A recent blog of mine mentioned a woman I met years ago in TN who had a tacky, superior attitude. I want to make clear that she was definitely not from TN. or anywhere south of there. My best guess would be that she was from Worms Hole, MA. Years ago, we were on the ferry from Nantucket back to Woods Hole, MA, and a drunk kept walking around asking passengers when we were going to arrive at Worms Hole. I’ve never forgotten that. It’s just the sort of place to spawn a witchy women like I mentioned in my blog. (I want to make clear, however, that none of my TN friends reading this blog was that woman!)
Having been the family of a small town banker, we were awfully tired of feeling that we were on display every time we went out to eat or did anything at all in public. When we moved there in 1971, Knoxville represented a new freedom for our little family—a very welcome one! We did not select a house in the more elite part of Knoxville, close to down town and UT. Instead, we bought a new house, in a fairly new subdivision, out from town. That way, we got a lot more house for our money. We were blessed with good neighbors and are still close to some of them.
At the end of our first week, in Tennessee, we took our kids and went to a big store that kind of sold everything. I guess it was more like present day Target. We bought jeans and boots for everyone, even me. This was before women wore pants everywhere like they do now. The time was early January and it snowed off and on all day that day. People were just going about their business as if there was no snow. I found that really difficult to believe. In Georgia, snow flurries signal immediate trips to buy bread and milk. Then everything closes and people go home. I seem to remember that being one of the snowiest winters we had up there and we loved it. I insisted that Tony put snow tires on my car – but then I refused to drive if there were more than ten snowflakes around. We sold those tires at a garage sale some time later.
Tony and I made some plans and promises to take effect in our new state and they were a new beginning for our little family. We agreed that we would not take part in organizations that required our being apart in the evenings. Lunch time activities were allowed but not for me in the summer. Tony and Bruce went hunting a few times in the fall and Dee went to my Saturday DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meetings with me a few times but I soon stopped going to those. They were terribly boring and I couldn’t keep refusing the jobs they wanted me to do.
For the most part, instead of going out, we had folks over to our house, kids’ friends as well as our own and lots of the young bank crowd who worked for Tony. I doubt that more than two or three neighbors knew what Tony did for a living. We were just us- not someone’s daughter or son, as we had been known in Georgia. Without the required and demanding social schedule, I had time to read a little, cook as much as I was in the mood for, learn to knit etc.
One recipe that we enjoyed a lot was for Baked Manicotti.
Recipe from a little book called Italian Cooking Made Easy, copyright 1964, Kaufman
Baked Manicotti
2 cups Ricotta cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mazarella cheese [grated]
salt and pepper [about1/4 tsp]
2 eggs
Add all the above and beat together til smooth
12 manicotti shells
tomato sauce [recipe follows],
grated cheese
Cook shells in boiling salted water until slightly underdone. Drain. Fill shells with cheese mix and place in lightly greased baking dish.
Cover with basic tomato sauce. Sprinkle with lots of grated cheese - your choice, or a mixture is good.
Bake in preheated 400 degree oven, about 20 minutes or until sauce bubbles around the edges. This can be completely done ahead except for baking. May take a little longer to bake if it has been chilled.
I have used a tsp to poke the filling into the shells – and sometimes have just slit them open, filled, and placed seam side down in the dish.
Recently, we tried some of those big,pasta sea shells instead of the manicotti and they were good too. Pepperoni added to the cheese mix or sauce is delicious.
Do Not Overcook, you don’t want it to dry out.
BASIC TOMATO SAUCE
4 tbl olive oil ,heat in heavy saucepan, add 1 medium finely chopped onion and sauté until soft but not brown.
1 -16 oz can tomato sauce
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste, diluted with 1 cup very hot water
¼ -cup sherry
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
Add everything to the onion, blend well, allow to simmer slowly about an hour and a half, until smooth and thick.
I’ve made this many times using fresh tomatoes , very ripe. Just push them through a strainer, using a wooden spoon. Can also use a 16oz can of tomatoes, strained. Throw away the pulp.
Actually, this is best made a day before and wonderful to have on hand.
I like to make a large dish of this and hope for leftovers.
The above recipe, served with good bread and maybe a green salad is heavenly on a snowy, evening, before a blazing wood fire!
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