Martini Musings

Cousin Love

Today is all about the love of cousins and the Italian baking tradition. A little background…

A group of my cousins in Cleveland (4 girls and 1 boy) were greatly influenced by my paternal Grandmother. Grandma Marcellino was a part of the upbringing of these cousins, and as a result, they got all of the baking bug, carrying on the tradition. My sister likes to bake but I did not get that gene. I have not been a fan of baking because it is precise and I am not a perfectionist. My Katie never had a home-made birthday cake until she turned 21…and that is a story in itself and I know, I was never going to be a candidate for "Mother of the Year!" Suffice to say, this homemade cake, my masterpiece, was between my feet, on the floor of the car as we rode to the restaurant. I forgot about it as I stepped out of the car, and my foot found itself smashed in the cake. Somehow, the restaurant was able to patch it up (at least when they presented it, they had the “broken part” in the back). Anyway, I think you can see that my limited experiences did not make for a passion for baking.

Fast forward to this past weekend. It was a weekend, dedicated to my Dad, who turned 85 in December. As his gift, my sister and I coordinated a trip to Cleveland for the Easter baking tradition. My cousins gather the week before Easter to bake “boobies.” Dad has been making boobies for a few years, but he has not perfected it and we knew that he would enjoy learning from the masters!! WHAT THE HELL IS A BOOBIE???? Well, we know what a boobie is...or at least we think we know! For all of you Italians out there, I know that this isn't necessarily an Italian tradition, but it is our family tradition. And may I just add...it makes for awesome comments around the holidays, "Hey Chuck...how many boobies do you have???" "Hey Ang...where are your boobies?" "Hey Lisa...let me see your boobies!" Ooops..l.think I just went a little too far!! Here is my definition:

BOOBIE – A shortbread (almost biscuit like dough) type of cookie dough, braided and topped with a colored hardboiled egg in the center. The egg can be hardboiled ahead of time OR it can be colored and then hardboiled in the oven while the cookie is baking. (see picture below).

Details were worked out and the trip began on Friday, as we arrived in Cleveland for a “pre-baking meeting.” We discussed the number of boobies we wanted to take home, along with some other cookies, called “moscoties” or “dunkers” and a kuchen or two. We had our work cut out for us. I should say “they” had their worked cut out for them, since I would not be a part of this baking thing. My role was to be the bartender!!

On Saturday morning, we convened at 9:30am for donuts and coffee, and there may have been some bloody Marys and Mimosas too. These cousins have a system…each one has a role in the process of baking.   Picture this…a KitchenAid mixer going non-stop on the counter, as dough is being prepared.   One cousin is managing the mixer, one cousin is mixing the ingredients that are going into the mixer, one cousin was kneading the dough and another one was braiding the dough and putting the egg in the center.   In order for my Dad to learn the process, he needed to be involved.   He found his place at the table, braiding the dough and adding the egg in the middle.   We all got in on the process by icing the cookies, sprinkling the multicolored sprinkles, and dipping the moscoties.   I was busy serving drinks to the cooks!!

Now, when you travel 6 hours to bake, you want to make it worth your while, so with the help of my cousins, Dad was part of the production of 48 boobies!   During the 5 hour bake-fest, there were various stages of baking (in two ovens), icing, dipping, rolling, drinking, laughing and truly enjoying each other’s company…When the day was over, we had packed up 48 boobies, 6 dozen moscotis, 4 pecan nut kuchens, and a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies.   Keep in mind that my cousins had already produced mass quantities of boobies prior to our arrival for their work friends and their families.   It's safe to say that there were surely 200 or more boobies produced in the ovens during the week!

We also found time for dinner at two restaurants, run by other cousins, playing cards, playing Yahtzee, playing “this is a cup” and laughing uncontrollably at stories and the silliness of cousins…almost like we were kids again!   Thank goodness for cell phone cameras because we were able to capture so much of the fun!

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered…My Dad was in his glory with everyone loving on him and making the baking adventures about him.   He left with a full heart and a load of baked goods that he was a part of…and trust me, he will enjoy eating these baked goods for a long time to come!   My sister and I had a great time watching him, and she and I had fun being alone with each other at night too, when we could de-brief about our days.    I can’t thank my cousins enough for their love and hospitality during this past weekend.   There is no substitute for the memories that are made with cousins…and I’m grateful that our memories from the past can be re-visited, and new memories can be added to our stories.   Enjoy these pictures about our amazing weekend!   I hope you have cousins that you share that special love with!