Ravioli

Today one of the great grandchildren, made the following statement. "They are not as good as BisNonna's or Auntie Carm's, those are my favorite and the BEST!" What all Italian women hold dear to their hearts, when a child realizes the difference between handmade and canned, albeit Annie's Organic.

School lunches have always been something our family looked forward to, especially after a holiday, namely, EASTER SUNDAY. We never wanted to trade our lunches with another child. They would have peanut butter and jelly, or bologna sandwiches. In contrast, we had fresh tomato sandwiches, left over pastas, fried egg sandwiches and fresh fruit.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate with a dinner of traditional proportions. Handmade Ravioli's take center stage on the table. These luscious pockets are filled with fresh ricotta, fresh parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, egg, and of course the golden raisins, (maybe a little secret here and there too). The raisins are to signify the tiny golden treasure within each handmade pillow of white creaminess. A gift if you will from the chef to the table.

These giant pillows range in size from 2 inches to 4-5 inches in width and depth. They always found their way into our Monday lunch bag the next day. What a treat. Some of our friends, would look at our lunch thinking, yuck, but we knew we had the best school lunch ever! Our mother made certain her children ate well and we always knew the love she put in each meal, making it from scratch, memory and tradition.