I grew up in a small town in New England, Massachusetts to be specific. As a young child and into my early teens we would go to our grandparents every weekend. It was a true Sicilian tradition that my grandmother insisted we continue for as long as possible. You know the tradition where it was your parents’ responsibility to bring the grandkids to the grandparent’s home to visit every weekend. I always looked forward to helping make sauce, meatballs, and homemade pasta.
As you might expect seafood and fish was a part of life growing up in New England. I learned to dress and cook perch, trout, striped sea bass, blue fish, all manner of seafood. We would fry, grill, and do fish and vegetable pouches.
All the men in my family were avid hunters. Venison was a staple, and the “back straps” were always my favorite. The go to seasoning was Worcestershire sauce and Italian dressing marinade.
My first job was for a concession company that provided all the food for a small amusement park near my hometown as well as other local events and venues. I started as most young kids by peeling potatoes, chopping onions, preparing place settings, doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. At the end of each day my fingers were pruned, and I smelled like onions. I eventually worked my way up to cooking along side chefs and doing events such as the Harvard – Yale annual football game.
Later, I went to college in North Carolina where I was introduced to Carolina barbecue, biscuits and sausage gravy, collared greens, and skillet cornbread. This was all new to me. I fell in love with the tastes and smells, and especially with the whole process and event of all day smokes and preparation, not to mention that it was a great excuse as a college kid to start drinking beer before noon.
I later landed a job in Washington State where I was introduced to all new seafood and barbecue. Living in the middle of the state is different than along the shore and the residence take their barbecue seriously and the flavor profile is much different than what I had discovered in North Carolina. The experience of the all-day cook was still a great love in my life. Seattle was a wonderland of seafood and of course Pike Place was a must visit each time we took a road trip.
I returned to Massachusetts and met my wonderful wife. She was offered a position in Atlanta Georgia. It was off to the south again where barbecue is almost a religion. Again, I discovered a new flavor profile for barbecue. My love affair with the cooking method grew and I went from small electric smokers to large stick burners and pellet grills. I learned to cook things I did not traditionally think of as being cooked on smokers like dips, fruits, and stews. I was also introduced to Asian tastes I had never experienced living in small towns for most of my life. Vietnamese pho and banh mi sandwiches became a weekly meal.
As life would have it, a new position opened for my wonderful wife, and we were off to Phoenix Arizona. Another state where barbecue is a staple along side traditional Mexican and southwest meals.
I treasure all these experiences that nurtured my love of food and cooking and now want to share them with as many people as possible. I hope that you enjoy the journey as I have.