Ordeal by Meal-Nick Blake

Both my grandmother and her old friend lived in Italy before eventually moving to America in the 1930s. Every once in a while when my family and I visit, they prepare a traditional Italian meal for us and our other relatives. They would spend the whole day and sometimes the day before preparing all of the food, and we would have to sit their smelling it all without getting to taste it. The meal itself would start with bread, salad, and various other appetizers. Then we would pass around pasta and my favorite dish called gnocchi which are these dough balls mixed with potatoes, spices, and other ingredients served in different sauces. After that meats, lasagna and other courses were served until nobody could eat anything else… then came desert. I remember I used to hate these meals because they would last for hours on end when all I wanted to do was play. Now I love them because we get to spend time together eating great food as a family and catch up with each other. These types of Italian meals give insight to the Italian culture where family is important and large meals serve the purpose of getting everybody together to celebrate hard work and the family itself. We would also hear stories from my grandmother about what it was like back in Italy and how food was a central part to family life at the time.

Gnocchi took a whole day to make