An Easter Parade of Food

By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine

When it comes to holidays, everyone seems to have a favorite. Most people are huge fans of Christmas. Other folks are enthusiastic about Halloween because they love to dress up and adore the parties. I have a friend who prefers the Fourth of July because she craves picnic food and likes to attend parades. Me? I always enjoyed Easter. My mom loved that holiday too, and it brings back memories of my mother’s baking and my grandmother’s kitchen. The breads are so light and fluffy! Everything seemed to revolve around ham – which was fine by me! My Nona’s ricotta cheese pie was the best concoction I swear I have ever tasted. Nut rolls ruled at Easter in our house. And who can forget the pickled beets and colored eggs? Now, I know that different families have different traditions. I respect all of them, too; however, please indulge me and let me share our Easter cuisine favorites. My mother was an expert bread baker. I remember a long bar in our game room her Easter bread. I can still remember fetching the big yellow enamel pan for her off the canning room shelf in the basement for my mother, as she prepared to make her famous buns and bread a few days before Easter Sunday. That was her magic bread pan! She couldn’t bake without THAT pan, and everything that came from it was delightful. that was covered with different kinds of rolls that she sold out of our house. Cinnamon buns, loaves of fresh bread and hamburger buns were carefully bagged and labeled for her customers. The one bread, though, that I loved the most was

Mom’s magic pan produced a very light, airy Easter bread that was like a feather. She made the dough, let it rise, and then rolled it into long strands. Then, she twisted them into all kinds of shapes or just made round loaves of bread. Sometimes, she would nestle a raw egg or two in the middle of a big bun too. She usually used the brown eggs because they seemed to look “prettier,” my mother thought. Baked until they were golden brown, she swiped a little egg wash on them at the end of the baking time and threw some sesame seeds on them. Sometimes, if she got fancy, the buns were flavored with anise, vanilla, or lemon – not too much! Just enough to give them that special taste.

How we savored those rolls! Ham sandwiches were the best on the rolls! Or we ate them with just some butter or we ate them plain! OK, I’ll admit – we just ate them!

I also remember my mother concocting the best ham salad in the world at the end of the ham. Funny thing, though, she would put baloney in the ham salad too,

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From the Editor’s Desk

Continued from page 3 the team, their studies, their extracurricular interests, and the interests of their lives. Coach Carlson appreciates his team’s success both on and off the court. “I am grateful for the good students and contributors that were on this team,” he said. “Most of these girls were on the honor roll and are involved in so many clubs and activities around the school.”

“The girls needed to manage their schedules, deal with injuries, and illness all while keeping good grades and being good representatives for our school,” he continued. “They made it easy for the coaches to worry about basketball.”

One of the beauties of high school athletics is the way it draws fans together and unifies them in their enthusiasm for and support of the hometown teams. Coaches and players alike appreciate the support they receive. “The season made me very grateful for the amount of support we received. Many people wished us luck and supported the girls by coming to the games” said Coach Carlson. “Many made the long trips to Erie and Bradford to cheer on the team. The turnout at our game versus Knoch in the playoffs was amazing and something I hope the girls do not forget.”

The Lady Chucks’ 2022-23 season is now “in the books” and their place in the tradition of excellence is ensured. May the young ladies remember the hard work that led to their success and the cheers of the fans who appreciated their efforts during a special season.

I would like to thank Coach Mike Carlson for making this column possible and Jacinda Gigliotti, a sophomore at PAHS, for the pictures that accompany the column.