Even Betty Crocker will do

So as all of you know I come from an Italian background, and also, as all of you know, Italians LOVE to eat. Everything we do revolves around food; birthdays, baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings and of course, funerals. When there is a large social gathering of Italians almost 99% of the women bring na piccola cosa (something small). But when they say na piccola cosa (something small) that means, 2 homemade salami’s, freshly fried rice balls, veal cutlets, stuffed eggplants, watermelon and a tray of cookies that they took out of the freezer from their daughter’s wedding from the year before. The funny thing about these gatherings is that since everyone is bringing something, then that means there should be no stress..lol..ya right, my mother was a mess and a stress ball getting ready for these social visits and gatherings. Cook this, bake that, fry that and cut that. But I have to give credit where credit is due, they made everything from scratch! From the heart and from the sole (even the soles of their feet when squishing the grapes for wine..lol). One of my fondest memories is when my mother made her alcohol infested sponge cakes. It was “an all occasion kind of cake”(she made it for everything).lol. I remember like it was yesterday, she would crack 85 eggs, 10 pounds of flour, 8 pounds of sugar and 30 cups of Grand Marnier..lol..no, but seriously you could not eat that cake if you were; dieting, a diabetic, or if you were an alcoholic..lol. But the important thing was not the cake, the important part was the talks we had. It was always the scoop of the week about some cousins, friends, or friends dating cousins. My favourite part was of course, licking the spoon and the bowl afterwards. Mmmm we would lick the crap out of it, me and my sisters would pick our own sides and sections of the bowl . My mother always made sure not to scrape too much of the batter so there was enough. We didn’t worry about the raw eggs we were ingesting because there was so much alcohol that would have killed any bacteria or salmonella poison...lol. Those were some very special bonding times that I will not forget. All the beatings and hits with the slipper off the head, were all forgotten in those moments..lol. These memories came into my head just last night when I was baking (from scratch..lol) with my kids. The older 2 were both on the counter, one stirring, the other measuring and pouring the ingredients in the bowl. Then they asked me, “Mommy can we lick the bowl?” and my immediate response was “No, are you crazy there is raw egg in this and you will get salmonella poison!” but then I stopped and I thought about my special days of getting hammered with my sisters licking the bowl (which wasn’t the fun part, but it helped..lol) and I said, “Yes guys, not too much because it will make you feel sick, just let mommy pour some strong alcohol in there to kill the bacteria..lol”. Even though they didn’t get to lick the bowl to the entirety, they still got to lick it. And with those licks, stirs and pours we shared moments in time that will bring memories to them when they stir batter with their kids...even if it’s just a Betty Crocker!
That’s my peace today!

Italian Garlic Bread
1 large soft baguette
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tbs dried oregano

Slice the loaf in half (long way) but not all the way through leave one half uncut, open like a sandwich, In a bowl mix oil, garlic and oregano. Pour in open bread, once all poured, close bread and spread all the oil seeping through on all the outside of the loaf. Place on pan in oven for about 15 min at 385 degrees.