Grandma and me in Venice
Here's Grandma getting swept away by gladiators at the Colosseum:
Cute, but right after the photo one of the gladiators held out his hand and demanded 10 lire, which was the equivalent of about $6 at the time. (This was pre-euro.)
And Grandma throwing a coin in the Trevvi Fountain in Rome:
Finally, because everybody loves this photo, here's me getting attacked by pigeons in St. Mark's Square in Venice:
Now, obviously I reference my Italy trip because this is a giveaway of vouchers for Italian food. But I also bring up my grandma specifically because Grandma loved eggplant Parmesan.
And when I was at BlogHer, I sampled an eggplant Parmesan at the Michael Angelo's booth that immediately reminded me of Grandma Toni. I'd like to say that it was just like Grandma used to make, but Grandma wasn't really a big cook. So Michael Angelo's eggplant Parmesan could be more accurately described as "just like Grandma used to order at a restaurant."
Which is to say, it was really good. And, as I think we all know, not all frozen entrees are good. Michael Angelo's entrees are good. I went back to their booth and got a second sample the next day.
But what really made me reach out to Michael Angelo's and ask about doing a giveaway was that I felt like I made an authentic connection with the owners at the booth. So many booths were staffed by PR reps, and that's totally fine, because in the case of some huge conglomerates, it wouldn't make sense to have the original owner there, and that's assuming that owner is even still alive. But for Michael Angelo's, a company that prides itself in creating authentic, family-style entrees, it was nice to see the actual family behind the product. Here's a picture of the sweet Sara Agnello, who founded Michael Angelo's with her son:
She showed me old pictures of her family. Like my ancestors, her family came from Sicily.
So ... this week I am giving away a set of 6 vouchers for free Michael Angelo's foods: 2 single-serve entree vouchers, 2 family-size entree vouchers, and 2 natural line entree vouchers. You can go here and get a full list of the possible offerings and where they're sold near you, but just to name a few ...
Meat Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan, Four Cheese Lasagna, Shrimp Scampi, Baked Ziti and Meatballs, Spinach & Vegetable Pocket Calzones, Potato Gnocchi & Cheese Italian-Style Pie
All entrees are free of artificial colors, flavors, fillers, or chemical preservatives. Co-Founder Michael Angelo Renna says, "If you can't find it in Mom's kitchen, we won't use it in our food." Also, there are many vegetarian entree choices.
To win the set of vouchers, please leave a comment answering the following prompt:
Tell me about a special food or recipe that is significant in your family.
The contest is open until Sunday, September 4 at 11:59 p.m. CST. On Monday, September 5, I will ask random.org to select a random number, and the person leaving that comment number will win the set of Micheal Angelo's vouchers. I'll post the winner on Monday and ask that person to email me his/her address through the email link in my sidebar.
Bona Fortuna, everyone!
14 comments:
Our favorite family recipe is roasted tomato spaghetti sauce with basil, zucchini, and mushrooms. Two techniques make this special: roasting tomatoes and drying zucchini.
Tomatoes are roasted with oregano, basil, and olive oil. Seeds and skin removed; tomatoes pureed.
The zucchini is cut into strips and then into sticks. The sticks are laid out in a single layer and dried overnight (I use a dehydrator and dry them for 2 hours). The zucchini does not "sweat out" any liquid into the sauce.
we're so not a cooking family. my grandma wasn't a big cook and neither was my mom.
my grandma did make an amazing chicken n dumplings though and I'm sad to say I never got the chance to learn to do it.
My family's favorite recipe is a chocolate/peanut butter pie that we got from our dear friend Shannon. :)
And actually, we also really like the cinnamon muffins recipe we also got from Shannon.
My kids favorite dinner is eggplant parmesan sandwiches. I used breaded, baked eggplant cutlets that are crispy, melted mozzarella and tomato sauce all sandwiched on garlic bread. Yum! When we buy the frozen eggplant cutlets, it's a really fast dinner for a busy night.
Lisa Fortin
My grandmother used to make perogi. They were really good, but unfortunately the recipe doesn't seem to have been passed down.
My mom's signature recipes include a chicken casserole with stuffing on the top, cheesy potatoes, and meatloaf. I have all three recipes, but I never think they taste as good when I make them.
I don't really have a specialty dish. My signature strategy for cooking is "come up with a way to use as much of the food in your cupboard as you can," thus avoiding the grocery store as much as possible.
Early Sunday mornings my great grandma would get up and make chicken & dumplins. My memory is fuzzy on a lot of things but not this...I swear I'm already getting alzheimers at 30!! She would pull up a old metal step stool and I would watch her make dumplins on the kitchen counter. My favorite part was placing the dumplins in the pot of boiling chicken broth. I was always amazed at how quickly the dumplins would get sucked to the bottom and then quickly rise to the top. Grandma was great because even with the massive flour trail between the counter and stove....I always got to help.
In 2005 she passed away at the age of 92. Grandma was old fashion and never wrote down recipes. Luckly I paid attention and now I am the chicken & dumplins maker for the family. My 5 & 6 year old daughters now stand on the stool and help me. I inherited her wooden rolling pin, large red mixing bowl and pot. Makes me smile everytime we cook them.
Count me in. My favorite recipes are the 3 + 3 ones. They are limited to three ingredients and three steps. Now that does not mean that one of the three steps is "go to Trader Joe's and buy their frozen pot stickers."
My dad's family is from New Orleans and, way back when, Monday was Laundry Day. (Imagine, a whole day dedicated to laundry...) They would make red beans & rice that day, since it didn't require much work, once the beans were in the pot. When my mom married into the family, somehow Saturday became the day for beans. All of our family friends knew you could always stop by on a Saturday, and get some of my mom's beans. I love that tradition. Too bad I still don't know how to make them. Will have to get on that!
p.s. Forgot to put my name with the Red Beans & Rice.
Adele
Um, you had BETTER be picking my number, Random.org. Because I love food.
My favorite memory of food is my grandmother's pasta sauce when she would use rabbit meat. OH MY GOD. She was a master at that.
Also, our lasagna recipe is delicious. I must say that I can make a mean lasagna...
Potato latkes! My mom makes the best latkes from scratch, and it's a ritual to get together every year during Hanukkah to indulge in these deep-fried darlings! They're especially good because she leaves them kind of chunky, not all grated. And, she usually makes a batch of the sweet potato variety as well.
My favorite family recipe is my grandmother's goulash. Nothing is more homey or reminds me of good family times.
This Polish girl had to learn how to make red sauce from scratch because my Italian husband will have none of the jar stuff.
megryansmom@sbcglobal.net
My family is very southern so we love chicken and dumplings but they have to be made by my grandma.
hewella1 at gmail dot com
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