blogging community and have a lot to learn about this world, but I hope that you will take the time to get to know me and come along with me as I develop this site into something that I hope you will find informative, nurturing and fun!
I never really thought that I would be doing this and it kind of started with my mother. It seems that all good things start with your mother, so I have big hopes that this will be a really good thing for you and for me as well.
My mother (“Mamma” to her children and “Nonna” to her grandchildren) is going to be 81 years old this December. She is the matriarch of our family and she is a great cook! For so many years she has prepared food that brought us together as a family and that we built traditions and memories around. This past year it occurred to me that I needed to document her recipes exactly how she prepares them, because we want them to live on long after we are all gone. I also realized that I had better watch how she actually makes all of her best dishes, because when she says “it takes a spoonful”, or “a cup full” of something, I have to account for the spoon or cup she is using. Take her recipe for “pollo agrodolce” sweet and sour chicken. I got the recipe from her over the phone one night and she said she uses a couple spoonful’s of sugar and vinegar. Well mine came out okay but it did not have near the intense luscious flavor that hers does. Then when I was watching her make it I noticed that she used a large serving spoon to measure her ingredients! Well that sure explains a lot! So now I am measuring out every spoon, cup and any other utensil she uses.
As I started to record mom’s recipes, I started to think that I should share them with all of the other people that she has touched with her cooking over the years. Why should we be the only ones to eat “Nonna’s” delicious food. And that is how I started on this journey. But I don’t want to just share our Italian family recipes, after all I am lucky enough to be part of family of great cooks, and we love to eat and cook all kinds of food. So I would like to fill this site with all of the dishes that have in some way been a part our family life.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a first generation immigrant from Italy, Sicily to be exact. I was born in Palermo and lived in a tiny little town called Valledolmo for the first 4 ½ years of my life. My parents and I came to the US in the mid-sixties and so I have lived essentially my whole life in the US. I have a brother and sister, both younger then me (that should give you a clue about me right there and I am an Aries to boot!). We have been truly privileged to grow up with all of the benefits of living in the US, while at the same time being so close to all of the traditions of our Italian heritage. 32 years ago, I married my best friend (whose family had been in the US for hundreds of years, I guess opposites do attract) and we have two fantastic boys who I can’t believe are now 25 and 26 years old. My oldest got married this spring in the midst of the pandemic, so now I can say that I have a daughter too!
When asked what I love to do for fun, the answer is easy. Eat! I love food! My favorite foods are a list about a mile long, although anything with chocolate and coffee are at the top. Along with having a passion for eating, I also have a love of cooking for my family and friends. I think it is a way that I can express my love and gratitude for the people in my life.
I plan to share with you the recipes that my family loves and that I know your family will love too! Since I am a novice at this blogging thing, I welcome your comments and feedback so that I can make this a place that you love to visit
