This was a family favorite in Nana’s house.

1 day old sponge or angel food cake (not chocolate), cut into three layers
enough fresh bananas or frozen or fresh strawberries to completely cover each layer of cake
enough ice cream for same

On top of the bottom layer of cake, put enough fresh fruit to cover it. On top of the fruit put a layer of ice cream. Put the second layer of cake on top of that and layer it with fruit and ice cream. For the top layer you can do the same, or leave the top cake layer as is. Do all of this quickly because the ice cream will be melting. If you used strawberries, you can put the cake into the freezer until you are ready to eat it. Top with whipped cream or dairy cream.

turkey neck, gizzard, liver, heart
1 carton or can turkey broth
1 tsp ea salt, pepper
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 c lean hamburg
1/4 c ground turkey
2 Tbsp each fresh chopped parsley, basil, dried oregano
2 Tbsp Parmesean cheese
2/3 c rice

optional:  1/4 c chopped celery, carrots, apple

Place the turkey parts in a sauce pan, add the broth and enough water to cover the turkey parts. Simmer until cooked, remove the meat and use the remaining broth to make the rice. Chop up the gizzards finely, add all the other ingredients except the cheese and mix together. Add the cheese after the mixture has cooled.  Put in a baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes.
Note: This stuffing mixture was originally spooned inside the raw turkey cavity and cooked with the turkey as it baked. However, the amount that fit inside the turkey was never enough for the Zocco family at Thanksgiving, so Nana began making the larger quantity of this recipe, which should serve 6.

1/2 c  oat flour
1.2 c pastry flour
1/2 c rice flour
1/2 c rye flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp milk powder
3 eggs beaten
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 c milk to start
5 oz apple juice concentrate

Sift dry ingredients together. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, oil, milk, apple juice concentrate. Mix all together. Add more milk if needed. Pour into lightly oiled frying pan over medium heat, approx. 1/4 c per pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Serves 6

This bread was so popular that when Nana baked it for a bake sale or a charity lunch, it never made it to the table because the person in charge of the event loved the bread so much he or she kept it for themselves!

2  1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour (optional), to make 3 loafs of bread
2 c milk
4-6 Tbsp butter
handful brown sugar
little bit molasses if desired, to taste
4-5 tsp salt
2 c water
2 pkgs yeast to dissolve in water (follow the directions)
add 1 tsp sugar
handful of any of these: grape nuts, granola, wheat germ, bran, oatmeal, bulgar
1 or 2 eggs (depending on the dryness of the climate)
raisins if desired

Heat the milk, add the butter, brown sugar, salt, water. When lukewarm add the yeast
mixture, the eggs, and beat. Add the whole wheat flour and the handful of whatever
grain (or grains) you want to include, and the raisins.

Now follow the procedure for raising the dough in Nana’s Pizza recipe.

Pizza dough directions

Follow the directions for the yeast. Sprinkle wheat germ on the table and put the dough on it. Knead rapidly while dough is still warm until the dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Pat olive oil all around the dough ball and put it back in the bowl, in a warm place such as in the oven or in a sink that contains warm water. Leave it for 20 minutes or until the dough is double inn size. Then punch down the dough, turn it over and let rise until you get a springiness from the dough when you press lightly with your finger. The other indicator is that the dough has doubled in size again. This should be about 45 minutes.

For bread loaves, cut this dough into three equal parts and put into greased bread loaf pans. The the bread rises one more time in the pan.

Bake 45 min to an hour.  The dough should have shrunk a bit as it baked.  At 45 minutes, take from the oven and out of the pan, put on a tray, so air can go through, flick with a finger.  You should get a hollow sound, if not, but the bread back into pan and the oven for 10 min.

1 loaf unsliced French bread or sourdough (day-old bread works well for this recipe)
1/2 stick butter
2 large or 3 small cloves garlic, smashed
oregano to sprinkle on the bread

Slice the bread into chunks about 1″ thick and allow to dry completely.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the garlic and simmer til light brown then remove the garlic pieces from the mixture. Using the garlic sauce, butter both sides of each chunk of bread and sprinkle oregano on top. Put the chunks back  together into the loaf form, wrap in aluminum foil and bake for 20 min at 350 degrees.

Alternate short version: after buttering the bread, use garlic powder instead of the garlic cloves, add oregano and dribble with olive oil and toast in a toaster oven.

1 3/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1/3 c shortening
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 c ripe bananas

Cream sugar and shortening, add eggs and beat. Add sifted dry ingredients,
alternating with bananas. Bake in greased loaf pan 350 degrees about 70 min.
Sometimes I add crushed pineapple, orange juice (not much).

1 c hot water
1/2 can frozen raspberry/cranberry juice
1/2 can frozen orange juice
12 eggs beaten
1 qt bag nonfat powdered milk
1/2 c regular oatmeal
3/4 c fine cornmean
1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves
1 c sliced almonds
1 c raisins
6 slices multigrain bread cut into 1/2 inch pieces

In large bowl pour 1 c hot water, add juices. As soon as juice is defrosted add the
rest of the ingredients except the bread and mix. Add the bread last.
Pour into a 9 x 12 x 2″ greased baking pan. Bake 30-40 min at 425 degrees til knife
into center comes out clean.
Place on table top until lukewarm. Cut into 1″ squares. Makes 5 to 6 dozen.

Background story: When the first “natural food” store came to town many years ago in South Miami, Nana found it and was delighted to have wheat flour to bake with. She loved the taste of this bread, so she served it at one of the regular friendly poker club meetings that she and Nunu attended. One of the friends there was a head bakery and cafeteria forman, whose job was to travel around various areas inspecting the cafeterias, and who had done a lot of baking himself. Everybody loved Nana’s bread and this man tried to duplicate it but couldn’t, so he (and everybody else) was very delighted whenever Nana would bring this bread to the poker meetings.

2 1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 honey
1 c chopped nuts
3 1/2 c unbleached flour
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c rolled oats
2 pkg active dry yeast (follow package directions)
1 Tbsp salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsb butter
2  1/2 to 3 c whole wheat flour

Grease two 9″ x 5″ loaf pans. Heat butter, honey, buttermilk in saucepan. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup, level off. In large bowl, blend unbleached flour, oats, yeast, salt, eggs, liquid mixture. Beat 3 min, medium speed. By hand, stir in whole wheat flour and nuts. Brush top of dough with butter. Cover, let rise in warm place until double in size, should take 30 to 35 minutes to raise. If it takes longer than that to raise to double size, it’s in too cool a place and the yeast won’t rise properly. You may need to put the pot in a warm place like in warm water. Then take out the dough and beat down dough to original size (turn over and beat down on all sides) and let rise to double size again, between 30 to 35 minutes.

If it doesn’t raise properly it won’t bake up properly because the yeast has quit working. Once you have the second raising then cut into 4 sections for regular sized loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Can possibly tell when it’s done by the nice browned top. Also can thump the bread with finger and listen for a certain sound when it is done.
Tip: Depending on the amount of moisture in the air, or lack thereof, you may need to add more flour or water to get the right consistency. If it’s wet outside, add more flour, but make sure it isn’t sticky. Flour has to be kneeded thorougly into proper consistency.

Pizza Sauce

1 onion
1 large can stewed tomatoes
small can puree
sprinkle of oregano
sprinkle of basil
salt, pepper to taste

Brown the onion in a pan, add the tomatoes and mash in the pan til mostly liquid.

Pizza dough

2 lbs unbleached flour
2 pkgs granular yeast (rule of thumb is one pkg of yeast per pound of flour)
1 – 2 eggs (use 2 if you are in a dry climate)
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp honey or sugar to taste
3 Tbsp butter
wheat germ or flour to sprinkle on the table
1 Tbsp olive oil

Follow the directions for the yeast. Put the flour into a large bowl or pot and make a well in the middle. Pour in the well the yeast, egg, salt, honey, butter and beat together within the well. Gradually add 1 c very warm water so the butter and honey will melt, and gradually incorporate the flour into the mixture. Add warm water as needed (not hot, as that will kill the yeast).

Sprinkle the wheat germ on the table and put the dough on it. Knead rapidly while dough is still warm until the dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Pat olive oil all around the dough ball and put it back in the bowl, in a warm place such as in the oven or in a sink that contains warm water. Leave it for 20 minutes or until the dough is double inn size. Then punch down the dough, turn it over and let rise until you get a springiness from the dough when you press lightly with your finger. The other indicator is that the dough has doubled in size again. This should be about 45 minutes.  Grease the pizza pans (Nana used rectangular pans.)

Cut the dough in half, let sit for a few minutes, then spread on the greased pan and let it rise again abt 1/4-1/2 inch “. Sprinkle olive oil on the dough, then oregano. Add whatever cheese you plan to use (parmesian, mozarella). Add other toppings (we had pepperoni, sausage, olives, marinada sauce, provolone, or cheddar) and then let the finished pizza sit for at least 10 minutes to raise a bit more.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 1/2 hour and start testing at 20 minutes for doneness. Take the pizza pan out and set it on a place such as a rack so the pan is elevated.

Note: This pizza has the thick Sicilian crust.