Alice’s Holiday Cooking Tradition
The holidays are a great way for people to convene and eat together.
Co-founder Alice recounts fond memories with her family preparing for holiday meals and explains how that inspired the creation of the “Holiday Around the World” cooking class series.
As a kid growing up in Tuscany, I do not remember the holidays being anything that special. To be honest, we ate well all year round, and I somehow do bit have clear memories of one holiday meal or another. Looking back on it, this is quite odd given that I was living in a country teeming with good food traditions.
Things really changed when we moved to the United States when I was 8 years old. We were uprooted from our usual habits, and the most shocking transition was that of food. All of the fresh breads and cured meats that I was so used to enjoying were nowhere to be found and my parents were, frankly, quite distressed. My dad set himself immediately to mastering the art of homemade bread. Eating dinner together at home every night suddenly became an act of solidarity, in stark contrast with the habits of my peers at school who often ate out or avoided seated mealtimes with their parents.
As the Christmases and Thanksgivings started rolling around, it became a time for us to convene with other Italian expats and recreate our memories of home. Every year, the weekend before Christmas, my family would gather with a group of Italian friends. Together, we would produce several thousand tortellini by hand, to be eaten for Christmas dinner. It is an incredible ritual which requires everyone to contribute something. Some pull the dough into strips while others make balls from the stuffing, some cut dough triangles, and others fill them and fold them into tortellini.
This year, for the first time, I will be hosting our annual Christmas feast here in Seattle, at my house. My family is flying up for the occasion and we are already deep in planning, creating lists of meat to request from the butcher and figuring out what kitchen equipment we will need. The wonderful change this year will be that my friends and community here in Seattle will finally get to share in a tradition that they have heard me talk so much about. This is an immeasurable joy. To bring my closest friends and family together and recreate this ritual that I have participated in for years, which ties me so dearly to the place I grew up, I could ask for nothing more.
When Erica was beginning to plan classes for this holiday season, she was struck by the idea of sharing food traditions in this very same way. In “Holidays Around the World,” we hope to bring people together and give them a little taste of the joy I experience when making tortellini with everyone I love each Christmas. From Russia to Italy, to Japan, this time of year is ripe with dishes that are layered with family history and regional tradition. Join me, and the Seattle Cucina team, and dig your hands into some global holiday goodness!
