La Cuoca Italiana Nuova

Recently, I was awarded the unique privilege of learning how to make the perfect Napolitana pizza. Courtesy of the amazing staff at the Sant’Anna Institute of Sorrento who arranged an amazing one-on-one cooking course with a true pizza chef. I watched the chef diligently, copying notes so I could reenact the techniques later at home. The recipe made enough dough for five (that’s right 5!) perfect Neapolitan-sized pizzas. I was going to need reinforcements for this much dough.

Obviously, I was going to need a little help eating all of these fresh masterpieces. So, I did the only smart thing any amazing Italian cook would do, and I called in the family to help me make and eat some Pizza. The pizza-making team consisted of my boyfriend Brad, sister Katie, and niece and nephew, Lily and Jaime. After many hours of waiting for the perfect dough to rise, I separated the mound into five equal parts. Then, supervised my little nuggets, Lily and Jaime, as they enthusiastically squished their hands into the dough attempting to form a pizza shape. As we worked, we discussed the ingredients in Italian:

"Mozzarela. Sempre Bufala"

"Pomodori. Repeti. Pomodori. Che significa?"

"Farina. Farina."

With each little attempt at copying the words and feeling the ingredients in their hands, my niece and nephew get closer to understanding this strange language. At eight and five years old, their minds are open and ready to receive like a sponge. These are the moments I am most enthusiastic about the progress I've made in learning the Italian language. When I am able to share my love and memory of Italy with them through actions and words. I can't help thinking these are traditions that will stay with them until they have their own children to share them with.

Buon Appetito, Ragazzi!