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Easter holds warmest memories
Daddy posed us in our backyard, just a few feet in front of our chain link fence. In the background, across the street is the three-story frame Highland family house. Next to it is the brick bungalow belonging to the Stylers. Easter Sunday in Chicago could be a beautifully warm spring day or completely iced over. Mom never knew how to dress us until the Saturday before the holiday. This year must have been fairly warm. In this photo, my brother John is 3-1/2- years-old and properly dressed for Church. He's wearing a light blue suit with short pants over a crisply starched white shirt. On his feet are the brand new Buster Brown high-top shoes Daddy bought just for today at the Red Goose shoe store on Kedzie Avenue. Johnny's hair is all smoothed over with an extra dollop of Vitalis to hold down his cowlick Standing next to him is me--his sevenyear old big sister. I'm wearing a puffy sleeved, silky blouse under a yellow-and-gray plaid wool vest and a pleated skirt that is just above my knees. We're proudly clutching the treasures the Easter Bunny hid outside in between the lilac and peony bushes. The baskets are overflowing with the coveted chocolate bunny, chocolate-marshmallow eggs, jellybeans, cream eggs and straw. Daddy took this memorable photo with his trusty Brownie 616 box camera. We wiggled restlessly as we watched him methodically place his left hand at the front of the camera, focus us in the shaded viewfinder, snap the shutter, and then wind the film to the next frame. While Daddy was keeping us busy recording another precious Kodak moment, my mother was in the kitchen starting our traditional leg of lamb Easter dinner. Leaving Mom to tend to the dinner preparations, Daddy walked us down to the other end of our block where his side of the family lived. Daddy's Uncle Onofrio and his wife Marietta, their son John and his wife Clara and their daughters Marietta and Betty made up the three generations sharing their home. We girls -- Betty, who was my age, Marietta, who was two years older and I -- all got along well and played together. In addition to the baskets the Bunny left them, their Northern-Italian born grandmother baked them Easter bread woven around a colored egg. As a child, I was inquisitive as to how the nested egg got into the loaf of bread. As an adult, when I learned the dyed egg is raw when it goes into the oven, my curiosity peaked. I e-mailed my cousin Marietta, who-- with her many other talents--grew up to be a good cook. She was happy to share the family recipe and wrote back, "This is the recipe my Grandmother Marietta Luparello made for us every Easter when we lived with her and my Grandfather. "Nonna used Parmesan cheese and olive oil to flavor this traditional Northern Italian rustic bread. The whole family loved it, especially when it was served warm just out of the oven and with lots of butter." It's been many decades since I've tasted Easter bread, hunted for baskets of candy or shared roast leg of lamb with my aunts, uncles and cousins around our family's dining room table. But no matter how many years pass, the memories of those childhood days growing up surrounded by family, are my warmest of all. Mom's Leg of Lamb Mom punctured the whole leg of lamb with several pockets and stuffed each slot with whole garlic cloves and parsley. She put it on a rack in a roasting pan, seasoned it with salt and pepper and a little flour.
She put the lamb in the oven set at 325 degrees and basted it with its own juices or some red wine until the aroma was heavenly and the lamb was done to perfection, about three to four hours. Sprinkle yeast onto warm water; stir until dissolved. Sift 3 cups four, salt and black pepper into a large bowl. Add grated cheese, eggs, olive oil and dissolved yeast; beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a bowl that has been greased with olive oil, turning to grease bottom. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 2 to 2 1 / 2 hours. Punch dough down and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 1 / 2 hours. Reserve some of the dough for strips to hold egg. Shape into a smooth round ball. Place in a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Cover; let rise free from draft, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place egg on top with strips. Brush bottom of dough with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. Remove from baking pan and cool on wire rack. ! Antoinette Jackson is a Bullard-area resident. You may reach her at Antojxn@aol.com. |
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