With the holidays upon us, it's only fitting to theme my food moment around this special time of year. Growing up in a large Italian family, there was no shortage of good food during the holidays (or any other time!). My grandmother, mother and I would cook for days prior to Christmas Eve preparing for the family to join us for some quality time together. This is where I learned to cook at a very young age. My mothers' side of the family is very Italian, so our Christmas dishes always revolved around Italian foods and memories from the 'old country.' Dishes like hand rolled meatballs cooked in my grandmothers' special sauce - with a pork chop to make it savory, 

´Pita Piata´ an Italian fruitcake, ' baccala'

dried salted cod filets were all on table for the family to enjoy. Growing up in West Virginia, we didn't always keep up with the cutting-edge trends of the culinary world. We relied on old world traditions that were passed down from my great grandparents and grandparents that immigrated from Italy in the early 20 th  century. 

My days in the kitchen with my grandmother have since past, but the memories live on every year with my mother and I continuing these cherished traditions. As I write these memories sitting in the airport on my way home for the holidays, I can already smell the two-day spaghetti sauce, ' frittas' 

fried yeasty bread, and hear the laughter of the family - memories of home.