When I was researching different food cultures and traditions, I knew I needed to include some dishes from the Middle East. So, I emailed my friend Mike and asked if he would volunteer is mom for my Nonna project. I knew Mike grew up as a first generation kid like me so it would be perfect. I soon received a call from his wonderful mom Irene Sankari. She was happy to help and came up with a number of dishes we could make together.

Irene came to the US from Beirut, Lebanon at the age of seven with her parents and settled in Buffalo, New York. We did a lot of cooking in Irene’s beautiful Long Island home so I want to share the recipes here in Nonna’s Kitchen. This recipe is for a lovely appetizer called Sambousek. Sambousek is a Lebanese pastry filled with meat or cheese. Many come fried but Irene bakes hers and they are delicious. I love how easy they are to make and how you can freeze them and pop them in the oven whenever you have some last minute guests.

New Year's Day Goat Cheese Quiche

Hurray, it’s 2016! This quiche is perfect for those of us that just want to roll out of bed after staying up late, heat up something delicious and curl up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee. You can make this quiche days in advance, and simply heat it up in the oven at a moments notice. Now that’s what I call a Happy New Year!

Five Days of Christmas Cookies (DAY 5): Nonna Gina’s Pie Crust Cookies

The next time you realize you totally forgot about the cookie swap you need to go to tonight, make these and everyone will be asking you for the recipe. So easy, so good and they come together in minutes - these cookies are awesome! All you have to do is roll out some pie dough, sprinkle some really good filling, roll it back up and bake. That’s it! It's all the good toppings of a quality ice cream sundae rolled up in a pie crust.

Five Days of Christmas Cookies (DAY 4): Nonna Gina's Biscotti di Cream Cheese

Most of my most cherished Christmas cookie recipes come from my mom. She always made a number of cookies for Christmas so we could give them to our teachers and friends. This cookie was always in high demand so she made them every year. It’s very delicate looking because of the fringed edges, it’s dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a delicious blend of coconut, jam, dates and chocolate chips.

Five Days of Christmas Cookies (DAY 2): Peanut Butter Crème’wiches

When I’m assembling my cookie tins for Christmas, I like to make a number of different cookies. So, when you open up the tin, there is a little something for everyone. I always include mini chocolate chip cookies, biscotti and tricolors. For a peanut butter lover, I make these peanut butter sandwich cookies from Tom Colicchio’s sandwich chain ‘wichcraft. These taste like the cookies peddled by your local Girl Scout troop but so much better.

Five Days of Christmas Cookies (DAY 1): My Heirloom Cookies

If there is one recipe I know my children will remember me by it’s my Italian Tricolor Cookies - my husband Phil's favorite Italian dessert!

This cookie is really a mini cake. Its three layers of thin cake (tinted red, white and green) made with almond paste and slathered with apricot jam. The outside is enrobed in chocolate. You can find them in the case of any classic Italian pastry shop. For years, he would always buy a box from the bakery near our dorm and talk about how it’s the best cookie you could ever have. Even though he loved them, I never thought about attempting to make them at home. It seemed complicated.

Then, about 15 years ago, my mom was sitting in a hair salon thumbing through a Good Housekeeping and came across a recipe for tricolors. She ripped it out and gave it to me. The recipe is perfect. It makes the most delicious tricolor cookies you will ever have. They are even better than the pastry shop’s version. I have been making these cookies, every year since, for Christmas. I hope is that even when I’m old and grey, my children and grandchildren will ask me to whip up a batch of these cookies for the holidays.

Social Saturday: Brie En Croute

Grab a bottle of nice wine, put the kids to bed; it’s time for the annual run of holiday parties. I love going to holiday parties. Its great to see friends, have a few laughs and toast the upcoming year. My cocktail party stand by is Brie En Croute. That’s a super fancy way to say wheel of brie covered in puff pastry. I also cut mine in half, fill it with brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts. Trust me, make this baby and it will disappear before you can say, “God, that’s an ugly sweater!”

From Nonna's Kitchen: Abuela Evelyn’s Pasteles

A true Puerto Rican girl - my friend Iris loves spending time with her mamma Evelyn. She is very proud of her heritage and really enjoys eating the food of her youth. I was really touched when Iris and Evelyn showed up to my house to teach me how to make their most cherished dish, Pasteles.

Pasteles are very important in Puerto Rican culture. Served at the holidays with rice, beans and tostones, they are a labor of love. The exterior (masa) is made from unripe, green bananas. You have to grate each one on a box grater to get a fine pudding like consistency. The abuelas never complain, but it is labor intensive! The filling is a delicious blend of pork and traditional Puerto Rican spices and ingredients like pimentos and olives. The achiote oil gives it a beautiful red hue and fills the entire kitchen with a very Latin aroma.

Sweet Tooth Friday (From Nonna's Kitchen Edition): Nonna Mary's Wine cookies

This recipe comes to me from my lovely friend Claudia. She is a true Italian girl with both of her parent’s families hailing from the old country, northern Italy and Sicily. Even though Claudia always jokes she isn’t much of a cook, I tend to doubt it because she definitely has some incredible cooking genes. Her father was generous to share a few of his specialties and Claudia has saved many of the wonderful recipes her mother used to make.

Most of Claudia’s mom’s recipes come from her mother, Claudia’s grandmother Mary Zeppieri. Mary came to the US at the age of 25 from Veroli, Italy and raised five children in upstate New York. She was a dedicated wife and mother and always cooked homemade Italian food. Claudia has dear memories of walking to her Nonna’s house every Sunday after church for these wonderful cookies.

Cooking With Kids: Crispy Rocky Road Bites

By the time mid December rolls around, I’m already knee deep in Christmas cookie making. My kids love making cookies for their teachers, bus driver, friends and family. We package them up in pretty tins and everyone is always appreciative to get a huge variety of all the holiday classics.

My cookie tins are really varied - sugar cookies, chocolate chips, gingersnaps, rainbow cookies, biscotti and struffoli. Every year my children love to make some candy for the tin and for sure, the chocolates are the first ones to go.

Sweet Tooth Friday: Time To Give Thanks (For This Pie!)

For dessert, our family tradition, is to make a number of different pies. Everyone has his or her favorite so I like to make at least one per person. So, you have YOUR pie to grab a few slices from and then you can share with your neighbor.

Each year, my husband always asks for the same pie. Chocolate Pecan Pie. it’s the easiest pie you will ever make. Pie crust, toss in the nuts, toss in the chocolate, toss in the egg mixture and bake for 50 minutes. Easy Peasy!

Cooking with Kids: Pizza Pizza Daddy-O

I haven’t ever met a person under the age of 18 that doesn’t LOVE pizza. Most kids will eat it any day of the week. My kids not only love cheese pizza, but they really enjoy the process of making it with me. Homemade pizza tastes really delicious and my kids always seem to eat much more when they help with the cooking.I love how proud they are of the finished product. Cooking with kids is fun and educational. Roll up your sleeves and give it a try!

ItalyAnna GassNovember 17, 2015cooking with love, cooking with kids, pizza, italian cooking, pizza dough, homemade, family tradition

Sunday Supper: Carnitas

Carnitas is a very delicious Mexican dish. Carnitas simply means “little meat” in Spanish and once you let this big cut of pork cook for two hours that is exactly what you get. Delicious, little nuggets of pork that you can fold into a warm tortilla, add your favorite toppings and spritz with some lime for the perfect balance of fat, salt and tart.

Social Saturday: Anna's Heirloom Bruschetta

I’m a big fan of Tapas because you get to try a whole bunch of items without having to commit to one dish. When I am entertaining, aside from some salted nuts, a great cheese plate and veggies with dip, I always serve bruschetta. Traditionally, tomatoes and garlic are used but if you like, get creative and other toppings like ricotta and honey or brie and apple. With a delicious piece of butter bread as your base, it’s hard to mess things up.

Sweet Tooth Friday: Nonna Olga’s Biscotti

This Friday’s recipe is very special and really encompasses why I started Heirloom Kitchen. A few years ago, my friend Gina made me these biscotti for Christmas. Hands down, these are the most delicious biscotti I have ever had. A delicious combination of anise and almond, they are light, crunchy, and simply perfect with a cup of coffee.

What really makes these biscotti so special however, is not merely how they taste, but where they come from. This recipe was created by Gina’s paternal Nonna, Olga Giovannoni and came here with her, all the way from South Africa.

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