Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site
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Page This family-friendly site celebrates Italian culture for the enjoyment of children and
adults. Site-Overview
East Haven, Conn, U.S.A.
Jacqueline Miconi of East Haven, Conn., U. S. A.
While reading Jacqueline's book, I found myself thinking of those
wonderful old Women's Guild books from days gone by, that collected
together contributed recipes and stories from their members. The
printed collection, while at times in need of a strong-armed editor, was
full of warmth and heart, just like Jacqueline Miconi's book.
The
book is especially entertaining if you grew up near the author's
hometown of East Haven, Connecticut. Many Italian
immigrants settled there, and their hyphenated descendents carry on the
traditions of close-knit extended families, and feasts of great food. Visit her
Wooster Square
Jackie on her local TV station's style program's
cooking segment.
Visit my page with the stories of hyphenated Italian
Robert Tinnell from West Virginia
Half of East Haven, Connecticut's near 30,000 residents
are of Italian descent. Italian immigrants came to the area around 1900, and many
descendents of Italian immigrants moved there during the later
exodus from the cities to suburbia. As you can see from this map showing where those of Italian
ancestry live today in the U. S., the North-East Coast, including the East
Haven area, has the highest concentration. (The darker the
red, the higher the concentration.)
Jacqueline Miconi has compiled a book of family stories, and
Italian-American recipes, called Celebrate Italian Style.
It's a love-filled invitation for everyone to enjoy the best of
Italian culture, the food, and to get a peek into what it was like
to grow up Italian-American. Here are some excerpts from her book (with some paraphrasing). "Dinner on Sunday began at around 12:30, when the
antipasti would come out. The main meal would be served around
2:00. Then there was a rest period...the best time of the day,
when we would all huddle to get a seat at the table, next to the
table and many times for the kids, under the table. Here we
could enjoy conversation, tell stories of the previous week, and
laugh...always lots of laughs." "Whether it was the delicious food they filled us
with, their humorous antics, or the extreme warmth and acceptance
they provided the family, one thing is for sure, nothing could
replace the love for and the love felt from Italian grandmothers." "A town where everyone knew everyone else (or at
least their business), where neighbors helped neighbors, and where
those who grew up there, rarely left. Generations of families
lived and continue to live in this close-knit town. 'We had a town full of Nonni who made great
pots of sauce, and enough tomato plants in gardens to supply a
small cannery, and plenty of Joeys, Vinnys and Maries."
Wooster Square Farmer's Market "Nothing is more massive (other than the guest list)
at an Italian wedding, than the array of traditional cuisine.
Beginning with an assortment of antipasti...followed up by a
sumptuous multi-course dinner...concluded with the multi-tiered cake
and assorted pastries served with espresso coffee and cappuccino.
There are lots of laughs, dancing, usually some drama, but most
of all, treasured memories." "It was usually the father or grandfather of the
household who knew the age-old secrets of perfect wine-making.
"We need to makea da wine" was all he had to say for family members
and friends to join together for the difficult process of crushing
and pressing grapes, transferring them into barrels, then bringing
the barrels to storage, until it was time for bottling. 'And after that year of aging, when it was finally
bottled, the wine was sure to flow freely and often, as it was an
ever-present guest at family functions."
Near Wooster Square "In New Haven Country, there is a predominance of
Southern Italians. And one of the most celebrated foods of the
Southern regions is Easter Pie. Every year we would go through
the tedious process of cutting pounds of hams into bite-sized chunks
to mix with ricotta and other cheeses and more than a dozen eggs. 'Even now, when visiting relatives on Easter, there
are always a few versions of the pie. Since my grandmother passed
away, I have taken on the tradition of making the pies in my family.
'It is always comical to hear the reactions from
older Italian women when I order my ham from the deli counter.
More than once I've been asked, "Oh, you getta da apizza gaina meats
for you Nonna?" The look of surprise is always the same when I
say I make the pies." "Every so often, something happens to suddenly
transport me back to those warm summer days in my grandmother's
yard. It could be a whiff of some basil or just cutting a
tomato. 'It was full of huge, juicy tomatoes, zucchini,
fennel and herbs. You would walk out her back door and be
greeted with fragrant basil and other aromatic herbs. 'For her, the garden symbolized...a simpler way of
life. It was her pride and passion. It was her way of
showing a piece of her heritage and what her own parents had taught
her." "In New Haven County, Connecticut, there were over
80 clubs serving over 10,000 Italians. Immigrants from each
region would form their own club to celebrate their own unique
traditions and customs. 'Today there are many Italians that refer to their
own regional identity. The membership in one of these
organizations helps to hold onto heritage and to share it
with others. 'Once in America, they slowly drifted away from the
old country, until Italy was no longer a place they could call home.
Home for them was the new land they shared with immigrants from all
over the world, and with fellow Italians who kept, and continue to
keep, their heritage alive."
"For those of us who grew up Italian-American, it
was almost as if we were part of a secret society of sorts, that
outsiders just didn't or couldn't understand.
'We had tons of aunts and uncles. The loyalty
among friends and family in our culture is like few others.
Our lives truly revolved around our family, friends, food, tradition
and the neighborhood."
"La Vigilia Napoletana is a Southern Italian tradition in which
individuals eat only fish on Christmas Eve. 'The
number of dishes runs anywhere from 3 to 13, with the number 7 the
most popular. It can signify the seven sacraments, the seven
utterances Jesus Christ made from the cross, the seven days of
creation, or the seven virtues (faith, hope, charity, temperance,
prudence, fortitude, justice)."
Jacqueline offers lots of Italian-American recipes for everyone to
try, and provides suggestions for Italian themed events. She's
a one-woman ambassador for Italian culture.
Check out her
website for more,
and be sure to try her sample recipes.
Jacqueline Miconi's Italian Celebrations
My thanks to Jacqueline Miconi for her heart-warming book, and an
insight into life in East Haven, Connecticut, U. S. A..
Sunday Dinner
The Italian Grandmother
East Haven (E' Staven)
An Italian Wedding
The September Fields
La Pasqua
A Labor of Love
Let's Go Clubbin'
My Own Little Italy
An Italian Christmas
