CTFO NANNY

2020 – What a World! What a World! What a World!

This year has been one for the books in more ways than one; hence the title… which reminds me of the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West. Between the Pandemic, Social Media, lost jobs, missed relatives and Politics… I was ready to backhand quite a few people and I’m sure most of you were too!! The pandemic is by far the worst of it all; I’ve ever heard of so many people passing away in…

THOUGHTS ON EAST HARLEM

A few weeks ago was my Aunt Margie’s Birthday, she would have been 96 years old. My cousin Anthony posted a tribute on Facebook to her (his mother) on her birthday. Aunt Margie was a character, as were most of my aunts and uncles. We had a very large family; the Tocco children numbered 14 – eight boys and six girls. Sundays at my grandparents were madness. Grandma and my aunts would cook the…

Winter and the Holidays

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog, but it’s been a rough year. I think of my sisters every day and can’t absorb the fact that I will never see them again. I’ll have to wait for my time.

Wintertime is a difficult time to begin with because it’s cold, your cooped up, and you don’t get out as often as you would like. Coupled with the fact that the holidays are near and you already have a…

I think I was two years old in this photo

I’m writing this blog as an homage to my sisters. Some days I wake up and forget that both my sisters are gone. Ann passed away on March 22 just a bit over three months ago and July 8th was the one year anniversary of my sister Rose’s passing. They were an integral part of my life and I miss them very much. I don’t think I missed my mother when she passed…

Mussie – Continuation

There are so many more Mussie stories I had to do a continuation. He was a lovable character in so many ways. In addition, he was the most generous person I have ever known. Although I was standoffish with him at the beginning, I grew to love him dearly.

Mussie took care of his entire family…which included his sisters, brothers, their children and grandchildren. After my mother passed…

Frank Greco AKA Mussie, was like a father to me. Today is March 4th, his birthday.

We moved to the projects in May of 1955 to First Avenue and 115th Street. I was 11 and Mussie and my mother met shortly thereafter. I called him my stepfather, but the truth is he and my mother never married, but in every respect I regarded him as a father. Nicknamed Mussie from an early age the story told was…

Growing Up With My Family in East Harlem

My parents separated when I was three years old. Unfortunately I don’t have too many memories of my dad or his side of the family when I was younger. Luckily my mother’s family was large enough so I had plenty of relatives around. My saving grace at the time were my two sisters Ann and Rose. As most of you might be aware from my blog, Rose passed last July. I still can’t believe she’s gone.

Sorry I haven’t written in a few weeks, but I find it hard to come up with interesting topics to write about that everyone will enjoy. So this will be a bit of a mishmosh.

Nanny’s Italian Kitchen My cookbook

Trying to diet and making cooking videos on my YouTube channel is definitely a challenge. I’ve been on the Keto diet for the past three weeks, especially after looking at some of the…

Struffoli, Turdilli, Angeletti and Walnut balls

When the holidays come to an end and all of the decorations are put away, the cooking, baking and eating are done, there is always a sense of sadness. Another year gone by. What did I accomplish in the year past? Will I stick to my resolutions? Thankfully I’m still here and kicking!

Accomplishing My Goals

Do you find yourself looking back…

The Holidays and the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Christmas is two weeks away and I usually have my immediate and extended family over for Christmas Eve.  We all look forward to it. It’s the one time of the year where we all celebrate together.  I think the headcount is around 30 this year.  However, there is still some family drama which I wish we could eliminate all together… but I guess it goes with the territory, especially in…

Shopping For a New Car

This week I went shopping for a new car and boy let me tell you it was exhausting and enlightening. There are so many different cars to choose from, not only which brand but the options each level comes with.  Expensive…to say the least.  I thought maybe I would look for an American made car, but the American cars are more expensive than the foreign makes.

Cars Were All-American

My mother and…

Thanksgiving Dinner Then and Now

Italian-Americans eat a lot of food on Thanksgiving, but not as much as we used to when I was growing up.  There were at least five courses…starting with an appetizer, pasta dish, turkey and all the sides, fruits and nuts, and then dessert with espresso.  Usually we started with an antipasto which consisted of all different variations of cheeses, meats, vegetables, etc. served with Italian bread…

The Children of Today

The children of today have it easy and also they have it hard.  That is to say, they have all this new technology that they use at school and at home which helps them educationally as well as creatively. They can find out anything they need to know on the Internet.

However, it’s hard on them because they are set up to higher standards.  What I mean by that is so much more is expected of them. …