Finding time for tradition in kitchen
This Italian family savors the flavors
and feelings of the holidays.
By LISA LOSASSO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Holidays always bring back memories of friends and family who have gone on before us … get-togethers and celebrations … and time spent together in the kitchen, learning recipes and traditions from the old country so that we can pass them down to future generations. For the Manolio family, this is what the holidays are about.
Mary Manolio remembers her father driving her mother, herself and her three sisters to her Grandma Antoinette (Agresta) Cumbo’s house on Morris Avenue in Girard for Sunday dinners and holidays.
“The wedding soup, ravioli with meatballs, and veal cutlets with lemon wedges, were all made by hand,” she said.
Cumbo was born in Abruttzzo, Italy. Her daughter, Mary’s mother, Anna Agresta Bertrando, and her three sisters learned to cook, bake and can fruits and vegetables from their garden by working with their mother.
“I remember the downstairs kitchen with a wooden floor built over the cement basement floor,” said Manolio. “My grandfather made grandma a large round wooden kneading board as big as the top of her round table, and a handmade rolling pin, almost as long as a yardstick. She would roll out the pasta dough into a thin circle as long as the rolling pin. After rolling the dough completely around the rolling pin, she would lift it up and fold the dough back and forth into a stack two inches wide. Placing her fingertips at the end of the stack, she would slice the dough making long thin slices of pasta. A process, even today, I can remember. That’s why it’s not only important to preserve and pass along our family recipes, but for our children to learn hands-on, beside their mothers and grandmothers.”
In 1957, she married Jack Manolio and his stepmother, Antoinetta, was another dynamic cook and baker. “Her homemade bread, pizza and cookies were exceptional,” said Manolio. “Her friends and neighbors would call and order her home made pizza, as many as 25-30 each Friday. She would use her fresh canned tomatoes and peppers from their garden and dad Manolio’s fresh homemade sausage.
According to Manolio, her mother-in-law also baked cookies for weddings, parties and holidays. “Her recipes were all written in Italian, and consisted of a list of measurements and ingredients. When she would ask for a recipe, her mother-in-law would tell her, “You have to watch me when I’m making them.”
Manolio would watch and write down everything she saw. She even made diagrams for things like folding the dough for the lemon filled French pastry, or how to roll the dough for her twisted Italian Torelli, which she calls “Italian Pretzels.” These are rolled and twisted into the shape of a pretzel, then dropped into a pot of boiling water until they float to the top. They are then removed with a slatted spoon and put onto clean dish towels. They are then placed in the oven and baked until slightly brown and crispy.
Know the dough
An important part of learning to make Italian bread and pasta is to become familiar with the feel and texture of the dough. “Our children need to watch and learn,” she said.
Manolio’s daughter, Annette, now has many of her grandmother’s and mother’s recipes so she can pass them on to her children. “They love Grandma Antoinetta’s Easter Bread, and now their mom makes it for them,” said Manolio. Another favorite is fried dough with sugar.
The most treasured recipe, passed down through the generations, is Mom and Dad Manolio’s home made sausage.
“What is so unbelievable,” said Manolio, “… is these young grandchildren will eat this dried and smoked sausage even if it is slightly to moderately hot. They eat it like candy.”
Her husband, Jack, remembers his parents started making this sausage back in the ‘40s.
According to Manolio, at first they made enough for themselves and their children and then over the years some of their neighbors and friends began calling to place orders. Some years they made over one hundred pounds.
“In Briar Hill,” said Manolio, “… this sausage was often referred to as ‘black gold.’ Everyone who made this sausage knew how back-breaking it was.”
It wasn’t until after the couple married that she had even as much as tasted this sausage. From then on, when it came time to make the sausage, it became a family project.
Because of the amount of meat used, it was important to wait for the perfect temperature outdoors so the pork would not spoil. Two to three hundred pounds of pork butts, all of the spices, and casings would then be purchased.
Special method
The first part of the process was to de-bone the pork, remove all of the excess fat and any glands. The pork was then ground with a commercial grinder to which her father-in-law had attached an electric foot pedal. Once the pork was ground, it was divided equally and placed into a large pan. The spices were then mixed and added to the pork by hand until it was mixed well. Now it was ready to stuff into casings, which had been washed in salt water and rinsed thoroughly by running water through them. The grinding blades were then removed from the grinder and a stuffing cone was attached. They were then slipped onto the cone and the seasoned, ground pork was fed into the grinder and pushed through the cone into the casing slowly.
“It’s important to fill the casings solid to prevent air pockets from forming,” said Manolio. “It takes a lot of practice to be sure you have a firm sausage and prevent the casing from bursting.”
This process is repeated until all of the pork is used. After the meat is stuffed, it has to be cut into links and tied at both ends with a strong string so that it can be hung up in the smoke shed. The links also need to be pierced in order to release any air pockets.
“Annette and I do the tying and piercing. Jack does everything from the de-boning to the grinding and mixing the spices, the stuffing and tying,” she explained.
The sausage is then taken outside to the smoke shed to be hung. Meanwhile, outside in a galvanized tub, a fire is started with fruit wood. When the wood flames begin to smolder, a lid is placed over the tub and it’s lifted into the shed and placed on a cement block where it smokes. The shed doors are closed during this process, for at least two days. Then, weather permitting, the screens are placed behind the doors so animals cannot get in. The doors are opened during the day and closed during the evening.
The sausage takes 5-6 weeks to dry and cure, depending on the weather. “We make this sausage at the end of February hoping to avoid freezing,” said Manolio.
After the sausage is dried, it is shrink wrapped and refrigerated.
“This year, it will be time to get our grandchildren involved.” Grandchildren include Annette’s daughter Brittany, a sophomore at Kent State University; Danny, 14; and Connor, 9; Manolio’s youngest son Anthony’s daughter Alexis, a senior at Boardman High School.
Her oldest son Jim and his wife Stacey reside in Alabama with their daughters, Kristen and Kaitlin. “I am sure their father will get them all involved soon,” said Manolio.
The dried smoked sausage, is given during the holidays as gifts to friends and loved ones, and shared among three generations of family.
“As long as parents and grandparents continue to make their traditional recipes for their families, I feel certain that these recipes will never be lost or forgotten,” said Manolio.