Papa's Sauce

Family, Love, and Papa’s Sauce

There are two types of people in this world in regards to food, which include people who eat to live and people who live to eat.  People who eat to live do not look at food in the same way people who live to eat do.  I am most certainly a person who lives to eat.  So many different foods are a huge part of my life, whether it is a fresh, crunchy tuna sushi roll, a rare steak with a hot, red middle just off the grill, or a bowl of juicy watermelon on a hot, summer day.  However, there is one type of food that not only has a place in my heart for its deliciousness, but also for the connection it has to the importance of my family. Italian meals are that key type of food. 

            My family on my mother’s side is from Naples, Italy.  My great grandmother was the first of our family to come to America.  As the generations have worked their way down to mine, so has my family’s strong sense of Italian pride.  In Italy, food is a huge factor in the importance of their culture.  Pastas, breads, and various sauces are created to combine deliciously rich and filling Italian meals.  These meals are especially important to my grandfather, Tom Franco, (although we refer to him as Papa) because it was his mother who came to American from Naples, Italy.  He works extremely hard to keep Italian traditions in our family, especially in regards to food.   

            My Papa Tom has his own version of real Italian pasta sauce that he serves on various types of noodles, including spaghetti, rigatonis, penne, and raviolis.  This sauce, known by our family as Papa’s Sauce, is something that is significant to the Franco family in that hours of work and love are put into making it.  Whenever we go to visit my mom’s side of the family in upstate New York, we always experience at least 3 or 4 Italian meals, with Papa’s Sauce always being included.  Helping my Papa Tom in making the sauce is always something I look forward to.  This all day process includes cutting fresh tomatoes, making homemade meatballs and cutting up Italian sausages, along with adding crucial Italian ingredients, such as garlic and basil.  The sauce cooks all day on low heat, and as the seasonings and countless tasty flavors begin to fuse together, the house fills with an aroma that is absolutely enchanting.  When the sauce is finished and is served on warm, smooth noodles along with a sidepiece of perfectly soft yet wonderfully crispy, Italian, broiled garlic bread, there is not a single meal in the world to compete with its flawlessness.  We all sit together as a family around my Papa’s dining room table to enjoy Italian meals like these, and when we do, there is not a single place in the world that I would rather be. 

My Papa’s daughters, including my mother, Hilary, and my three aunts, Jillian, Amy, and Julie, all cook their own versions of Papa’s Sauce as well, with their own added or neglected ingredients deriving from his.  At least one Sunday out of each month, my mom spends the day cooking her version of Papa’s Sauce.  I am always eager to help, whether I am in charge of hand making the meatballs or just simply stirring the array of magical ingredients together, which is what makes cooking this meal so special.  Not only is it delectable, but it also brings our family together, while keeping our Italian heritage alive.  It is for this reason that my Papa Tom makes such a strong effort to teach his daughters and grandchildren the importance of being an Italian, especially in regards to cooking Italian foods.   

When I have a family of my own, I plan on creating my own version of Papa’s Sauce, just as my mother and aunts have done, and in turn, teach my children to make it as well.  For me, being the daughter and granddaughter of an Italian family is a gift that has no compare, and I am so thankful that our family views Italian foods as such a strong part of our family unit.  As I said, I am a person who lives to eat, and when eating something as special to me as Papa’s Sauce, I think about how thankful and happy I am to have been born in the Franco family.