DeLorenzo Family Traditions :
The Recipe for a Loving Family
by Crystal Han , Images by Don DeLorenzo Family
“ At the heart of every family tradition is a meaningful experience .”
— Unknown
We can ’ t live forever , but we can leave a lasting legacy with the recipes we make and share with others . Food tells stories about who we are , where we came from , and what ’ s happening throughout our lives . It threads our past , present , and future into a beautiful tapestry that we can look on with love . Perhaps no one knows this better than the DeLorenzo family , whose tradition of making raviolis for Christmas has spanned generations .
For Mia DeLorenzo and Michele Nowakowski , who currently lead their family ’ s tradition , making raviolis is as much about honoring their family matriarch , Theresa DeLorenzo , as it is about keeping the spirit of Italy alive . Although they married into the family and don ’ t have a drop of Italian blood between them — which has led them to jokingly refer to themselves as “ the outlaws ”— Theresa welcomed Mia and Michele with open arms . “ Theresa was a phenomenal woman . She was our best friend and the greatest Nonni to all her grandkids — those that were her blood and those who were not ,” Mia said . Theresa was more than happy to teach the pair how to make raviolis , and they helped her every year until she passed away in 1997 .
Making raviolis from scratch is a work intensive process . It begins with hand kneading the dough and rolling it out into a large 36 diameter circle of the perfect thickness . The circle is folded in half , filled by hand , flipped over , and then rolled out with a giant pin marker that makes the little individual squares . Each ravioli is then cut out by hand and packed into gallon freezer bags for storing .
While it can certainly be done by one person , making raviolis is better when you have a helping hand , and thankfully the DeLorenzos have plenty of them . Each year Mia and Michele ’ s children and grandchildren come over to help . “ When they were little , we ’ d give them a piece ( Continued ...)
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