NONI ’ s ROCKY ROAD
Rosalind Farotte was born in Gilroy , but her roots go back to the cooking and baking of her ancestry in Southern Italy . All of the articles that I have written are special and it brings so much to the history of Gilroy , but also to those that came to Gilroy and what they brought with them . This story is special because there is a familial connection for me that I found out about when I heard about the book that Rosalind wrote and titled “ La Famiglia and La Dolce Vita ,” (“ The Family and the Good Life ”) dedicated it to her two children Andy and Elizabeth on the occasion of Elizabeth ’ s marriage in 2009 . It is a wonderful history of Rosalind ’ s family and includes over 50 recipes many of which Rosalind learned to make with her grandmother Louise Filice . Rosalind started when she was old enough to stand on a chair under the watchful eye of her grandmother , Noni .
But just to clarify my family connection , there was a picture of Rosalind ’ s mother Rosemary ( Filice ) and father Tony Maida ’ s wedding , and in it was my sister Carmel and brother-in-law Floyd standing in as maid of honor and best man . And over sixty years later , it was a joy to reunite my sister and Rosalind ‘ s mother over lunch at the Garlic City Cafe .
One of Rosalind ’ s most sought after recipes at auctions is Noni ’ s Rocky Road . She has donated to nine organizations and the item usually goes for four hundred seventy-five to six hundred dollars , for a total of five thousand dollars to various charities . On two occasions , I was lucky to recruit Rosalind and her cousin Camille for an Southern Italian Dinner for an auction item that included homemade raviolis , meatballs and spareribs and a special dessert prepared by Rosalind . It was a Mascarpone Connoli Cheesecake and it was fabulous . That dinner benefited the Sister Cities organization that hosts visitors from our six sister cities .
Lets not forget her acting . For years , Rosalind has performed in numerous plays . One of my favorites is “ Nunsense ” with Rosalind playing Sister Mary Amnesia . And coming up in September are performances of “ It ’ s Only a Play ” at the Limelight Theater in Gilroy featuring Rosalind .
That gives her time to prepare for holiday baking including the “ Italian Donuts ” party ( called Cullurelli ) with her cousin Camille who lives not too many doors away in their neighborhood .
There is no question about the amount of work that Rosalind dedicated to the maintaining of the family history and the baking with the desire to recreate what she experienced as a young child what her children have experienced . And her granddaughter ( age 3 ) has already made it to the chair . How lucky she is . And Rosalind presented me with her wonderful family cookbook .
Thank you Rosalind .
NONI ’ s ROCKY ROAD
2 ½ lbs . milk chocolate 6 oz . cocoa butter 1 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds 1 ½ bags large marshmallows
Butter — 9 x 13 inch Pyrex
Melt chocolate and cocoa butter in double boiler over low fire . Allow to cool to lukewarm . Add marshmallows and almonds . Mix well and pour into Pyrex . Let set in refrigerator .
Cut 1 ½ inch strips across short side of Pyrex . Remove strips and cut them every 1 inch . Put Rocky Road in freezer bags and freeze . You can always use dark chocolate .
Roslyn ’ s Personal Notes : I get the chocolate and cocoa butter at Schurra ’ s Candy in San Jose .
I use a lasagna size Pyrex , the size slightly larger than a 9 x 13 Pyrex .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018 gmhtoday . com
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