John in Chicago's "Polenta Dreams"

(Photo: John B, of the Benetti women)

Here's a terrific follow up to yesterday's polenta post:

I grew up on polenta , my grand father would let me stand on a pickle bucket and stir the pot, the same when he made risotto. He would make the polenta then bring the pot out to the table where a big cutting board was laying w/ cheese cloth, and he would pour it on the cheese cloth about 2 inches thick and then he would scrape off sections to put on our plates. He would have sometimes a rabbit ragu , or a meat tomato sauce he would "build" all week by cooking roasts (pork, beef, chicken) to make the dishes for sunday dinner. The sauces that were left over from the roasts were saved for ideas to be incorporated on sunday. On sunday we (20 of us) wouldn't eat at the table because it would be filled with the dishes he would create for us. He had his places where he could pick his asparagus, radicchi (dandelion leaves), mushrooms, wild onions, wild herbs. He had his buddies that would make homemade ricotta, salumi's, he would shoot doves and pigeons and rabbits and most of this happened in the city limits. (He guarded his mushroom and asparagus locations to the grave) so in essence everything he cooked during the week fit a plan he had for sunday. His taking sauces such as a chicken drippings from chicken vesuvio might end up in a wild green bean, wild musroom and sautee'd cippollini onion dish. The criss crossing uses of sauces are endless, and it all goes back to a peasant mentality of use everything. I can see the Benetti women in this pic making gnocchi in the kitchen as I come back from church, and the men in the back yard laughing, sputtering italian and drinking home made wine from grape jam glasses.

Polenta is just cornmeal and water but its really a social glue when in the context of family. PS. my dad would make his special eggs basted in marinara with polenta sauteed in butter for the next morn breakfast.

I really enjoyed reading that, John. Isn't it powerful how food triggers such great memories?