Enoteca Maria

Category: Our Grandmas

The Women of the World

  • Rosaria from Chieti, Abruzzo

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    Rosaria Montaldo, a proud grandmother of two, has been cooking at Enoteca Maria since June of 2008. She was born in the region of Abruzzo in a small town in the province of Chieti. The region is known for its agriculture and producing wine, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, olives, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Traditional products are saffron and liquorice.

    Rosaria remembers her grandmother’s cooking well, since she grew up living in the same house. Lamb is a popular dish in the Abruzzo region and Rosaria enjoys preparing Costolette d’Agnello all Griglia—grilled lamb chops. Her favorite pasta dish is Maccheroni alla Chitarra—macaroni pasta made on a guitar-like instrument—another staple of Abruzzese cooking.

     

  • Christina from Bergamo, Lombardia

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    Christina Carrozza was born in San Giuseppe Iato, just south of Palermo which lies on the northern coast of Sicily. Like many villages and towns in the region, its inhabitants rely on the production of corn, olives and grapes for their livelihood.

    While she was still a young girl of three years, Christina’s family moved to Bergamo, an historical and oft-visited city north of Milan in the province of Lombardia where she learned how to cook from her grandmother, mother, and aunt.

    One of her favorite recipes is Farfalle all Pescatore—bowtie pasta with mussels, calamari, and shrimp–a dish she not only enjoys preparing but also eating with her family. Christina is very grateful and proud of her Italian heritage. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her family.

  • Maria, Campania

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    Maria was born in the small hill town of Torella dei Lombardi outside Naples in the Campania region of Italy. When she was fourteen, her family bought a local cafe, and Maria became instrumental in helping her mother Teresa run the family business. There, she learned how to make the perfect espresso, cappuccino, and homemade spumoni. The cafe was a place for the townspeople of Torella to come together and swap stories over a good cup of coffee (or grappa).

    Maria came to America in 1961 to start her new life in Brooklyn, New York, and she brought her love of good food and warm hospitality with her. Known to throw together delicious multi­-course dinners for the family within a couple of hours, Maria is passionate about cooking, especially for her 6 grandchildren. Her specialties include zucchini parmigiana; stuffed artichoke pie; crocchette di patate; and spaghetti in fresh raw tomatoes with capers, olives, parsley, and garlic.

    This Nonna is happiest when people are gathered around the table eating her delicious food­­ — and even happier when they ask for seconds.

     

  • Luisa from Piacenza

    Luisa Pagliughi Mosconi from Piacenza

    I was born and raised in a small town in the province of Piacenza, the westernmost city of  Emilia Romagna, half an hour south of Milan.

    Our town is located in a corner in the Appennino Emiliano, not too far from the Ligurian, Tuscany, Piedmont and Lombardy borders

    I grew up in a large, extended family of 14, including a grandmother who was the boss and let everyone know it, a great aunt, mother, father, brothers, sister, an uncle, aunt, and cousins.  On the farm we raised just about everything, all kinds of animals, and vegetables.  We all did chores outside and inside the house. My grandmother and the older women all shared the task of teaching the young ones how to cook using ingredients grown on the farm.

    I came to New York in the late sixties to join my sister who was already living here and my passion for cooking continued, learning all different cultures and food.At the Enoteca I cook the peasant food I grew up with and I am always a bit surprised when people of all cultures and food background enjoy it.

  • Rosa from Schio, Vicenza

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    Rosa Lievore Turano was born in Schio, a provence of Vicenza located in the northern region of Veneto. She and her family moved to the United States on July 3, 1956, where they joined her father in Weehawken, NJ. Among her earliest food memories are her nonna preparing gnocchi and tortellini from scratch.

    Rosa comes from a long tradition of food and recipes being shared and passed along from generation to generation. Though she remembers her nonna’s cooking, Rosa says that she actually learned to cook from her mother. As a child, Rosa would help her mom prepare pasta con Sugo di Pomodori e Tonno on Friday evenings. She also learned to make Fegato all Veneziana (calf’s liver) and her older sister showed her how to cook Osso Bucco.

    Today, Rosa is grandmother to seven grandchildren. She shares her love of cooking with her two oldest, Briana and Nicholas. Rosa loves being able to share her family’s recipes with the hungry customers at Enoteca Maria.

  • Hulya of Turkey

    FB_IMG_1444395236488Akçakoca dan, Staten Island NYC” ye nereden nereye’ benim buralara gelebilecegim geçen yıl aklımın ucundan geçmezdi.Öyle bir ÅŸey olduki, torunumuz ANDREW TEOMAN burada Newyork ta dünyaya geldi. Ve biz onu görmeye geldik. Åžu an onbes aylik. Bizi buralara getiren torunum ve yakışiklı oÄŸlumdur. Bana gelince 40 yıldir esim sevgilim DoÄŸan ile evliyiz.Her akÅŸam soframızı hazırlar beraber yemek yeriz.Özel günlerde arkadaÅŸlarım yaptığım yemekleri beÄŸenirler umarım sizlerde beÄŸennirsiniz.

  • Zena of Kamishly, Syria

    255 Zena Vartan was born in Kamishly Syria in 1950.  She is married to Garabette Mossis and has three children with him; Natik, Apig and Nayiri.  She has 4 grandchildren.  She lived in Syria all her life, but has been living in America for the past two years.  The civil war in Syria caused her to leave her home-town and escape with her life.  She left everything behind.  She  escaped with her husband and has been living with her son Apig and her daughter-in-law, Irini, in their home, in Staten Island, NY.