GRANDMA PARRINO'S PAGE

As the tide of immigrants came from Sicily and other countries in the early part of the century, her parents, Rosario and Sebastiana, came to America for a better life.

Poor, and with only a few lire to start their new lives, the Giulianos (originally from Sciara, Sicily) booked steerage class on one of the many ships carrying Italian immigrants to the United States. Besides the hundreds of passengers and crew, the ship was carrying a large load of Italian marble for use in the "skyscrapers" then starting to be built in New York City. The ocean journey was in the dead of a very harsh winter.

Mountainous waves due to extreme weather caused the captain to order that the weight of the ship be lightened--the marble had to go. The marble was sacrificed to the bottom of the sea in order that the passengers and crew could survive.

This proud couple, because of this life saving measure, lived the good American life, raising 4 daughters in a small home in New York City. Mary, the oldest of the daughters, was a shy homebody, who focused on developing her domestic skills, the centerpiece of which was cooking. So withdrawn was she into home activities, she did not meet her husband to be, newly immigrated Giuseppe "Joe" Parrino from Palazzo Adriano, Sicily, until she was the almost spinster-ish age of nineteen.

Mary and Joe married in 1920 and had several children who, in turn, blessed them with numerous grandchildren (including me, her first grandchild, Susan Parrino!).

Mary honed her culinary skills and was the ultimate Italian gourmet cook, drawing upon the talents of her mother Sebastiana and other branches of the Giuliano and Parrino families.

As the grandchildren arrived, Mary became known as "Grandma Parrino" and taught her daughter-in-law (also "Grandma Parrino") and me, her granddaughter, the secrets of her cooking.

Now several of her simple yet delicioso recipes have been perfected for your use in your own home. The cornerstone of them is the "GRANDMA PARRINO'S DELICOSO SPAGHETTI SAUCE (SUGO)," a tangy tomato based sauce, with her special, succulent--the best you've ever eaten--meatball recipe included as a bonus.

This is an easy recipe, with many, many helpful hints (Grandma's secrets) included -- so that you can "wow" your friends and family, just like my Grandma did!

Grandma's recipe for the meatballs and spaghetti sauce is available and will be mailed to you for the nominal fee of $2.

To obtain your copy, send $2 to:

Grandma Parrino
765 Steele St.
Denver, CO 80206

P.S. If you are a Parrino or a Giuliano, please contact me. I would love to hear from you!

Please send an e-mail to me at:  sue_hesterAThotmail.com
( Please replace the  AT  in the above address with @ when sending your e-mail,
and please put "Grandma Parrino" at the beginning of the subject line.)
Thanks!
Susan Parrino Hester