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
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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. Rake 30 m in
utes.
■•aai
GOLD EAGLE FISH MARKET
BUFFALO FISH................................................ 11.69/lb
CULTURED PROTEIN FED CATFISH........... 12 59/lb
GAR................... .................................................82 26/lb
GOO...................................................................91.69/lb
NEW ORLEANS OYSTER.............................. »1 99/jar
M E A TB A LLS I N PA S TA SA U C E
Pasta Sauce:
1 leek
Vi cup olive oil
2 large onions, chopped (about 2
cups)
1 cup chopped green onion (about 8
green onions)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
One 28-oz. can tomatoes,
undrained, chopped
3 cups water
1 cup dry sherry or muscatel
One 12-oz. can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon basil leaves, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 Vi teaspoons salt
Vi teaspoon pepper
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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— — »
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