My Grandmother’s Ravioli

Running the risk of becoming Generations United’s pop culture blogger, I just had to share another great thing I learned via Twitter.  The Cooking Channel just launched a new show called My Grandmother’s Ravioli starring Mo Rocca. For those who don’t know Mo, he is a writer, journalist, and comedian. He currently is a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning,” panelist on NPR’s game show “Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me!” and among other things, former contributor to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

I love Mo and he is quickly earning star status here at Generations United. First, Mo does a wonderful story on multigenerational households for “CBS This Morning” in January.  Next we hear about his new show where he learns to cook from grandmas and grandpas which aired this past Sunday. 

The idea for the show came from his own personal experiences. Every Sunday, his grandmother made homemade ravioli for the family dinner and he deeply regrets never learning her recipes before she passed away. He also proclaims that he is a terrible cook and decided who better to learn from then other people’s grandparents. 

I was able to see the first episode Sunday night and it was charming. I recommend you check it out.

During this show, Mo visits two families – first Mila a Filipina grandmother who shares her paella recipe and her husband who shares his Romanian sausage recipe, and then Pops, an Italian grandfather who just started cooking after his wife passed away. Mo’s rapport with the grandma and grandpas is wonderful to see, as is the passion these remarkable individuals have for sharing their recipes and cooking for their extended families. My husband was even inspired to try the sausage recipe – I’ll be sure to share the results! The highlight of the show for me was the culmination of these cooking classes - the family meal. It was wonderful to see Mo share a family meal with the grandparents, their children and grandchildren and to celebrate the multigenerational family.

In my research for this blog, I found this terrific promo for the show on “CBS This Morning.” I just love hearing Charlie Rose, Gayle King, Erica Hill, and Mo talk about the importance of intergenerational connections! 

Even better, Mo is looking for who he should learn from next.  If you know a grandma or grandpa who should be on Mo’s show just tell him why on the show’s blog.

-Sheri

Photo courtesy of The Food Network/Cooking Channel