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photo by: Jennifer Compston-Strough

The women who compiled the new Sons and Daughters of Italy cookbook sit with some of the pieces they used in their work at the lodge in Bellaire. They include, from left, co-chair Cynthia Hartlieb, Brenda Ault, co-chair Irene Louda, holding the finished product, Lillian Siebieda, Annette Ice and Anita Smigill.

BELLAIRE — Food, family, friends and fun — you will find all of that and much more within the pages of “Le Nostre Ricette Regionali, Our Original Recipes” from the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge 754 in Bellaire.

The primary fundraiser for the lodge this year, the 140-plus page volume containing history and recipes handed down through as many as four generations of the families that make up the organization. The lodge was established in 1917, but many of the dishes described in the edition date back much further and were initially prepared in various regions of the Italian peninsula.

A six-woman committee collected the recipes from the membership, gathering boxes of handwritten formulas for delicious meals on recipe cards and scraps of paper. Each woman then reviewed the individual recipes to ensure the ingredients and directions for preparation made sense before compiling them in print for the book.

Not only did they scrutinize the dishes, but they also investigated the families that provided them to determine bits of their history as well as from what region of Italy each recipe originated. Two pages within the book outline the character of those various regions and their history.

The core working group of the cookbook committee consisted of co-chairs Cynthia Hartlieb and Irene Louda along with Anita Smigill, Brenda Ault, Lillian Siebieda and Annette Ice. They met weekly for several months, poring over the contributed content and getting wrapped up in the stories surrounding the food and the families and friends it has brought together over the decades.

“It was work, but it was fun,” Hartlieb said. “The hardships that brought some of these recipes to fruition, it’s just amazing.”

The committee members said that in addition to serving as a fundraiser, the purpose of the project is to preserve their Italian-American heritage with a collection of more than 200 staples, desserts, side dishes, breads and more. But that’s not all the book contains.

“There are pages and pages of truly wonderful old family stories and history,” Hartlieb noted. You can pull anything up online, but to get these old family recipes — some are simple and some complex, but they are all just good.”

Louda pointed out that 66 different local families contributed to the effort. And to make it easy for someone to find their own family’s recipes, the committee included not just an index of recipes, but also a separate index of contributors. And each recipe notes where the contributing family originated, whether it be a region known for its wine, its cheese or its pasta.

“Just like in the United States, flavors are different from one end to the other” of Italy, she said.

The book contains sections for: Beverages & Appetizers, Bread & Pizza, Soups & Salads, Pasta & Rice, Second Course/Main Dishes, Vegetables, Desserts and Recipes for the Holidays. Examples of the dishes include: Tomatoes with herbs on pastry, from the Polsinelli family; Pizza fritte, from the Zaccagnini family; Gnocchi, from the DiNardo family; Veal scallopine from the Magistro family; Zucchini stew, from the Vinka family; Lemon blueberry ricotta pound cake, from the Damiani family; and Easter bread, from the Brunori family.

There are a couple of recipes that you won’t find within the book, though — the famous Italian sausage recipe the lodge uses to create the links it sells on its Thursday Pasta Nights and at the annual Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival in Wheeling and the recipe for its pasta sauce. Those remain closely guarded secrets.

The committee received its first shipment of completed books on June 30, and they have been shipping them out to fill orders from all across the nation. They will also be selling the books at the Italian Festival, which will take place July 28-30 at Heritage Port in downtown Wheeling.

According to the committee, the book would make an ideal gift for almost any occasion – a birthday, wedding, Christmas or an anniversary. Not only is the book interesting and informative, but the committee members said the majority of recipes are “accessible for anyone.”

“All of these recipes are tried and true, by our mothers and grandmothers,” Hartlieb said.

“Most people would feel comfortable with them,” Louda said, noting that some of the recipes are more complex.

Each recipe was proofed at least six times, while the ladies – all of whom were longtime cooks – asked questions of the contributors and worked at home to fine tune them. Then Siebieda, who also serves as lodge historian, transferred them all “from box to flash drive.”

While talking about how the book came together, the women also remembered about time spent in the kitchen with their own mothers and grandmothers. Louda, in particular, recalled how many recipes at home started with the cook creating a “flour well” in a bowl. Each also remembered how cooking at home didn’t really mean following a recipe – there were no measurements written down; instead, those experienced cooks simply knew what to do.

Each woman also has some favorite recipes from the book in mind to try at home or for a special occasion. Hartlieb mentioned an Alfredo sauce contributed by Jeremy Siebieda, while Smigill pointed to a polenta recipe and Ault favored the tiramisu.

Ault also noted that while the women had known each other before completing the project, their weeks of working together helped them to become close friends.

“We are bonded,” Hartlieb agreed.

The books will be available for $25 each at the Sons of Italy sausage booth at the Italian Festival and at the lodge at 3348 Belmont St., Bellaire. Books can also be purchased by calling 740-676-3178. Cash and checks are the only accepted forms of payment.



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