My sweet mother, Ann Fiorino
Ann Castrogiovanni Fiorino was born in 1905 in Palermo, Sicily. She married William Fiorino, my dad, in 1927. After two children, and 15 years later she had me, Rosalie, her third and last child. She was a great seamstress, and sewed most all of our clothes. She didn’t like to clean, but mostly she wanted to learn how to cook Italian dishes. Her frail little mother, Rosalia, was a very bland cook, and with many other children to care for, never had the time to teach her children much of anything domestic.
My father suggested she take some lessons, and since we lived in St. Louis, Missouri, she was very close to the thriving Italian community called “The Hill.” She new of a lady that lived on the hill, one who was called, “Miss Mary the Cook.” This lady had the reputation of cooking for the large Catholic Italian weddings. When my mother called and spoke with her, Miss Mary stated, ” Oh, Si, you comma’ to help me….now, I no pay you!
So, that is how my dear mother learned to cook those wonderful Italian dishes. I can remember growing up and smelling the sauce simmering every Sunday morning of my life. The platters on those Sunday afternoons were filled with Italian Breaded Pork Chops, Red Sauce over Mostaccolli , Eggplant Parmesan, homemade Beef-filled Ravioli, and of course all the Italian cookies one could desire. In my third cookbook, Rosalie Serving Best Loved Italian, there is a story called “My Mother’s Christmas Cookies” that tells of the thousands of cookies she made every Christmas. When my mother passed in 1982, we all felt very lost, until we realized she still lived within us. My daughter, Dana, and many of the other grandchildren continue to rule the kitchen with Grandma Ann at their side.
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