From Nonna's Kitchen: Abuela Evelyn’s Pasteles

A true Puerto Rican girl - my friend Iris loves spending time with her mamma Evelyn. She is very proud of her heritage and really enjoys eating the food of her youth. I was really touched when Iris and Evelyn showed up to my house to teach me how to make their most cherished dish, Pasteles.

Pasteles are very important in Puerto Rican culture. Served at the holidays with rice, beans and tostones, they are a labor of love. The exterior (masa) is made from unripe, green bananas. You have to grate each one on a box grater to get a fine pudding like consistency. The abuelas never complain, but it is labor intensive! The filling is a delicious blend of pork and traditional Puerto Rican spices and ingredients like pimentos and olives. The achiote oil gives it a beautiful red hue and fills the entire kitchen with a very Latin aroma.

Sweet Tooth Friday (From Nonna's Kitchen Edition): Nonna Mary's Wine cookies

This recipe comes to me from my lovely friend Claudia. She is a true Italian girl with both of her parent’s families hailing from the old country, northern Italy and Sicily. Even though Claudia always jokes she isn’t much of a cook, I tend to doubt it because she definitely has some incredible cooking genes. Her father was generous to share a few of his specialties and Claudia has saved many of the wonderful recipes her mother used to make.

Most of Claudia’s mom’s recipes come from her mother, Claudia’s grandmother Mary Zeppieri. Mary came to the US at the age of 25 from Veroli, Italy and raised five children in upstate New York. She was a dedicated wife and mother and always cooked homemade Italian food. Claudia has dear memories of walking to her Nonna’s house every Sunday after church for these wonderful cookies.

Cooking With Kids: Crispy Rocky Road Bites

By the time mid December rolls around, I’m already knee deep in Christmas cookie making. My kids love making cookies for their teachers, bus driver, friends and family. We package them up in pretty tins and everyone is always appreciative to get a huge variety of all the holiday classics.

My cookie tins are really varied - sugar cookies, chocolate chips, gingersnaps, rainbow cookies, biscotti and struffoli. Every year my children love to make some candy for the tin and for sure, the chocolates are the first ones to go.

Sweet Tooth Friday: Time To Make The (Israeli) Donuts

Wednesday we talked about latkes and what they mean to the Chanukah celebration. Today, I’m still frying for Chanukah but this time, it's Sufganiyot - try and say that three times fast! Sufganiyot is a deep fried jelly donut and made all over Israel to celebrate this time of year. Once again, it symbolizes the miracle of the burning oil and , boy, are they good.

From Nonna's Kitchen: Mimi Jo's Crispy Potato Latkes

For Christmas, there are a host of foods I make as an Italian and also as a Catholic that represent and honor our traditions of celebration. For Chanukah, Jewish people serve a number of dishes. One very popular side dish is potato latkes. My amazingly talented website designer, Jen was generous enough to offer up her mom JoAnn as a great resource. JoAnn was a caterer for many years on Long Island. A true entrepreneur, she started a baking business with her friend and grew a full scale catering company from her home kitchen. As JoAnn explained, Chanukah is a time to honor the oil that burned for eight days. So, traditionally, Jewish people will serve foods cooked in oil. Potato latkes are a small cake of potato and onion fried in oil and served with sour cream and apple sauce. Since I have never met a potato I didn’t like, I knew I was in for a treat.

Post Holiday Health Reboot: Quinoa Salad

Thanksgiving is over. You’ve eaten way too much pie and really shouldn’t have reached for that third helping of mashed potatoes. But, no reason to look back and fret. Today is a new day and you have a little less than a month to Christmas to be a good boy or girl.

Whipping up an easy detox meal is a cinch! Use the odds and ends hanging out in the fridge after the holiday and whip up a simple quinoa salad. It acts as the perfect base for veggies, meat or even a fried egg for breakfast.

Unites States of AmericaAnna GassNovember 28, 2015holidays, Thanksgiving, healthy eating, quinoa, leftovers, high protein

How-To Tuesday: Post Thanksgiving Bagel Brunch

I have a severe weakness for bagels. I don’t eat them often but when I do, it needs to be worth the carb/calorie overload they are criminally known for. Making them at home gives you the bakery fresh taste and they are so good, you don’t even need to toast them. I make my own spice blend and I also add some to the dough so even the dough has a nice garlic and onion flavor. If you just like them plain, omit the spices. If you’re a cinnamon raisin fan, add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the dough and a handful of raisins. Yummy!

So, here’s my post Thanksgiving suggestion...get up early and make some homemade bagels. You can feed all those hungry stragglers that ended up staying the night and sleeping in until noon. Pull some leftover turkey from the fridge, mix up some spicy mayo and have the best bagel sandwich in the whole wide world.

Sweet Tooth Friday: Time To Give Thanks (For This Pie!)

For dessert, our family tradition, is to make a number of different pies. Everyone has his or her favorite so I like to make at least one per person. So, you have YOUR pie to grab a few slices from and then you can share with your neighbor.

Each year, my husband always asks for the same pie. Chocolate Pecan Pie. it’s the easiest pie you will ever make. Pie crust, toss in the nuts, toss in the chocolate, toss in the egg mixture and bake for 50 minutes. Easy Peasy!

Cooking with Kids: Pizza Pizza Daddy-O

I haven’t ever met a person under the age of 18 that doesn’t LOVE pizza. Most kids will eat it any day of the week. My kids not only love cheese pizza, but they really enjoy the process of making it with me. Homemade pizza tastes really delicious and my kids always seem to eat much more when they help with the cooking.I love how proud they are of the finished product. Cooking with kids is fun and educational. Roll up your sleeves and give it a try!

ItalyAnna GassNovember 17, 2015cooking with love, cooking with kids, pizza, italian cooking, pizza dough, homemade, family tradition

Sunday Supper: Carnitas

Carnitas is a very delicious Mexican dish. Carnitas simply means “little meat” in Spanish and once you let this big cut of pork cook for two hours that is exactly what you get. Delicious, little nuggets of pork that you can fold into a warm tortilla, add your favorite toppings and spritz with some lime for the perfect balance of fat, salt and tart.

Social Saturday: Anna's Heirloom Bruschetta

I’m a big fan of Tapas because you get to try a whole bunch of items without having to commit to one dish. When I am entertaining, aside from some salted nuts, a great cheese plate and veggies with dip, I always serve bruschetta. Traditionally, tomatoes and garlic are used but if you like, get creative and other toppings like ricotta and honey or brie and apple. With a delicious piece of butter bread as your base, it’s hard to mess things up.

How To Tuesday: Recipe For Success

It is very apparent that I love all things cooking, but I do understand how frustrating the process can be - especially, if you are not properly equipped with the right tools and ingredients. Whenever I meet someone that is petrified of cooking my response is always the same. I believe cooking is a skill, not a gift. Sorry, to all those celebrity chefs out there that think they are sooo special, but I know I’m right. Thomas Keller started out as a dishwasher. Being a chef is like being a carpenter. No one is born knowing how to build a house or repair a roof. People interested in that line of work will either attend a trade school or apprentice with a skilled carpenter until they learn the work. Also, in order to be a successful carpenter, you need to invest in the proper materials and the right tools to get the job done.

Sweet Tooth Friday: Nonna Olga’s Biscotti

This Friday’s recipe is very special and really encompasses why I started Heirloom Kitchen. A few years ago, my friend Gina made me these biscotti for Christmas. Hands down, these are the most delicious biscotti I have ever had. A delicious combination of anise and almond, they are light, crunchy, and simply perfect with a cup of coffee.

What really makes these biscotti so special however, is not merely how they taste, but where they come from. This recipe was created by Gina’s paternal Nonna, Olga Giovannoni and came here with her, all the way from South Africa.

From Nonna's Kitchen: Halmonee Soon’s Bibimbap

A quiet, calm woman, I was taken by Soon Huh's warm presence and spirituality. You can taste it in the precise, delicious food she prepares. Each ingredient, individually cooked. Not deterred by the extra pans and time it takes, Soon wants to ensure each ingredient maintains, not only its color but also its taste. This dedication and respect of each component of her Bibimbap is most definitely why, it was one of the most delicious dishes of food I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

Sunday Supper: Eggplant Parmigiana

Let’s defrost some Sunday Sauce because today, we’re making eggplant armigiana. Eggplant Parm is another labor of love dish. It’s a number of steps, takes some time but is so, so good. This is another dish where Nonna would stand over the stove for hours making it for us; classic and timeless. I should also mention that eggplant parmigiana is one of my favorite things to eat. And, if you know me well, you know I make/eat a lot of different things. So, when I say I LOVE eggplant parmigiana, it means something...

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