Dotti is a 92 year-old woman who loves to cook sweet treats. For the past 2 years she has been coming into my workplace every Saturday, making me try some of her inventions or her traditional recipes, which have been passed on for generations.
Some of these recipes shared have been within her family for 70 years. She told me that she hasn’t shared her recipes with anyone before, so I’m privileged not just to eat them, but to find out how she does it. Dotti doesn’t go by exact measurements or steps; it comes naturally to her, something that I aspire to at her age. Going strong for a 92 year-old, she loves having friends over, insists on making me a cake every time I go over (even though she is cooking something else for me), and has two chickens which she hasn’t named.
Banana Bread
You will need:Banana2
Butter
2 cups of flour
Sugar
Teaspoon of baking soda
Teaspoon of salt
Teaspoon of ginger
Teaspoon of cinnamon
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
Plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
2. Grease a pan with butter. “Make sure you put the butter everywhere”
3. Take some butter and put it in a pot over the stove, but only for a little while. “It should start to foam to a nice brown colour. Take it off the stove immediately-don’t let it burn”
4. Mix the flour, half a cup of sugar, a tiny bit of baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
5. In a different bowl, beat the eggs, and then add the banana. Make sure the banana is mashed before putting it in the bowl with the eggs.
6. Add the yoghurt, the melted butter, and vanilla extract. Make sure you mix this.
7. Pour both the mixtures into the same bowl. “Mix them around but don’t over mix or it will lose its flavour of the ginger, etc.”
8. Pour them into your pan. The batter will look like this:
Banana1
“Don’t worry if it looks lumpy; this should go down when cooked. If it looks lumpy it just means there’s a lot of banana or lots of flavour in that spot”
9. Put it in the oven for about 1 hour.
“The bread should look raised and golden. If it’s a little burnt on the edges that’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“I use to cook this all the time for my kids, as well as the smell; it fills the whole house”
Dotti is a 92 year-old woman who loves to cook sweet treats. For the past 2 years she has been coming into my workplace every Saturday, making me try some of her inventions or her traditional recipes, which have been passed on for generations.
Some of these recipes shared have been within her family for 70 years. She told me that she hasn’t shared her recipes with anyone before, so I’m privileged not just to eat them, but to find out how she does it. Dotti doesn’t go by exact measurements or steps; it comes naturally to her, something that I aspire to at her age. Going strong for a 92 year-old, she loves having friends over, insists on making me a cake every time I go over (even though she is cooking something else for me), and has two chickens which she hasn’t named.
‘Berry Delight’ or Berry Cobbler
You will need:Berry cobler
3 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3 tablespoons of white sugar
Orange juice
Nearly a cup full of flour
Teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Butter
Half a cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
Dotti says “If you’ve got a new oven, it might not be the right temperature, so get a thermometer. That’s why I refused to get a new oven-because they don’t make them like how they used to. My oven has lasted me since 1976”
2. Get a baking dish, and mix the blueberries, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and maybe half a glass of orange juice.
“I don’t use measurements. It’s all just by feel”
3. In a small bowl, mix nearly a full cup of flour, a tiny bit of baking powder, and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, use a beater to whip the butter, add 1/2 cup sugar to make it light and fluffy.
“It should look like yellow clouds”
5. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
“There’s nothing better than fresh eggs. I got chickens for my birthday two years ago. They’re stupid hens but they have good eggs.
Me: How are they stupid, Dotti?
“Well they don’t always lay eggs because sometimes they’re being temperamental-or they like hiding them on me.”
6. Add the flour mixture, stirring until ingredients are combined. This should form like a batter.
7. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over blueberry mixture
8. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.
“I like to make this in winter because it’s nice and warm. The berry filling gets very hot so make sure you cool it down for about 10 minutes before eating”
Dotti is a 92 year-old woman who loves to cook sweet treats. For the past two years she has been coming into my workplace every Saturday, making me try some of her inventions or her traditional recipes, which have been passed on for generations. Some of these recipes shared have been within her family for 70 years.
CookiesShe told me that she hasn’t shared her recipes with anyone before, so I’m privileged not just to eat them, but to find out how she does it. Dotti doesn’t go by exact measurements or steps; it comes naturally to her, something that I aspire to at her age. Going strong for a 92 year-old, she loves having friends over, insists on making me a cake every time I go over (even though she is cooking something else for me), and has two chickens which she hasn’t named.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
You will need:
Whole-wheat flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder Teaspoon of baking soda Salt Butter Brown Sugar Sugar 2 Eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 100g of chocolate
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
2. Use baking paper to put on your trays. “This is an important step. If you don’t do this, your cookies will stick to the tray; it’s not fun to clean at all.”
3. Add three cups of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and a tiny bit of salt into a mixing bowl.
4. Put the butter sugar into your beater and mix it.
5. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract into the beater. “I’m using the hens’ eggs today, so this recipe should taste very organic”
6. Add the flour mixture into the beater, then the chocolate, broken into bits. “If you want it to be extra chocolatey, add an extra bit of chocolate. I like to do this sometimes.”
7. Separate your cookies and place them into your baking trays. “I find it easier to use your hands to roll the cookie dough into balls on the trays”
8. Now, put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. “I can usually tell when they are ready from the scent. But just keep an eye on them, because nobody wants a burnt cookie” “Let them cool down for a bit, as the chocolate bits can get quite hot when they are melted. Enjoy them as a snack, like I do, or they are a good gift. I make them for people’s birthdays; homemade things are more appreciated these days, I find”
Our founder Bev Wilkinson visited the nonnas from Enoteca Maria in Straten Island New York. Enoteca Maria hires Grandmas from around the world as chefs.
She discovered a wealth of advice and traditional cooking tips. Bellissimo!
Joe Scaravella, Proprietor of Enoteca Maria Staten Island New York
Can you tell me a little bit about the restaurant you founded?
So this restaurant, we have two kitchens. An Italian grandmother always staffs one kitchen. The other kitchen changes daily. We feature grandmothers from all over the world. And I always ask them to cook the food that their mums made for them and their grandmothers made for them when they were little girls.
And to not to worry about if Americans are going to like it. I don’t want them changing their tastes to suit the American palette. I want the real deal and that’s what we do.
Can you tell me about some of your favourite Nonna’s that you have worked with?
When we first opened a little over ten years now. We featured grandmas from different regions of Italy. About seven years ago, we realized it’s not all about Italians so we started featuring Grandmothers from all over the world. They are fantastic every one of them, I don’t really have a favourite. They all cook in a beautiful way.
Tell me about some of your favourite experiences about working here?
One of my most recent favourite experiences is watching when a new Nonna comes in. We recently met with a Nonna from Hyderabad India and she came into the kitchen to watch another Nona get ready for dinner. She is going to cook in a couple of weeks so she wanted to see what it is all about. So the Nonna that she was paired up with was from Siberia. It just tickled me to see two different ends of the world in the kitchen at the same time talking about food and life experience. I really like that.
Where do the Nonna’s come from are they all locals that live in the Metropolitan area?
They live somewhere in the five boroughs, they immigrate to this country.
We had a project that we developed about seven years ago its on our website its call Nonna’s of the World it’s a virtual book so we are updating it and it’s a prototype right now for something that we want to bring online and it has the Grandmothers stories of immigration to the States. We have a Nonna from Syria and in her story she talks about how two years ago, she escaped with her husband and whatever they could carry they escaped with their lives from Syria. Somewhere near Aleppo. It’s a very interesting project and I am very proud to be apart of it.
How did you come up with the idea?
Originally we feature Italian grandmothers because I’m Italian. I was missing those moments with my Nonna in the kitchen and I was just trying to recreate that. Then it took on a life of its own.
What advice has your nonna given you that you use in everyday life now?
What I notice a lot now, is the international grandmothers when they come here to prepare their meals. They become very flexible if there is something that they want to make and we don’t have everything they need for that. They are very flexible, they will make something else and I think that’s key in life to be flexible.
How many Nonna’s do you have cooking?
Over 30 grandmothers right now that cook here. I just got an email today from a nonna from Brazil who wants to cook here. Every day is very exciting. I need that. Otherwise I get bored.
Does it take a lot of preparation to organise the kitchen for nonnas from different countries?
Just straight out gastronomy is very difficult to make happen. So my wife always teases me, she says you have taken something that is very difficult and you have made it impossible. It is very challenging changing that kitchen every day, representing all the countries in the world.
What is the most prominent country that you have representing?
There is cuisine that is more mainstream; so Italian cooking is more mainstream. Japanese cooking is mainstream. French cuisine is mainstream. But when you have a nonna from Syria cooking or a nonna from Algeria in the kitchen. It’s not so mainstream. Its taken a little while for this project to really get legs under it because its something that never has been done before. Our customers in the beginning they leaned more towards our Italian kitchen. But now I notice that people are becoming more experimental. They want to try this and they want to try that. They order from both kitchens and they are very excited about that. I’ve watched it change.
Can any nonna become a chef? Is there any special training to become a chef?
No there is no special training, they are all non-professionals who come into a professional environment and basically we watch and see what happens. Its very well received. It takes every bit of my will to make things happen every day and that’s good.
Anything else you would like to add?
We would love to have a nonna from Australia so if there are any Aussie nonna’s in the metropolitan area we would love to have you come in.
Adelina V from Napels Italy
What you like to cook?
Anything Italian food. I like everything.
What is your special, what do you like to cook the most?
Everything I make is special
What traditional recipes do you do?
My original Neapolitan, lasagna, broccoli sausage, Cannelloni, ravioli, gnocchi, melanzane parmigiana and tomato sauce. Forget about it only fresh tomato. All original.
Why do you like to work here?
Me I like to cook. I cook for everyone when their babies. So when I found this job. I like it. I’m very comfortable.
Anything else you like to add?
I make a lot of food I want to make. A lot of recipes.
Christina Carrozza Italian Nonna
Can you tell me where about in Italy are you from?
I was born in Southern Italy however I grew up in Northern Italy. I lived there for 17 years. The city name is called Bergamot, which is near Milan. In the more northern part we cook more the meats, we use different herbs in the south of Italy. Its beautiful near the Alps.
Can you tell me how you became a chef at Enoteca Maria?
My mum was retiring and was looking for something to do. You do not want to stay home all day and do absolutely nothing. She was reading a local newsletter and she saw this article and said there looking for more nonnas. So I called for my mum and I spoke to Jo and when I found out where the restaurant was located it was too far for my mum to travel. So as I am hanging up the phone he says what about you? I said I’m not looking for work. I already have work. He says oh no come see us. I told my ma she said go and see what it is. And I came, saw Jo and I fell in love with the whole idea. Yes you cook for your family. But its different cooking for others, they tell you that its good. They don’t have to tell you that it’s good. Your family must or else you will never cook for them again. And that’s how it all started. It was meant to be. Because I was not looking, mum was looking.
Tell me what is the best thing you like about working here?
Being creative. To create your own dishes when you were growing up. Dishes your grandmother made for you, to bring some of the things back. People don’t like to cook anymore because its time consuming. I just love the idea of making other people happy. Its a lot different than cooking at home, it’s a stranger. You know. Eventually some of the customers keep coming back. It’s being able to provide dishes that you have grown up with and they have grown up with. It’s being able to have the time to share with them your talents. To make them smile.
Tell me some of the favourite dishes you like to make?
I love to cook. Cooking is like a drug for me. Its passion it’s not a job. However everyone has their favorites. I do enjoy cooking Farfalle all Pescatore-bowtie pasta with mussels, calamari, risotto and shrimp-a dish.
Then sometimes depending on the weather. It depends how I feel that day. The weather. The time of year, what vegetables. Whats fresh. I try to create things like that.
Tell me what advice would you give to the younger generations?
Try anything; don’t be afraid there is nothing scary about cooking. If you fail you try again. You could actually grow with it. All of us have different palettes, its not about yours is better than mine. Its what you like, your flavour. Maybe you like more salt. More mustard. More butter, As long as it is cooked properly. All those things everything else its easy. There is nothing scary about it.
Once you create your basics you can create anything you want.
You can create the world.
With one ingredient you can cook in different ways. It’s your own preference.