Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli
Project Proposal
Stella’s recipe book has been cherished by our family for decades. Whether it’s desserts, entrees, salads, you name it, great grandma Stella’s got it. Luckily for myself, my family has been able to keep the original book in our home 13 hours away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in Athens, Georgia. I like to think that my family has the greatest recipe book known to man, consisting of the simplest yet finest Italian foods. Both sides of my family come from Italian descent, and food culture has always been a part of my life. From my mom’s side to my dad’s side, I have been raised a strong Italian.
Homemade gnocchi’s were the first thing I ever learned how to cook, and I always make sure to brag to my friends of this simple ability. The proof is in the pudding. What may seem like rocket science to an American is like a kindergartner’s building blocks to an Italian. Very few of my friends can properly pronounce gnocchi, yet it is one of the simplest recipes. Very few Italian restaurants can beat the recipes built by Stella and her husband John. You add the flour, the eggs, the salt, and a few other spices, and bada boom bada bing, one thing leads to another and you’ve got the best, fresh pasta one can imagine. Don’t forget the most important part, the gravy, or what most people know simply as pasta sauce. My dad always makes “gravy” for our weekly pasta night, and I’m still in the process of learning the recipe, although I’ve mastered the spaghetti already.
With every visit to my grandpap’s house, I could always expect a full, five course Italian feast paired with a deep conversation into the trials and tribulations of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Through and through, every visit was the same thing over and over, which is what I love about every family gathering.
Italian-Americans have always felt a deep connection back to their roots, and thankfully so. My grandpap, Jack, is a quiet, soft spoken man who has always stuck to his roots and traditions. His father John had two brothers and two sisters, named Pat, Nick, Carmella, and Mary. Joseph and Rosa, his parents, were born and raised near Basilicata, Italy up until their move to America. My grandfather’s Italian heritage has molded him into the man he is today, but to fully understand my grandpap, let me take you back to a quaint home residing in northern Pittsburgh in a small town called Aliquippa.
Great-Grandpap John woke up bright and early each morning in his home in Aliquippa while the kids and wife, Stella, were sound asleep. He worked each and every day in the steel mills and worked his way up the chain to become super-intendant, he was a good ole’ blue collar worker. Starting out around 1930, John worked as an assemblyman, bottom of the blue-collar line, in the J&L Steel Mill. Through hard work and a committed mind and heart, he worked his way up the ladder to become super-intendant for the LTV Steel Mills. Because of his efforts, my grandpap was able to attend Duke University around 1970. After graduating from Duke, Thomas Jefferson University was his next destination, back to the homeland of Pennsylvania for medical school. Although Jefferson was located in Philadelphia, he was only a few meager hours away from Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania has always held a special place in the hearts of each member of my large, Italian, Catholic family. From Pittsburgh to Pennsylvania, I like to say that our family runs the state. My whole world revolves around these two cities.
However, the journey from Italy to Pennsylvania was not an easy one for my family. Great-Grandpap John Gilbert Manfredi’s parents, Rosa and Joseph Manfredi, and brother Nick, travelled to America aboard the S.S. La Provence from Havre, France on February 3rd, 1912. Before making this big decision, they lived in a small town called Potenza en Basilicata, Italy, which is deep in the south of Italy. After the unification of Italy, the government allocated much more of its resources to the industrialization of the North rather than to the South. As a result, there was a heavy tax burden and tariffs on the products in the South. This led to very poor living conditions which pushed many immigrants out of the country, including Joseph and Rosa. Paired with the end of the Civil War in the 1860’s, many jobs were left open in America and posed as an opportunity for many families looking for better standards of living, who could resist?
Flash forward to Christmas Eve, 1980.
My grandpap in the front seat of an old station wagon pulls up to the house, with Stella and John waiting out front with full smiles on their faces as usual. They had been waiting weeks for another chance to see their kids and grandchildren again, as Grandpap had moved down to Atlanta to start his own medical practice.
From fresh ravioli to tortellini to the simple meat platter on the counter, the smells of old Italy diffuse through their cozy home in West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. My great-grandma Stella had been cooking all morning for the Christmas eve feast for friends, family, and any stranger walking along the streets who she saw through the open kitchen windows. You could smell the scents of Italian food all the way to the sidewalk, and I’m sure anyone walking by prayed for an invitation to come inside to eat. The doors to my great-grandparents house were always open.
My dad, only 10 years old, plays outside in the yard with his brothers, sisters, and cousins. Stella and John visit with all their children inside. The backyard is the perfect place for a game of catch, with an old wooden swing hanging from an aged pine tree for the more leisurely activity. Stella watches her grandchildren from an open window in the kitchen with the biggest smile on her face. She knows this is what she has always wanted ever since they left Italy. Just as the food is being laid out on the tables, Stella calls out from the window to let the children know it’s time to eat. The grandchildren come running inside, as this is what they have really been looking forward to the whole trip.
As everyone sat down before their plates in anticipation, John stands up and says the pre-meal blessing as he always does. The long prayer comes to a close, and finally, it’s time to indulge on Stella’s wonderful recipes.
Interview Questions
1. Do you think Roethlisberger will retire?
2. What’s your prediction for the Steelers next season?
3. Do you watch much of the Penguin’s hockey games?
4. How’s the golf game coming?
5. How are the dogs doing?
6. Where did your parents meet?
7. What was great-grandpap’s first job in the steel mill?
8. Where did you go to school before college?
9. Did you play baseball your whole life?
10. How did you get to play with Mike Ditka?
11. How big of a factor was living in Pittsburgh in your life?
12. What brought you back to Pittsburgh after medical school?
13. How often do you go back to visit?
14. What is your favorite recipe of Stella’s?
15. What was the family gathering like at their house in Aliquippa?
16. What kind of food do you think you are the best at making?
17. Who taught you how to cook?
18. Do you like cooking?
19. What is your favorite food outside of Italian?
20. Was my dad a troublemaker?
21. What was Stella like?
22. Where did her recipes originate from?
23. Has the book been passed down generations?
24. What is your favorite Italian restaurant?
25. If you had a choice, would you eat out at your favorite Italian restaurant, or cook one of Stella’s recipes yourself?
