Graziano Renee - How to use a meat cleaver: secrets and recipes from a mob familys kitchen

FOOD. WE LOVE IT. WE LIVE IT. We dream about it. We fight over it.

On the television show Mob Wives, where Renee is one of the stars and Jennifer is the creator and executive producer, there are many scenes centered around food. The women on the show go out to dinner to discuss what is going on in their lives, they cook for their children, they discuss sending food to their husbands who are away, and they invite each other over for dinner parties. We caution you, however, to think twice before going over to a Mob Wives house for a dinner party. For one reason or another, the most conflict on the show happens during what is supposed to be a nice dinner event or a quick conversation over food. Do you remember Renees sit-down dinner where an all-out brawl broke out? Or Dritas heated conversation with her husband about sending the wrong food items to prison, ending with her ripping the phone out of the wall and telling him he shouldnt eat? Karen and Carla, as well as Ramona and Carla, both had heated arguments over dinner, and lets not forget the brunch at Big Angs house that had butter knives on the loose. Whats wrong with this picture? Its not always bad, though: Big Ang and her son bond over the amazing meals she cooks for him, and we did see the entire clan come together, kids and all, to bury the hatchet over a beautiful sit-down dinner celebration in New York City at the end of Season 2. Seems to us that dinner with the Mob Wives mirrors dinner with the Graziano family. Just like any typical (or not so typical) Italian family, we may fight over our meals but it seems like food is the common denominator that brings us all together in the end.

Every holiday, we gathered at a family members house to celebrate over food and drink. Everyone came over and spent time telling stories and talking over pasta, meats, salads, vegetables, good wine, and dessert. From great aunts, to grandmothers, to Mom, Dad, and cousinswe all got together and each made one of our own specialties. Recipes passed down from both Moms and Dads sides of the family were always enjoyed in our home. Our maternal grandmother, Nora, was the best cook and teacher. Lana, the eldest of us Graziano girls, sat at her side all day long helping her by adding a dash of this and smidgen of that. Lana honed her cooking skills over the years as she watched, took notes, and cooked side-by-side with our grandmother, mother, and even our father. Even though Dad was not the kind of guy you would expect to find in the kitchen, he was an amazing cook. We remember watching him jar his homemade caponata, marinara sauce from fresh tomatoes, and many other specialties.

Lana spent lots of time perfecting her craft until she one day opened her own restaurant, where she cooked in the kitchen herself and trained her own chefs. Speaking of restaurants, wed also like to pay homage to a very special restaurant in our lives. Supreme Macaroni Company, located in Manhattans Hells Kitchen, was owned by our grandmothers sister from the late 1940s and remained in her family up until it was sold about ten years ago. Supreme Macaroni was where our father first learned to cook. He and our mother both worked there when they were fifteen and nineteen years old, respectively. Love of food spawned love of each other.

We remember visiting Supreme Macaroni many times when we were young. We hold many fond memories of this place. We used to visit Tia Suzi, Aunt Faye, and cousin Marilyn all the time, and they even let us help sell the dry macaroni in the front of the restaurant, which was an old-style