I have always had a more 'homestyle' way of cooking. Both my Grandmothers were great cooks. On my Mom's side, Grandma D'Agostino ( Mama D) was from Naples, Italy and from Dad's side our Abuela Rosa was from Galicia, Spain. Mama D and Papa D lived next door. They cooked often and well, and in fact, Mama D was the original chef at now legendary restaurants my Granddad built, included La Cantina and Villa Nova in Central Florida. Abuela Rosa was an artist and teacher and lived with us. So many days growing up Abuela Rosa would prepare Spanish crepes filled with jam in the mornings or a potato and onion tortilla for lunch or a chorizo, chicken and rice dish for dinner (why I love Paella and make it often).
Sundays were always an event. Within 5 miles of Mama D's house were over 20 progeny populated from her 5 children...and all would come for 'dinner'. She would have red sauce on the stove cooking since morning. At 2 pm the courses rolled out. Always an antipasto and an escarole salad, followed by Pasta ( spaghetti or rigatoni or stuffed shells or lasagna), Poultry (usually capon or oven roast chicken), then Meat ( usually lamb, stuffed veal breast, braciole, pork shanks, lamb shanks or maybe oxtail). Many times friends would come over and the house would be full of friends, laughter, stories and a dose of family chaos that only happens when aunts, uncles and over a dozen cousins gather. It was a glorious time. We have honored this tradition over the last 40 years with Sunday dinners with our 4 kids and now their kids and friends. After all these years, there are still well over 60 D'Agostino first, second and third cousins around the Central Florida landscape. A wonderful legacy.
Holidays were a mash up, with two grandmothers commanding awesome Lamb, Poultry and Bacalao recipes ( Mama D learned to prepare Bacalao from the Portuguese immigrants she came over with when she immigrated to Boston and of course Abuela Rosa was from the West Coast of Spain, where cooking bacalao was a constant (Mama D cooked a red style, Abuela Rosa, a white style). They both also cooked pastries, breads and...man I'm tearing up while I'm getting more hungry.
These cooking styles formed how I cook: rustic, regional, fewer ingredients, more flavor...and I tend to follow great chefs that embrace those styles and techniques. That's why my favorite chefs have always been chefs like Jacques Pepin, Julia Child, Paul Prudhomme, Jeremiah Tower and Alice Waters. Among 'newer' chefs, I enjoy and learn from chefs like Ming Tsai, Jonathan Waxman and John Ash. I have had the honor to cook with several of this group over the years...and my cooking has always been the better for it. And yes, the slew of cooking shows on Food Network have a ton of great chefs that can measure up to anyone. The ubiquitous Bobby Flay is in everywhere in a plethora of cooking shows, but he's the real thing and I have great respect for his talent.
We should be proud of where we come from. Embrace your history and use those beginnings to build from it. The farm to table , nose to tail, regional ingredients cooking trend isn't new. It came from our immigrant ancestry and is why those things seem so familiar now. Memory matters. Share things. Learn things. Understand the book is never closed , there is a new experience around every corner. I have had the fortune to be taught early from family, friends and mentors and it allowed me to forge my own style...while giving homage to those who continue to inspire me to do more.
