Aunt Minnie's Meatballs

Aunt Minnie was a robust woman. I have memories of her with her house dress and an apron fiddling in the kitchen always baking  or making something.   Her and her sister Mary lived in a small house in Echo Park just outside of Los Angeles.   Descendants of immigrants who came through Ellis Island, they were first generation Italians inheriting all the customs and traditions from the old country.

Rescued Recipes from Aunt Mary's kitchen...

Family gatherings were always big.  Find a reason to gather,  then expect to be at Aunt Minnie's and Mary's place.  If it was a  holiday, birthday, baptism, a visit from a cousin, or a lonely Sunday, we could expect that we should be at Aunt Minnie and Aunt Mary's place.

Birthdays were the biggest gatherings.  Several birthdays amount the relatives, friends, neighbors and cousins would fall in the same month.  It gave Aunt Minnie an excuse to cook.  It seemed like the plates that she would bring from the kitchen were endless.  She liked to make raviolis, salad, carrots and sausage, green beans, pasta, sauce, meatballs,cookies,  rocky road cookies, pumpkin pies including watermelon and wine.  There were so many dishes that there was no room on the dining table for the family members or guests to eat.   Being a true Italian family, there was plenty of laughter, stories and children running throughout the house.

It is with affectionate memory, that I write about the last real family gathering of which I call

"Aunt Minnie's meatballs."

It had been a few years, since we had all been together.  My family and myself had moved away from Southern California to the Bay area.  Aunt Minnie had come for a birthday party for one of our cousins.   Thank goodness, one of our other family relatives was filming the gathering.

I approached Aunt Minnie, as I didn't know how to make good meatballs.  My husband had told me that I needed to have Aunt Minnie teach me how to make  them.

Aunt Minnie having grown older and more feeble, it was hard to not see her robust anymore.  In raspy, yet high voice she told me how to make them.  She was now in a wheelchair. 

"You need one pound of ground beef, 1/2 pound of pork sausage, cloves of garlic, parsley, salt & pepper etc ...."

Then she told me to mix the ingredients by hand well oiled, and take your palms  and mold the meat into a ball, (slapping each side).  

In the meantime, I asked our relative to make sure she is filming our Aunt.  In my heart, I know this may be the last time we see Aunt Minnie.   I am so glad I did, because in the archives of our family is a memory of her.

Aunt Minnie's Meatballs

A few days later, Aunt Minnie sent me a letter, telling me that she was glad to see me.  I have the recipe for the meatballs, along with the recipe for the Rocky Road cookies and the Impossible pie.

Thank goodness for that video, because it's legacy kept for our family members.

Juliet Vercelli is a travel agent, that helps families celebrate in a destination.

Video memories capture and preserve those special times with your loved ones.

CIAO!

Seek a professional videographer to learn more about capturing the moment and preserve your memories.  

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