Hello neighbor.
Our Greenfield neighbor Rob Chirico has finished his book, “Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes,” and will be signing copies at World Eye Bookshop on Main Street in Greenfield on Saturday from noon to 1:30 p.m.
The award-winning chef learned to cook as a defense against his Italian mother’s awful meals, he tells us in the book. The first sentence of his touching and funny memoir is, “My mother was an assassin.”
Unlike how we imagine the traditional Italian mother — creating mouthwatering dishes like puttanesca, Rob’s mother didn’t like to cook, he says. Dinner was often a bowl full of Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs or sandwiches filled with cold cuts.
Aside from the meals, Rob’s home was filled with a lot of laughter and love, and in this nostaligic and affectionate look back at his journey from the frozen food aisle of a Queens, N.Y., grocery store to gourmet chef, he fills his memoir with more than 70 recipes, which he says he has perfected along the way.
If your idea of heaven is food and family, dig into the book and then make some of the recipes and dig into them.
Rob is a freelance writer and artist living in Greenfield. He says he has always been interested in food. He flipped burgers in college and had no idea he would enter the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Contest in 1991, where he was flown to the Napa Valley in California and competed for and won the grand prize of $10,000 — a belated congratulations, Rob!
He also wrote, “The Field Guide to Cocktails,” which is in its third printing, “Martini Madness,” and “Up in Smoke.” He also wrote a novel, “Onward Kitchen Soldiers.” His nonfiction book, “Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in America,” was published by Pitchstone Press in 2014.
I will be away next week — my last weeklong vacation of the year — so Neighbors will return on Oct. 19. See you then!
ARE YOU A GREAT GIFT WRAPPER? I’m not, so if you’d like to share your gift-wrapping tips with me and Recorder readers in an upcoming Holiday Gift Guide, email them to Chris Harris at: charris@recorder.com or call her at 413-772-0261, ext. 265.
ROAD ID: SENIOR SAFETY will be the topic on Thursday from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Greenfield Senior Center, 54 High St. Greenfield TRIAD/S.A.L.T. will be announcing its new program, which can be worn on the wrist. Learn about the life-saving device and receive a 20 percent discount on your Road ID. Call 413-772-1517 for more information.
WENDELL FREE LIBRARY will offer Learn Ukulele with Julie on Thursday and on Oct. 13, both at 6 p.m. The free lessons, group-style, will be a workshop for adults and older teens. You should plan on making both sessions. The library is at 7 Wendell Depot Road. For more information, call 978-544-3559.
GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE SENIOR SYMPOSIA will be “Paying for Single Payer” on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. Gerald Friedman will present at the Downtown Center, 270 Main St. in Greenfield. Registration is $10. Register by calling 413-775-1661 or online at: www.gcc.mass.edu
ROBBINS MEMORIAL CHURCH in Greenfield will hold an apple and blueberry pie sale on Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the church on Munson Street. To order a pie ahead of time, call 413-773-7624. Unbaked and sugar-free pies will be available by reservation only.
THE WILDER HOMESTEAD IN BUCKLAND will hold Colonial Day on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at 129 Route 112 in Buckland. It’s presented by the Buckland Historical Society. Step into the past at the 1775 Wilder Homestead. Sample activities from the Colonial era, including open-hearth cooking, oxen, weaving and much more. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children.
GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S SENIOR SYMPOSIA, “In Search of Stability in the Middle East,” will be held Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Downtown Center, 270 Main St. in Greenfield. Presenter will be Ted Thornton. The cost is $10. Register by calling 413-775-1661 or online at: www.gcc.mass.edu
FIRSTLIGHT POWER RESOURCES was recently a good neighbor by sending 22 fifth-grade students from Gill Elementary School to UMass Fine Arts Center to see the play, “Ellis: Island of Dreams.” The new musical follows the story of a family’s trials, heartbreak and triumphs — and it helps re-establish the understanding that we are all a nation a immigrants. FirstLight’s support covered bus transportation and the tickets for all students, staff and teachers who attended. Thanks FirstLight!
OUR NEIGHBOR POLLY ANDERSON is returning to Greenfield Senior Center, 54 High St., to teach a drawing class on Oct. 13 and 20 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Learn contour, negative space, shading, perspective and more. Beginners are welcome. Basic materials will be provided. Registration is required by Thursday, Oct. 6. The cost is $30 per person.
MONADNOCK TRI-STATE DANCE CLUB will feature live music by Playin’ Possum on Oct. 15 from 7 to 11 p.m. at Elmm Community Center, Durkee Street, Winchester, N.H. For more information, call 603-357-0794 or 802-722-9205.
To contact Anita Fritz, features editor at The Recorder, send an email to: neighbors@recorder.com or afritz@recorder.com
Information you want included in Neighbors should be submitted by noon two days before you want it to run. Neighbors runs on Wednesday.