Cooking with Love
with Gianna Conte (Jan)
The autumn leaves remind me of cooler weather.
October Newsletter
The Fall is my favorite time of year, especially when thinking about food memories.
Here is a picture of what my mama used to make her fresh pasta.
October 2020
Just the mention of October reminds me of the weather starting to get cold and chilly. After lots of days with hot weather and no such thing as air conditioning, I looked forward to the cold weather. But along with the cooler weather, came a different menu by my mama.
Every Monday, mom would make Beef soup. She would use large beef bones which I would guess to be a flanken style of cut, except the whole bone did not have as much meat on it. She would boil the bones in water along with celery, one tomato, carrot, onion along with fresh parsley and one potato, that would be chopped later into the soup.
The soup would cook for hours, while my mother would start the fresh egg noodles. In those days there were no pasta machines. Everything was done by hand.
She would mix semolina flour, eggs, water, salt and make a well in the dry ingredients. She would crack the eggs in the center of the well she created and little by little, she would introduce the dry ingredients to the beaten eggs with a fork. Little by little, she would combine all of the flour and create a dough. It was such a pretty yellow color.
After letting the dough rest a little, she would cover it with a clean dish towel. She used a very large cutting board especially made for making fresh pasta (my older sister has it now). She staked a claim to it...darn it.)
Mom would cut a piece of dough and start rolling it out to a large rectangle. This is the part I loved to watch - she would fold this large rectangle into a fan fold. With a large sharp knife, she would cut medium wide ribbons of dough. They magically were all the same size. What a talent in my young eyes.
This is the beef mom would use in her Monday beef soup. We did not realize we were consuming the healthiest broth.
These are exactly like the noodles made fresh by my mama.
Monday Beef Soup
4-6 large beef bones with some meat attached
One gallon of fresh cold water
3-4 stalks of celery, large chopped
1 large carrot, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 whole onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp salt
Black pepper to taste
2-3 dried bay leaves
Bunch of fresh parsley
Directions:
In very large stock pot, add ingredients. Bring to boil. Simmer on medium flame. When scum starts to gather, remove carefully with a small strainer. Get out as much as you can.
The broth was cooked for at least 2 hours. When soup is done after tasting it, remove the bones and peel off any meat and return to the soup pot. This soup is definitely not hardy, but the flavor is wonderful!
The homemade egg noodles are then boiled for about 2-3 minutes, drained and placed in individual pasta bowls. Mom would ladel the soup into the noodles. Pass the grated cheese.
The bones were placed in my mom and dad's plates. Dad would scoop out the bone marrow and eat it. My mom would do the same. We never asked for it, could not imagine how it tasted, nor was I interested in tasting it.
However, not until 5 years ago, we were in a Spanish restaurant and had the roasted bone marrow appetizer. It was spectacular. It tasted like a tender soft piece of the fat of prime rib steak.
Orchiette pasta is another fresh pasta she would make on her board.
I leave you with this wish.....
I wish you a wonderful, healthy Fall. Remember to treasure all the memories of your childhood, whether they were about school, your family, your neighborhood, etc.
You can't turn back the clock, so move forward with a positive attitude and make more memories, starting with YOU.
I leave you now and hope you remember to Cook with Love!
Gianna
Comments
06.10.2020 15:57
Joyce Tama
I make beef soup but I put a fair amount of soup beef in it. I serve pieces of the meat in a salad made with iceberg lettuce and onions with oil and lots of vinegar (to your taste) for second dish. I!
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06.10.2020 17:01
Jan Conte
That sounds so good. The meat must be very tasty. My mother made the broth specifically for the noodles to combine the richness and flavors. You sound like a great cook. If course, you're from the BX
05.10.2020 02:43
Elena
Jan, You're writing technique is incredible, I felt as if I were there with you, watching your Mom cutting the pretty yellow ribbons of dough xxoxx
05.10.2020 16:18
Jan Conte
Thank you for commenting . It means a lot to me. At this age I'm feeling very nostalgic. XXXXOOO
04.10.2020 05:11
VANESSA CONTE
This sounds delicious! I'm going to make mine on Monday.
Love,
Vanessa
05.10.2020 16:20
Jan Conte
Wow, my little girl is so adventurous. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the comment.
