A Modern Italian Chef

Whenever you are around the woman we decided to interview this month, you instantly feel taken care of -- she asks how you are, if you're hungry, and if you could use a drink. A natural host. Born into a big Italian family, there's nothing she treasures more than being around those she loves. It doesn't matter if you're arguing politics or talking about the every day blessings and tribulations of life, loud or quiet, big family and big company is what makes her happiest...besides cooking up a good Italian meal. And let me tell you, she is an amazing cook. Enjoy this interview with Mrs. Gina, a modern Italian chef.

{Picture left to right: Sam (Ellen's fiance), Ellen (daughter), Kent (husband), Mary (daughter), and Max (Mary's boyfriend)}

1. Who taught you how to cook?

My Mom, Mary Castellano, who was an excellent cook. She loved cooking so much that when we were younger, my Mom took night cooking classes. One of her recipes that I loved most was her Polenta and Chicken, it was my Grandma's recipe.

2. Why Italian food?

Both set of my Grandparents came to America from Italy. My Mom's side, maiden name Cadorin, came from Lake Como, northern Italy. The food there had more of a Swiss influence. Whereas my Dad's parent's, Castellanos, came from Sicily, Italy. That part of Italy has more of your traditional Italian food, with the meat sauce, pasta, and meatballs.

3. What is your favorite thing to cook?

I like to make a good marinara sauce or meat sauce. Though I do enjoy making homemade pasta noodles, it's very time consuming and I don't often have that kind of time. Plus, there are products on the market that are just as good to use.

4. What is one of your favorite memories that revolved around cooking?

Entertaining on Sundays -- the house didn't have to be clean. All that needed to be "clean" was the kitchen and dining room. It was 4-6 hours of just spending time with family talking around the table. There were no appetizers maybe some salami and cheese. It was just talking and dinner. Then came the after dinner drinks and stories to be told. Entertainment was built around the food.

5. Do you have any favorite cook books that you like to use?

I probably use my family cookbook most, it was made more than 10 years ago and is filled with some of my family's favorite recipes.

I also have cookbooks around the house that I've enjoyed using or simply just reading!

6. What's the secret to a good Italian cook?

Passion. Anybody who can read can cook. Everything revolves around meals in my family, and it's where I am most comfortable. I don't use a recipe verbatim, I love coming up with my own recipes and trying new things.

7. Does your family have a favorite recipe of yours?

What's funny is, about 10 years ago, I found a recipe in Oprah Magazine for Pasta A Magdalena, and to this day, it's the one dish they always ask for! This recipe is different because you cook the pasta in the sauce, meaning you boil it all together on the stove. Even my family from Italy says it's one of their favorites! Who would have thought?

8. One of your family's closest friends opened an Italian restaurant on the Hill, here in St. Louis, Cunetto House of Pasta. It truly is one of my favorite Italian restaurants, can you tell us more about the background of your family connection?

Frank Cunetto's (owner) father, Vince, was one of my grandfather's best friends. They were born two weeks apart in the same Village in Italy. Our families have grown so intertwined that we now have large Cunetto - Castellano reunions. Vince and Uncle Joe Cunetto started the restaurant on The Hill in St. Louis. The Hill used to be home to a large population of Italian families. Hill Day was once an Italian celebration where everyone gathered for wonderful food and drink, but that ended in the 70s for your usual reasons. Even though the Italian population has slowly declined, Cunetto House of Pasta is still a treasured restaurant in St. Louis, and our family goes there quite often.

9. How would you explain being in an Italian family?

Great sense of family. For instance, my Dad's mom had siblings in LA and New Jersey; whenever we visited his family in California, we would make homemade pasta. Once we had finished you could find us outside eating and talking. My Aunt treated us all so well. Aunt Lou from New Jersey, would always get us together and we would cook and and talk all night long. Or if family ever traveled from Italy, we would rent out places just so we could fit all of us in one room. The room was always filled with food, drink, and people talking. We simply just enjoyed one another and never took the together time for granted. But most of all, everybody took care of one another.

10. Is there anything you hope to pass on to your two daughters?

Enjoyment in cooking and food and coming together with those they loved. Family is most important.