The emotional side of food

I have always been amazed at how our senses can overwhelm our emotions. I  have been blessed with the senses of smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing and have found that there are multiple triggers that bring me back to childhood and often resulting in time spent reliving specific memories. A perfect example is the smell of diesel exhaust from a big rig brings me back to days spent on the road with my father but this is a blog about food so who wants to think about truck exhaust. With that said let me give you a better example about a more appealing form of sensory recall which I experienced tonight.

Earlier in the day Rebecca and I spent time at the grocery store picking up a few items. Every time I go into a grocery store I always take a moment to check out the mark down produce rack and it seems like I always find something worth getting and often times makes its way into our dinner plans. 

Today as I was browsing through the multiple racks I found two bags of artichokes. Most people don't get excited about artichokes but for me they were a childhood staple and I often dream of the day that Rebecca and I finally make the trip to Chiusure, Italy for the Artichoke Festival! When we were dating artichokes were one of the foods that I introduced Rebecca to and have since passed the love of onto our children who refer to them as "natural beauties." I was amazed when I looked at the price and realized I was getting five beautiful buds for less than $1.50! I knew immediately what I was going to do with them but I had no idea how many emotions would come along with the meal.

Growing up my Grandmother Angelina Aquilino would make me the most amazing lunches each week when I would go over to mow the lawn and one of my favorite treats was her stuffed artichokes. I can remember watching her prepare them and while I always loved them fresh out of the oven there were occasions when she made them the day before and I always thought the flavors were even better after chilling in the refrigerator overnight.

When we got home I took the half loaf of bread I was saving and used it to make homemade bread crumbs which I seasoned with olive oil, diced garlic and shallots (which I lightly sauteed) as well as some dried oregano and thyme which was from our summer herb garden. As I began prepping the artichokes I couldn't help but think of my grandmother and the many summer afternoons we spent together sitting at the little table eating lunch together. I carefully stuffed each bud pulling back the trimmed leaves making sure there would be a little stuffing in each and every bite. I placed them in my favorite pan and added some boiling water and a sliced lemon which was one of the ingredients my grandmother always seemed to have in her kitchen whether it was for cooking or taking the rind and squeezing it onto her wrist as a natural fresh citrus perfume.

I covered the pan and moved it to the oven and it didn't take long for the amazing aromas to start filling our house which awoke the families senses resulting in each of them making their way into the kitchen to inquire about what smelled so good and how long would it be till we could eat it! 

While patience is required when making stuffed artichokes it seemed like only a brief moment before my nose told me it was time to uncover the pan to allow the stuffing to get a nice toasty coating as the finishing touch of the cooking process.

I made each of us a plate and as soon as I took that first bite I was transported back to my childhood. It was in this moment that remarked to Rebecca how much I missed my Grandmother. It didn't take long before my sense of taste resulted in an emotional response. I found my eyes welling up with tears and I had to excuse myself from the table to compose myself.

Who would have ever imagined something as simple as an artichoke could invoke so many emotions. I was blessed to have an Italian Grandmother and Mother who took the time to teach me how to cook, they didn't just teach me how to cook for myself they instilled a love of cooking in my heart which I am grateful for each and every time I find myself preparing a meal. I was blessed to have had the chance to bond with my Grandmother as a child and while their time with her was short in comparison to mine I am thankful that my wife and both my kids had a chance to get to know her. Although they never had the chance to have her cook for them like she did for me; I take great comfort in the ability to give them a glimpse of my childhood by doing my best recreating some of the meals she prepared for me. 

Day Dreaming Inspires Dinner

Growing up I was blessed to eat homemade food every day and it wasn't just at home. It seemed like everyone I grew up with had parents that no matter how busy life was they took time to make homemade meals each and every day. While I enjoyed going to friends houses for dinner most of the time there was one home that was extra special - especially when it came time to eat!

I can still remember Carl's first day of school after moving to CT from Texas. That day I not only made a new friend I inherited a new family and love of homemade Mexican and Tex Mex food. Carl's parents embraced me as one of their own and while this blog is about food I was nourished both mentally and physically during my teenage years at their house. To this day I still keep in contact with my surrogate family despite all of us being in different states. Tonight while wandering around in the produce section of the store I found myself recalling the times spent in Mom Howard's kitchen talking about life while she prepared homemade pico de gallo with a roast slow cooking on the stove in preparation of being shredded by hand for taco meat. The food was always the perfect accompaniment to the conversation that seemed to flow around the family dinner table. These thoughts were disrupted by some stranger bumping me back into reality with their shopping cart but I knew that I wanted to make something that would bring my taste buds back to my youth.

I started by making my homemade pico - fresh diced tomatoes, jalapenos, poblanos, cilantro, garlic, sweet onion, fresh lime juice with a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper.

 

Next I mashed up some avocados, added a little of the pico and a squeeze of fresh lemon to make this beautiful bowl of guacamole.

 

It was too late to try and slow cook a deserving piece of meat so I used ground turkey and seasoned it up the best I could.

 

I decided with the additional ingredients we had that I would make some nachos that could qualify as a meal!

 

I started with a layer of tortilla strips and from there I carefully heaped on the remaining ingredients to end up with this!

 

 

After a short visit to the oven I was ready for my taste buds to travel back in time to my youth!

 

 

While this couldn't even compare to the food Mom Howard prepared for me on so many occasions I think she would have been proud of my attempt and after texting her a picture of my creations she concurred making my night that much better!

 

Thank you Mom Howard for introducing me to your homemade cooking, for the great conversations and guidance over the years and for always accepting me as your other son!

Involtini , Braciola or Roulade - no matter what you call them they are delicious!

Around the holidays I was roaming the meat department at one of our local grocery stores when I caught site of the butcher putting out the most beautiful looking thin slices of beef. I immediately began loading up the carriage with an assortment of ingredients while my lovely wife looked on with a look of wonderment as to what I was planning. 

I grabbed 2 packages of the beef, some bacon, a bag of baby greens (spinach, bok choy, red and green chard) tomatoes, green onions and poblano chili peppers. At home I knew I had an assortment of shredded cheese, artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella and homemade pesto sauce, ya dinner was going to be remarkable tonight! 

Once I was home I began prepping all the delicious ingredents that would become my fillings and before long everyone was sitting at the breakfast bar watching me transform simple ingredients into a mouth watering dinner.

This one was what I like to consider an Italian style BLT. I had the baby greens which had been sauteed in olive oil with garlic and a pinch of salt, diced tomatoes, crispy bacon pieces and green onions.

This next one was Alex's take on Tex-Mex. It had diced tomatoes, green onions, poblano pepper strips and shredded Montery Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheese blend.

The favorite which was inspired by Rebecca and Ariel. I spread a nice layer of my homemade pesto sauce and topped it with sliced artichoke hearts, diced fresh mozzarella cheese and a few green onions.

Once I had the stuffing in place I carefully rolled and bundled each yummy package and with the help of some butchers twine they were ready for the pan!

  Are you hungry yet?

I drizzled the pan with olive oil and sprinkled in some freshly chopped garlic. Once it was nice and hot I added in the meat to lightly sear on each side. 

Once they were seared I put the pan in a 425*F oven for 5 minutes to complete the cooking process. Normally when making these I would have a batch of sauce on the stove and would toss the meat into the sauce to finish cooking. The important thing to remember is to keep it simple, fun and most importantly delicious!