MY MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Buona serra and Good afternoon!
Merry Christmas everyone! The season is upon us and with just 23 days to get "things" in order, our lives have now taken flight. Like… buy the presents, wrap the presents, get the tree up, rearrange the furniture, get the carpet cleaned, have the dog groomed, run the kids to play practice, keep the cats out of the tree, keep the kids from throwing up on the carpet and take extra vitamin C so you don't get sick. Now I'm sure I left out a ton of things that are only pertinent to your situation, but you do get the drift… Christmas is Coming! Oh, and don't forget the Christmas Cookies!
When I was a kid, I don't recall my mother running around like a crazy person trying to cram in all of the above, but I do remember the Christmas Cookies. She must have started somewhere around October, because every time we saw her, she had her recipes out and a big pile of dough on the kitchen table. She would keep great big tin cans in her closet filled with all the treasures of her homeland. Every recipe was made homemade, including all the famous Italian classics: Sesame Cookies, Italian Fig Cookies, Sicilian Slice Cookies, Anise Cookies, Biscotti, Pignolata (Honey Clusters), and Italian Wedding Cakes, Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Italian Spice Cookies with Lemon Icing and so many more I can't recall.
My father was a butcher and at my mother's request, he would bring home Styrofoam meat trays. Mom would fill these little trays with about 25 cookies, then wrap each one in clear wrap and like magic; these were her Christmas appreciation gifts to all her friends. She continued this tradition with her list expanding each year. People in the community who ever served my mother, like the church officials, doctors and office clerks, cleaners, butchers, hair dressers, neighbors, friends; they all awaited "Miss Ann's" Cookies. Without exaggerating, she probably made 10,000 cookies every year.
When she died in 1982, it was in the month of September. My older sister, brother and their families along with my children knew we lost more than a mom and grandmother, we lost an Italian Matriarch!
Who would make the homemade ravioli, the homemade bread, the pastas we all loved, and above all, the Christmas Cookies? To say that we were lost was an understatement; life could never be the same.
It was December 2nd, just three months after losing my mom that I was in town getting some items for the holidays, when I ran into the butcher at the grocery store. "So sorry to hear about your mom" he said, "we sure will miss her, and especially those wonderful Christmas Cookies." I thanked him for his concern and wished also that she could be here, not only for him, but for all of us.
I was still in the car driving home when I thought…she is here, she is in me and in my sister, and in my brother. Everything she lived and loved was in each of us. I turned the car around and went back to the grocery store. Finding the butcher behind the meat counter, I said: Can you sell me about 100 Styrofoam trays? He looked at me and said, "How about I donate them to you." Somehow he read my mind and I detected a teary-eyed gentleman.
Arriving home, I thought, "How can I possibly do this?" But determination is adrenalin waiting to be released. I quickly went to my mother's home, greeted my depressed Dad, and said" I'm taking mom's recipes home. ""Okay, honey", he said. The next 3 weeks became a bakery in my kitchen. I actually baked cookies every single day turning out batch after batch of Italian cookies. My dad, who lived right next door and spent every evening with me was excited that the tradition would be carried on. With only 5 days before Christmas, the cookies were finally done and the little trays were fixed. I piled them in the car, and brought them to many of the community people. They had tears in their eyes as I said "Your Christmas Cookies, from "Miss Ann's" daughter! I even had enough left so that each family in our church received their personal package. I estimated that I made 5,000 cookies in 15 days.
Not only did I learn to make the Italian Christmas Cookies, but I became the Matriarch for my family, learning to make the ravioli, homemade bread, and pastas. That Christmas, in 1982, was a joyous one, with all of our spirits gladdened. As I continue to tour with my cookbook, *Rosalie Serving Italian*, I have to stop and thank my dear mother for teaching me all that she lived and loved. Look for the Weekly Recipe…Italian Fig Cookies. See you at Borders, Ballwin, MO., this Saturday, December 5, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.
God Bless and Merry Christmas.
Dear Rosalie, I was so touched by your blog message. My late father was Italian and my late English mother was always in the kitchen and kept producing the best food as long as she was able. I followed in her footsteps for the love of cooking. It's been a long search trying to retrieve recipes from my family. It's a great honor to prepare the recipes handed down from relative to relative and telling stories you learn along the way. I admire you for keeping the spirit going in your family. The world would be a sweeter place if there were more daughters like you. Merry Christmas keep the oven hot!
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