DeLorenzo Family Traditions : continued
of dough and they ’ d just play on the counter . Now they ’ re at the age where they want to do it ,” Michele explained . Every family member has found their own niche within the process . Michele is good at making the dough , Mia ’ s daughter , Bria , is great at rolling the dough into perfect circles , and Mia ’ s husband , Don , enjoys being the self-appointed quality control manager . “ He walks around and tells us , ‘ Oh , that one ’ s a little out of square . That one isn ’ t quite full enough ,’” Michele described .
Unlike some families who closely guard their recipes , the DeLorenzos welcome anyone interested in learning . Much the way Theresa accepted everyone , Mia and Michele have invited friends of their children ’ s and parents of new son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws to join in . “ It makes us happy because we ’ re sharing an experience that we were blessed to have with others ,” Mia said .
Sometimes they ’ ve had up to forty people helping . And always at the end of the day , they have a “ scrap ” dinner , consisting of all the edges and imperfections that didn ’ t make the final cut , and leftover raviolis from the previous year , to celebrate a day ’ s hard work . It ’ s a gathering that Mia always cherishes .
“ That ’ s probably one of the happiest things because I know Theresa would be beaming ,” she said .
Aspects of recipes naturally change as they ’ re passed down . In the DeLorenzos ’ case , these changes are reflected on the production side of things . “ Theresa was very , very traditional . The dough was hand kneaded and it was exhausting ,” Michele explained , “ We could only make 75 dozen raviolis back then .” With Theresa ’ s blessing , Michele brought a KitchenAid to make the dough faster , which doubled their output and has allowed them to make 160 dozen raviolis ever since . They ’ ve also made improvements to the original ravioli table to make rolling the dough more comfortable , and Mia ’ s daughter developed a way of expediting the process so that it resembled an assembly line .
“ They ’ ve industrialized it , I guess ,” Mia said , “ But as for the recipe changing , absolutely not .”
The DeLorenzos have always been a tight-knit family , but Mia and Michele feel that their tradition of making raviolis together has enhanced their bond . They have created plenty of memories and stories over the years , including the time when everyone wore ravioli hats the grandchildren made for them , and they always include stories of Theresa . In sharing these stories , they can still feel Theresa ’ s presence . “ Even though our grandchildren have never had the opportunity to know her or sit on her lap or feel her kisses on the top of their heads , they talk about her like she ’ s here . ‘ Nonni would love this . Nonni would think this is a good one . We have a good day today , Nonni would be proud ,’” Mia described .
Mia and Michele have no doubt that the DeLorenzo Christmas tradition will continue for many generations to come . “ Despite the family getting bigger and everyone having kids and going off to do their own thing , they all always come back to make raviolis ,” Michele said . It holds a tender place in everyone ’ s hearts .
As the DeLorenzo family shows us , food is a delicious way of staying connected to our heritage and creating memories that can span multiple lifetimes . Perhaps it ’ s time we all shared a recipe or two .
30 FALL 2023 gmhTODAY Magazine : Go . Make history ... gmhtoday . com