Yankee Wood Club, 1941 Cadillac, 1949 Packard
One of the great pluses about owning a B&B is that you meet some wonderful people along the way and with these wonderful people come traditions, memories and of course receipes! This lovely lady stayed with her husband and friends from the New England Yankee Wood Club about a month ago and we enjoyed the boys fabulous cars (1941 Cadillac & 1949 Packard) and now we can enjoy this ladies receipe - note it is great for a picnic - so come to Villa 120 - bring a picnic, wine and then drive to Ocean Drive sit by the ocean and simply enjoy!
Mangia with Micheline
In the mid 1950”s, my mother’s family decided that we needed to have a family reunion. The reunion would encompass the members of Bevelacqua and Iantosco families. My Great Grandmother Antoinetta Iantosco had three children, Uncle Mike, Uncle Leo, and my Grandmother, Michelina. Uncle Mike and Aunt Fanny had 3 children, Uncle Leo and Aunt Frances had 2 children, and my Grandmother and Grandfather had 8 children; who all had children, some of which had children of their own. So you can see this was no small event, it was a major undertaking! All of the aunts and married cousins would meet once a month for coffee and dessert, to organize the reunions. The meetings served a dual purpose; it was social gatherings that keep the family close and of course they were the planning sessions for the event. All the women paid dues that went toward the expense of the affair and they meet at different homes each month. On occasion I accompanied my mother, and remember one October meeting where they dressed in costume and partied while planning. Seeing my mother dressed as a little girl, wearing a yellow yarn pigtail wig and riding a tri-cycle is a sight I will never forget. I called my Aunt Tessie to reminisce and add some details to family planning sessions. She remembered that the meetings were held on a night that she would miss her favorite TV show, which my mother said was Peyton Place. We held the reunions are the Club 400 (where the West Valley Inn is located now). It was a great place, because we would go into the restaurant for a sit down dinner, and then go across the parking lot to the field to play games and later we would have hamburgers and hot dogs. There was only one hall back in the day and the rest of land was large enough to play baseball. Best of all in was private! We would have three-legged races, toss eggs (raw) to each other widening the distance with each toss, and pass the orange from chin to chin. There were games for the kids and for the adults. It was great fun. The reunions continued on a yearly basis until the early 1970’s. This summer, some of my cousins have arranged another reunion, and in this day of social media they have turned to Face Book to spread the word. I’m not sure how this will work as not all the family has a computer or if they do; are they on Face Book? I guess I’m just an old fashion kind of gal, but I prefer the face to face social interactions when planning events. Not to mention that it’s nice to visit with the family. Since there is no rain date and it has been planned to be outdoors, I guess we have to hang the rosary beads on the clothes line over night to ask for fair weather. Does anyone still have a clothes line? I have a great recipe for pickled eggplant to take as a side dish to a picnic. It good because it does not need to be kept refrigerated during the picnic.
Melanzane Sott’Aceto
Pickled Eggplant
1 small eggplant
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1/2 red, yellow, orange pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
Peel eggplant, slice in half, then into thin slices, turn the eggplant and slice into thin match like sticks. Place eggplant in a strainer, salt, and place a plate over it with a weigh on top of it.(can of tomatoes works great). Let stand for about 1 hour. Rinse and pat the eggplant dry. Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate over night and it’s ready to serve, either cold or room temperature.
mangi
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