The Magic Pan Is Coming Home

THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2022.

Sad News, Angelo Caserta’s mother, who was the inspiration for this blog, has passed away. Mom was close to 93. The good news is that the “Magic Pan” will be coming with Angelo after the funeral.

For most of us, the food we grew up with is special. People from New York like New York Pizza. People from Chicago like Chicago Pizza. If you are lucky enough to have a mother that is a great cook, your favorite dishes are going to be what your mother made. My buddy Angelo talks about his mother’s magic pan and the dishes she made with it with a mythical wonder.

Mom Doing Her Magic in The Kitchen

A friend of mine grew up on the island of Cephalonia off the mainland of Greece. Spiros would talk about Cephalonia and his face would glaze over with a smile fueled by the fondest of memories. Angelo talks about his mother’s Fried Zucchini and Ravioli with A Beef Ragu made with her magical pan with the same look on his face.

Fried Zucchini With Pasta

Ravioli With A Beef Ragu

Mom Making Homemade Gnocchi

Most families look at inheritance in terms of money, property, jewelry or maybe furniture. All I inherited from my father is a wacky sense of humor and a few old golf clubs. Angelo’s big ask is for his mother’s magic pan. That pan will make great meals, but more importantly, it will invoke really great memories.

Angelo with His Wife & Son

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

It’s Beginning To Smell A Lot Like Christmas.

My daughter has been known to say: “This kitchen smells like Christmas Eve at home”. Yes, I use a lot of garlic in my cooking. One of my holiday traditions is to peel a few heads of garlic as part of getting a mise en place set up.

A Traditional Kenny – Christmas Menu For 2013

 

In 2023, we have all 5 grandkids and their parents coming for Christmas. The menu will be close to traditional. And yes, there will be seafood served on Christmas Eve because you can take the kid out of Silver Lake (Italian Community in NY  where I grew up), but you can’t take the Silver Lake out of the kid.

I must confess that I still have a little scar-tissue to deal with. One year we had the whole Kenny Clan to Memphis for Christmas, and I published a menu that called for “The Feast Of The Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve. After dinner which included clams, shrimp, scallops and cod, my brother-in law Brian asked about why I called it seven fishes when there were only four? Now Brian is a nuclear scientist and one of the smartest guys I know.  So I told him that I was careful to count and made sure he had at least. 3 shrimp and 4 clams. Sales and Marketing guys just look at the world differently than scientists do.

Another Christmas ,the whole Kenny Clan descended on the ski resort at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire where Susan’s brother Bobby has a condo. After dinner on Christmas Eve, we had wonderful experience. It was a magical evening with a horse-drawn sleigh ride through a heavy snowstorm with the whole family singing Christmas carols. It was also an experience that describes the difference between my two sisters. My sister Joan, the college professor, exclaimed “Isn’t this beautiful, it’s a winter wonderland”. My sister Bernadette, the corporate executive, leans in to her college aged niece and whispers: “Winter wonderland my ass, it’s a ‘F- – king’ blizzard”. You can’t buy memories like that.

Maybe this was the real reason behind Cuomo’s downfall…

Not to worry, the Kenny kitchen will smell like garlic

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.