One look at my mom’s old meat grinder and my eyes instantly well with tears. Never fail. How can that old beast resign me to a puddle of tears with a simple glance? Maybe I can blame it on the nostalgia that tends to follow me into fall. Or maybe I just had too much wine last night. Yet each and every time I pull out that meat grinder, IT happens. Honestly, it can be embarrassing if anyone else is in the house.

Continue reading My Mom’s Passatelli and An Old Meat Grinder at Our Italian Table.

Growing up, my brother and I often helped our mother make a holiday staple – ‘passatelli in brodo’ – a recipe she learned from my father’s Marchigiano family. A few times a year, the big, white passatelli pot would emerge from the cabinet. We were always eager to stand on a chair and help force the dough through the ancient meat grinder she used to form them. I now own that pot and meat grinder.

Continue reading Finding Our Roots in Le Marche: ‘Passatelli Asciutti’ with Sausage and Tomatoes at Our Italian Table.