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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1982)
Page 2 Section II Portland Observer, April 29, 1982 BOUND— Mama Celeste shares her famous recipes M A M A CELESTE Yes, Mama Celeste is real. She’s not a m a d e -fo r-T V char acter, this irrepressible woman who has made “ Abbondanza” (meaning abundance) a household word. A t 72, Mama Celeste Lizio is very active and well in Wheaton, Illinois. She’s still the heart and soul o f a big Italian family for whom food is life and livelihood. A t home, as every where, it seems, she is known for her incom parably good Ita lia n cooking, her ready smile and her legendary generosity. In the family circle, she is known for her lavish Sunday dinners, Ita l ian feasts seasoned w ith the basil, sage, thym e, garlic, leeks and peppers that she grows in her own garden. In the Chicago vicinity, she is still celebrated as the cook and p ro p ri etress o f the Kedzie Beer Garden and later. Celeste’s Restaurant on Kedzie Avenue, West Side la n d marks from 1937 to 1962. Crowds o f well-wishers from the old com m unity gather just to see her each year as she rides on a flo at in the C hicago Colum bus D ay Parade. There are shouts o f “ Mama Celeste! M am a Celeste!** and, o f course, “ Abbondanza!” For M am a Celeste is also nation ally famous as the recipe consultant and star o f commercials for Celeste Frozen Pizzas. Each package bears her name, and photograph. Indeed, duplicating her old family recipes w ith a u th en tic ity was not an easy task. They were all in her head, or, as she puts it, “ M y cook ing is in my hands.” She has never measured an ingredient nor followed a written recipe in her life. And she is much more comfortable speaking in her native tongue than she is conversing in English. H ow , then, were her recipes orig in ally duplicated in frozen foods formulas? As she worked with food technologists at the research labora tories o f The Q uaker Oats C om pany, which has m anufactured Celeste Frozen Pizzas since 1969, she picked up the am ount o f each ingredient that “ felt just rig h t” to her. Then, just before it was sprinkled on the pizza, it was taken fro m her hand fo r weighing. She chose sausage and pepperoni and rich tom ato sauce blended with TURKEY BREASTS FRESH-FROSTED 4 TO 7 herbs and spices. Because she serves her fam ily only the finest q u ality seasonings and ingredients, those are the ones that go on the pizzas that she endorses. M a m a ’a pizzas have been so popular that three new flavors are being added to the lin e .. .Suprema, Suprema without Meat and Canadian Bacon. “ M y cooking is my lif e ,” says M am a . It has also been her life story. A t 7, little Celeste was at her mother’s side cooking in the family restaurant in the Ita lia n village o f San Angelo, near Naples. A t 21, she married Anthony Lizio and came to the United States. Never did she leave food behind. They settled in Chicago and o p er ated a grocery store on the West Side o f Chicago fo r seven years. Then, in 1937, they first opened the Kedzie Beer G arden in the same neighborhood. Together she and Anthony (who died in 1969) did all the cooking and established a repu tatio n for the generosity o f their servings. They did not skimp on hu man kindness either. “ I gave food to the poor neigh bors,” Mama says. It was during the restaurant years that Celeste L izio became a mama. The L izio children— W illie , T o n y, Patrick and Clara— did much o f the work o f running a restaurant: help ing w ith the cooking, washing dishes, waiting tables and greeting the patrons/friends who stepped in side to have a taste o f O ld Ita ly . “ W e grew up th e re ,” says C la ra . “ T he customers became our fam ily .” T h eir list o f memories is long from the days when Celeste’s on Kedzie was the place to go. They re m em ber— the singing waiters that crooned to the crowds; the venison and bear feasts; the spaghetti, mani cotti and ravioli that they gave away; the seven-day w ork weeks; and the sweet satisfying arom a o f Italian tomato sauce simmering in a pot on the back o f M am a’s stove. In 1962 they decided to sell the restaurant, They had begun to freeze M a m a ’s recipes in big p or tions to sell to other Italian restaur ants. The Italian specialties proved to be so popular that the Lizios soon had a thriving frozen food business. When Quaker acquired their Celeste Ita lia n Foods division in 1969, Mama agreed to be a consultant and spokesperson. Times have changed, but no one in the family will forget the days o f the fam ily restaurant. The big cop per pots hang in M am a’s kitchen to day. “ I still can’ t cook lit t le ,” she says. So it’s a good thing that there are plenty o f folks around to eat the big batches of minestrone and mani cotti that flow from her hands. M any o f them are her grandchil dren. For Mam a is a grand-M am a, and, as o f M ay 28, when D anielle was born, a great-grand-Mama. W h at does this fam ous Ita lia n cook prepare when the generations gather at her house? Chicken Cac ciatore and Pasta Sauce, among other specialties. The recipes en closed were developed by M am a Celeste in her own kitchen. They have been put into standard recipe style to make them simpler to fo l low. Sample them, and you’ll know why the fame o f a good cook called Mama keeps spreading___ C H IC K E N CA C C IA TO R E LAUNDRY DETERGENT J 9 0 9 E Chicken: Two 3-lb. broiler-fryers, cut up Vi teaspoon salt V4 to *6 teaspoon pepper Vi cup water Sales - Service - Supplies For All M akes and Models (One Block North of Broadway on Union) E U R E K A ELECTRIC CO . L Meatballs: Vi lb. dry Italian bread, torn into small pieces Vi cup milk 2 lb. ground beef Vi lb. ground pork 2 eggs Vi cup freshly grated Romano cheese 2 large garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes I tablespoon dried basil leaves, crushed 1 Vi teaspoons salt Vi teaspoon pepper Vi cup olive oil For sauce: Sp lit leek in h a lf lenghthwise, then in h a lf again. Wash thoroughly; cut into I-in c h pieces. In 4-qt. Dutch oven, heat oil. Saute leek, onion, green onion and garlic in hot oil about 15 minutes. Add tom atoes, w ater, sherry, tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a b o il. Reduce heat; simmer about 1 hour while preparing and cooking meatballs. For m eatballs: In large bow l, combine w ith just enough m ilk to moisten. Squeeze bread to drain ex cess m ilk. Add meat, eggs, cheese, garlic and seasonings; mix well. Shape to form about twenty-seven 1 Vi-inch meatballs. In large skillet, heat oil. Cook 8 to 10 meatballs at a tim e in hot o il.* Drain meatballs; add to pasta sauce. Simmer about 15 minutes. M akes abo u t 27 m eatballs and enough sauce f o r 2 lb. pasta. •N O T E : Meatballs may be baked in 4 0 0 °F . oven. Place on rack in shallow baking pan. 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Sandy BRAM OS you kn ew V A R IE T IE S y o u lik e SIZES y o u w n n l o o o 3 ^ 9 9 « New rorida SMOKED In s ta n t C re d it J e w e lry Co. 99* O SHOP lENOW 'S • Cacciatore sauce: 2 leeks 1 lb. mushrooms Vi cup olive oil 2 large onions, chopped (about 2 cups) 2 medium green peppers, cut into strips 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced One 28-oz. can tomatoes, undrained, chopped 2 cups water 1 cup dry sherry or muscatel 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley Vacuum Cleaner Headquarters flakes 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon basil leaves, crushed 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper For sauce: Split leeks in h a lf lengthwise, then in half again. Wash thoroughly; cut into 1-inch pieces. Wipe mushrooms with damp paper towel; slice. In large saucepan, heat oil. Saute leeks, mushrooms, onion, green pepper and garlic in hot oil about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, w ater, sherry and seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, about 1 hour. M ean w h ile, prepare and p artia lly bake chicken. For chicken: Heat oven to 4OO’ F. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Pour water into large, 2-inch deep roasting pan. A r range chicken in pan. Bake at 400 °F. 20 minutes. Reduce oven tem perature to 325 °F . Continue baking at 325 °F. 30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven. Re turn oven tem perature to 4 0 0 °F . D rain liquid fro m roasting pan; skim fa t. A dd skimm ed broth to sauce; pour over chicken in roasting pan. Return to oven and continue baking about 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Makes about 8 servings. B— — » LAMB R M A 79 •e a MRtOS PROS OOOO THROUGH SAT., MAY 1 SHERIDAN FRUIT Co. $ F U N IO N a. O AK 715
