Tender squash and caramelized onions: This hearty side dish is a meal in itself.

Old World recipes warm the
soul.

Talk-show hosts will sometimes pose a hypothetical situation to their guest to reveal something about the person’s values and preferences. What five books would you take with you to a desert island? What person from the 19th century would you like to have dinner with? What one inanimate object would you retrieve from your home if it were burning to the ground? For the latter I might be tempted to select our family cookbook. It is the repository of all our family food treasures, and holds the recipes we extracted from my mother and grandmother while they were still able to reconstruct the dishes they always prepared from memory.

These were passed along in an oral tradition from mother to daughter and sometimes father to daughter in an unbroken line back to their native land of Sicily. I barely knew my great-grandfather, and I have never been to Sicily. But I can experience the exact same taste sensation he did as a young boy near Palermo eating a plate of breaded and roasted cardoon a root vegetable similar to an artichoke). The baccalà (dried salted cod) we ate on Christmas Eve was identical in every way to the salty, spicy centerpiece of the family’s Vigilia 200 years ago. Families trace and remember their history by looking through old photo albums and marvel at the resemblance of new members to their ancestors.

If you’re lucky enough to have an old journal or collection of letters, the details of daily life can infuse the pictures with even more realism. But eating the exact food they consumed is a most-vivid way of connecting to our families’ history, traditions, culture and values. We ate our share of hamburgers, potpies, roasted chickens and pork chops when we were growing up. But every once in awhile, Mom and Gram would reach into our culinary traditions and bring forth an authentic gem. I can’t say I always appreciated them as a child, but I was struck by the near reverence they gave to the preparation and enjoyment of these dishes. One of the most idiosyncratic of these recipes was fegato agrodolce (sweet-and-sour liver). Although the title of the recipe implies liver (fegato), they would also make the same dish using squash or pumpkin. As I’ve researched the dish, this substitution seems to be common in Italy, since the squash mimics the meaty texture of the liver.

They prepared this dish with an almost-liturgical precision and reverence, and made only enough to satisfy their own appetites, since the rest of the family was rarely interested. The aroma haunts me now and brings back fond memories of the first two women of my life and a connection to all the mothers and grandmothers who came before them. And it reminds me that it’s not too late to share this recipe with my children.

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TOP 10 ESSENTIALS FOR COOKING
Here's my top-10 list of kitchen essentials for a well-equipped kitchen:

1. An 8-inch chef knife and 3-inch paring knife. Make sure they are high-carbon stainless, forged knives. Avoid the "82-knife set."

2. Cutting board. I favor nylon or bamboo. In either case, make sure it is lightweight and at least 12-by-20-inches.

3. Measuring cups and spoons. You'll need a 2-cup and a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, a set of measuring cups for dry ingredients and a set of measuring spoons. Stainless steel is the most durable.

4. A 12-inch nonstick skillet with cover. Tri-ply such as All-Clad is the best for even heating. This pan does everything from omelets to sautés.

5. An 8-quart stock pot. This is essential for boiling pasta, steaming vegetables or making large batches of chili, soups and stews.

6. Colander. Get stainless steel with firmly riveted handles.

7. A 3-quart covered saucepan. This rounds out your pots-and-pans inventory for small boiling projects and heating canned soups.

8. A four-sided cheese grater. Freshly grated cheese is a big flavor boost for your cooking. This tool is also useful for grating vegetables and shredding lemon zest.

9. Sheet pan. This inexpensive pan has raised sides and can be used to bake cookies, breads and pizza, or to roast vegetables and meats.

10. A 6-quart slow cooker. This is a working couple's best friend. Ten minutes of prep in the morning yields a dinner entree and loads of leftovers. The models with the thickest insert provide the slowest, most-even cooking. Be sure it's at least a 5-quart capacity.

- Chris Fennimore