Mary Palmieri Gai, Broker

Yep, I am Italian. Both parents were born and raised there and both Grandfathers came to Westport to make money and then go back and raise their families and buy land in Italy. Had they been buying land in Westport, back in the 1890-1920s then I'd be corresponding from a private yacht in the Carribbean, if at all.

Being Italian has a lot of flavors and colors, mostly flavors. My mother and  her sisters were the town's best cooks. In fact, rumor has it that when Martha Stewart made that comment about not being asked over for dinner in Westport, she was talking about them. 

 If you were smart, you'd never miss anything the aunts sent over that they cooked. Below is my mom on the left for her 91st birthday and my Aunt Mary who just turned 100 in November of 2008 and my Aunt Jenny who recently passed away at age 95. Their mother, who was born in the late 1870s lived until she was in her 90s too.

Everyone knows Italians don't really have recipes so instead I will tell you a few secrets my mother taught me.

If you're making pasta sauce, which they call gravy, use lots of meat. Use Brasciole which is thinly sliced beef rolled up with chopped up garlic, bread crumbs and parsley which is tied with a string and browned before putting it in sauce. My mom also used sausage and chicken. She canned her own tomatoes but store quality is great now.

My mom wasn't afraid of high heat. If was looking for a smoky taste she would first almost burn her tomato paste to make a base for her pasta e fagioli which we called pasta fazool or pasta and beans.

Minestra (soup) to her was ham hocks, cabbage and beans and potatoes.  It was so delicious the next day as pane cotta (pronounced pannigotta) which was the leftovers with bread soaked in it and cooked  a bit more to reduce the water and enhance the flavor.

They all made their own bread. If you ever get a chance to taste ciabatta bread, it tastes just like my mom's!! Only hers was warm out of the oven.. and you could melt butter on it.. oh man.

If you haven't guessed already, these were southern Italian, plain folk for whom family and feeding their family was of the utmost importance.  They came from two tiny hamlets outside Formicola Italy which were called Fondola and Cavallari. My mother left her parents in Italy when she was 17 never to see them again.

My parents were thrilled when I became a real estate broker. They were both very much into buying property. My dad flipped houses before there was such a thing. He owned a house in Westport for one week in the 50s and doubled his money. They owned an operated Palmieri Nursery on Main Street which is still open and being run by my brother Frank.