Palm Sunday Dinner

Today we had some family over for Palm Sunday dinner.  When I was younger, Palm Sunday was always a holiday in my family.  We always went somewhere, ate a meal filled with traditional foods and of course, brought palm.  Palm Sunday is quite different now, although today was very nice.  I always loved holidays because it was a time to be with family.  It was a time to reminisce about the good times while making new memories.  These days it seems everyone is too busy to be a part of a family.  I think it's one of the things that are damaging society.  My mom was running around getting things together and she went all-out by using her nice dishes table cloth.  My dad and brother were making fun of her a bit but then it occurred to me, people are not going to be like that anymore.  I love to cook.  But in today's world, that's a rare trait.  Who's going to continue these traditions if we don't make a fuss?  Do people still register for China?  Do they still have a hutch and fancy things that they break out for company?  Or has everything become so casual.  People don't even dress up anymore when they go out to dinner.  It's become such a common thing, to go out to eat, that people wear sweats and pajamas out in public.  I think it's a shame.  I love my family.  I love hearing about all of the stories from when my mother was younger and she lived on Putnam Street with all over her cousins.  Fast forward 30 years- what are the stories going to be?  It kills me that I don't have those kind of stories.  I mean I have some, but it seems as though many of those chapters ended early.  I don't like the distance that's between me and my relatives.  When I get a home of my own, I plan on having dinner parties and cookouts often.  My favorite memories are the ones that involve my family and food.  I want to be the one to continue that tradition.

I apologize for ranting.  I just got on a topic and had to get it all out.  So for dinner, we had manicotti, a pork roast (on the bone), pastade (pronounced pahstaid), peas, asparagus, corn, and bread.  Delicious.  We got the manicotti from Durante's in West Haven.  It's a great little place.  It's very small inside.  I like that when you walk in the door you can see the people making the pasta in the back room.  The pasta is delicious.  So light, so flavorful.  I want to try the spinach manicotti next.  The pork was very simple.  Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onions.  It was very moist and flavorful.  The dinner was very good.

Now let me explain the pastaid (I don't know how to spell this).  It's spaghetti, eggs, parmesan cheese, and pepper.  You boil the spaghetti and mix up all of the other ingredients.  After the spaghetti is cooked, you add it to the egg mixture, then put into a pie plate and bake in the oven at 350.  I'm not sure how long, but the top gets nice and crunchy.  For dessert, my mom made some little fruit tarts with lemon curd in phyllo dough.  My uncle brought over an Italian cream pie from Julia's and my cousin brought over a sweet bread from Apicella's bakery.  I'm not a fan of desserts, so I had one tart and the sweet bread.  (not brains but an actual sweet tasting bread)  The bread was delicious.  Everyone else raved about the cream pie.  My Auntie Carm used to make a cream pie that everyone loved.  I want to make it soon.  After Easter, but soon.  I want to be able to pass on all of her traditions.  It's funny.  Most of her pie recipes came from her mother-in-law.  She passed down her in-laws' recipes and I am now the one who continue their traditions.  I'm sure they never envisioned a Sorensen passing on a Cavallaro's recipe.  But here we are.  If I make the cream pie, I'll be sure to write about it.

That's the other thing; I don't like sweets but I want to make this pie.  I never was really crazy for pizzagaina but I loved making it with my mom and aunt.  I loved it even more when my younger cousins would come and help with cutting the meat.  It starts with cutting the basket cheese, then you move to cutting the ham, then you can cut the sausage, and no one else really ever made it to the important part (the crust) except for me.  I make it now every year, not because I love the way it tastes, but because it keeps those memories alive. 

Palm Sunday was great this year.  My mom, my dad, my brother, DJ, Judy, my uncle and my aunt.  We had a great time.  The stories came flooding out.  We were all laughing.  I'm so happy that my mom decided to have a few people over for dinner.  It's not the same large crowd like when I was younger but it's a start.  Another memory made.  Until my next bite.....