Nonna Quotes

“There are still a lotta nice Sicilian boys in New Orleans. (A nonna's advice to a zitella.)”
― Traci Andrighetti, Limoncello Yellow

“a Sicilian grandma is a formidable opponent”
― Traci Andrighetti, Limoncello Yellow

“Despite the raised voices and the wild gesticulations, nobody here is wrong. The beauty of ragù is that it's an idea as much as it is a recipe, a slow-simmered distillation of what means and circumstances have gifted you: If Zia Peppe's ragù is made with nothing but pork scraps, that's because her neighbor raises pigs. When Maria cooks her vegetables in a mix of oil and butter, it's because her family comes from a long line of dairy farmers. When Nonna Anna slips a few laurel leaves into the pot, she plucks them from the tree outside her back door. There is no need for a decree from the Chamber of Commerce to tell these women what qualifies as the authentic ragù; what's authentic is whatever is simmering under the lid.
Eventually the women agree to disagree and the rolling boil of the debate calms to a gentle simmer. Alessandro opens a few bottles of pignoletto he's brought to make the peace. We drink and take photos and make small talk about tangential ragù issues such as the proper age of Parmesan and the troubled state of the prosciutto industry in the region.
On my way out, Anna no. 1 grabs me by the arm. She pulls me close and looks up into my eyes with an earnestness that drowns out the rest of the chatter in the room. "Forget about these arguments. Forget about the small details. Just remember that the most important ingredient for making ragù, the one thing you can never forget, is love."
Lisetta overhears from across the room and quickly adds, "And pancetta!”
― Matt Goulding, Pasta, Pane, Vino: Deep Travels Through Italy's Food Culture

“Le cornici senza vetro dove ho iniziato ad appendere la mia collezione orologi vecchi; i primi due erano del nonno, a corda, col quadrante ingiallito e i numeri sottili; gli altri ho iniziato a comperarli dopo, per non lasciarli soli, spinto dalla convinzione che tutti gli oggetti meritano la chance di seconda vita, anche di una terza e, se si riesce, di una quarta, e sarebbe bello se la stessa chance venisse concessa anche a noi, perché una sola non basta mai.”
― Giovanni Ragonesi, La primavera da lontano

“There is magic in this kitchen, Juliana, whether you know it or not, and the magic never lies. It is always right, and it is trying to tell you something now. We just have to hear what it is saying. It will lead us to the answer."
"Listen to what?" I'm confused. Italian nonnas are a naturally superstitious bunch, armed with a staunch Catholic faith supplemented by old wives' tales and folk remedies. Is that what Nonna is talking about when she speaks about kitchen magic? Some folktale from the past?
"The kitchen magic," Nonna says mysteriously. "It will show us how to make these recipes you need.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake