Ciao, I’m Mamma Silvana and before I learned that cooking was my calling in life, I was a just little Italian immigrant living on the East Coast trying to adjust to a new normal.

I was born in Sicily, the baby of 9 children. Though we were happy and surrounded by family, jobs in Sicily were scarce. My oldest 2 sisters married American men and moved to the United States when I was very young. After visiting America my parents decided that it would be beneficial for the rest of us to move here also. America would afford us more opportunity for work and a better life. To make this happen my parents came to the US and lived with my sister, found jobs and were able to buy a home for us to live in. In the meantime there were 5 of us left behind for a few years waiting for our turn to join them. I was only 4 when they left and my older siblings took care of me and worked to provide for us and take care of the house.

My grandparents and aunts and uncles were not too far away if we needed them. I don’t have a lot of memories of this time because I was so young up until we were ready to move. My brother was called to duty in the Italian military so my mamma came back to stay with us until he was released, then we made the big move to America. There were 7 of us total with 2 sisters waiting for us in America and 2 brothers who had families of their own and would stay behind in Italy.

Our first fun experience was having to stay in Rome after some difficulties with our plane. The airline put us up in a very nice hotel, this being the first time for all of us to experience such a thing! We only had 1 night there so my brothers and sister and I went to see the Trevi fountain. It’s said that if you throw a coin in the fountain you will someday return. I did and am still waiting for the day to return and throw another coin in that beautiful fountain.

We arrived in America with excitement and to be honest I was a little afraid of coming to a new country and starting a new life. It wasn’t easy learning a new language and new ways of life. I packed my bags everyday and would ask my mamma if I could just go back to Sicily and live with my grandparents.

After many years of hard work it all clicked in my head! I could speak and understand my new language. We still spoke Italian at home since my parents didn’t know the language that well. I was always amazed how much they understood even though they couldn’t speak fluently. I cherish this time in my life because I learned so much. I learned that if you want something you have to work hard to achieve it, it doesn’t just happen. The example of my parents as hard workers and willing to make such a move to better our family was something that I didn’t realize until I was much older. I appreciate them so much! Growing up I was surrounded by family and that instilled in me the power of family unity. My brothers and sisters would eventually all marry but lived close by (except the 2 who stayed behind). My dad would cook on Sundays, he being a fabulous cook, and would invite anyone that wanted to come and eat with us. My mother made the best bread and I would help her every Saturday morning to make enough bread to last the week. She always saved some dough to make pizza that we would eat for lunch!! Still my favorite memory of spending time with my Mamma!

We grew up sitting around the table, talking, laughing, teasing, telling stories, playing Italian cards and of course eating the best food! That time together bonded us all to one another, it was something I looked forward to all week.

I have loved cooking since I was little. When I was a teenager I loved making steak sandwiches, lasagna, pasta, of course, and many other dishes. At my bridal shower I was asked to make a cake without a recipe and then when it was done they had my fiance’ come over and taste it!! What!! I was so nervous! He later said that they said to him “we made her make a cake without a recipe and you have to taste it”. He said “I wasn’t worried about it”! He had faith in my abilities! We were blessed with a full house and many mouths to feed so I got all the practice cooking that I needed and then some. I’m grateful that they came 1 at a time and I learned to adjust my ingredients to accommodate the growth of our family. The kids had friends come over that always ended up eating with us. They were always welcome and I enjoyed cooking for them also.

My friends have wanted my recipes but I didn’t share them because I always wanted to open a restaurant. In the meantime I catered, taught cooking classes and even had an opportunity to teach an adult cooking class for a local college. I love people and enjoy sharing my talents with them. I learned quickly that I could cook for 20 or 200. I have catered for youth activities, work events, large gatherings and even weddings. Making everything from lasagna to chicken parm. It didn’t scare me, just add a little more flour, or a little more pasta, meat and sauce and you can feed a large group.

So, since the restaurant didn’t happen, being here with you has taken it’s place. We put together an heirloom cookbook that opened up our hearts to how important it is to save, share and preserve our family recipes. It has been a labor of love and now we are here to hopefully share what we’ve learned with you. That is, that our recipes are not only for making food but for preserving those memories that come with them and that gathering and spending time cooking together creates new memories, ones that will be handed down through generations.

Thank you for being here and allowing us to share a part of our hearts with you.