Celebrating Pi Day the ICAN Way!

ICAN celebrated Pi Day in a very ICAN-way today… through food and coming together with PIE to share the many cultures we represent! We held a multicultural potluck at our Family Resource Center during lunchtime.

It turns out that every culture has some form of pie or filled dessert – there are open faced pies like pecan pies and pies topped with a crust like pot pie and even pocket pies that are folded or stuffed like calzones or empanadas.

Staff members made or purchased some delicious pies to share that had meaning to them and their families. Below is a sampling of what WE sampled today.

We’d like to thank our DEIB Coalition for spearheading this day and all of the departments who helped make it happen – from Events to Facilities!

We LOVE working together and celebrating each other!

Tomato Pie

While you can get tomato pie in other areas in the United States, many will say that Tomato Pie from Upstate New York is the best! I would even go so far as to say that Utica Tomato Pie is the absolute BEST. My Grandma Giglio used to make Tomato Pie every weekend in her Mary Street home in Utica. She made it the traditional way and served it at room temperature. She used homemade dough, homemade sauce, no mozzarella and loads of Pecorino Romano cheese! She would make it and put in her window sill to cool along with homemade cupcakes for all of the neighborhood folks to come and share.

Kristen Rasmussen, Chief Clinical Officer

Lemon Pie and Apple Pie

Lemon pie was my favorite pie as a child, and my mother only made it once in a while. It was always pure happiness when I took a bite!  Apple pie is special to me in that I always made it with my family on the holidays. I learned over the years from making with my family as a child, and tweaked the recipes to be my own versions as an adult.

Sandra Bellassai, Director of Early Childhood Programs

Lemon Pie and Apple Pie

Lemon pie was my favorite pie as a child, and my mother only made it once in a while. It was always pure happiness when I took a bite!  Apple pie is special to me in that I always made it with my family on the holidays. I learned over the years from making with my family as a child, and tweaked the recipes to be my own versions as an adult.

Sandra Bellassai, Director of Early Childhood Programs

Sicilian Cassata Cake

This sweet treat has become a symbol of Sicilian food, but in America, it’s a popular Italian cake usually served around Easter time. I learned it from generations of family. Different generations make different variations, including differences in the amount of eggs used in the recipe. That affects the bottom of the cake and its custard-like texture.

Matt Buono, Chief Strategy Officer

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

This is a treat many Italians make to celebrate St. Joseph’s Day annually on March 19. Growing up Italian, food is always the staple of family and community. Passing down recipes is also a part of my family, though I bought these from Desserts Beyond the Ordinary where I started working in the bakery at 12 years old.

Matt Buono, Chief Strategy Officer

Flan

This was my favorite dessert as a child. In the Dominican Republic, I lived next to a baker and I used to help her with dishes so I could watch her and learn to make desserts. I was very excited to learn how to make flan. I hope everyone enjoys eating it as much as I do.

Yolaida Parra, HARP Clinician

Polish MudHens

My mother made these every Easter!

Emily Hansen, Communications and Public Relations Specialist

Apple Pie

I taught myself how to make apple pie after growing up in LaFayette, NY where the Apple Fest is held every year. Apple pies bring back the memories of this event and seeing the long line of people purchasing the hundreds of pies that the local church makes and sells. 

Kim Millington, Children’s Health Home Program Manager

Shepherd’s Pie

My husband is a Deputy Chief for Ilion Fire Department. The firehouse is his second home and one sacred place for all of the firefighters I know is the dinner table. When it comes to firehouse meals, everything is taken seriously from the grocery shopping, prepping, cleanup, and especially the conversations around the table. It is where retirees come to share a cup of coffee at the start of a shift, where laughs are shared, where they debrief after difficult calls, and where they can sit in silence because everyone just needs a break from the day.

A firehouse staple, a meal that is prepared often, is Shepherd's Pie. The meat, the potatoes, the veggies, the cheese, all the things that they need to fill up their bellies midway through a 24-hour shift with all of the comfort from home. If you ever find yourself reading through a Firehouse Cookbook, you'll be sure to find a recipe!

I learned to make Shepherd’s Pie through trial and error, with a little help from Gordon Ramsay.

Kate Driscoll, System of Care Project Director

Cherry Pie

Pies and baking have always been an important part of our family. I can always remember my grandmother baking lots of pies for local community and church events. Cherry Pie is a family favorite and one of the first pies I learned to bake from scratch from my mom and grandmother.

Emmie Petronio, Director of Quality Improvement

Cannoli Pie

Cannolis go back to Roman times and were offered to symbolize spring. I bought these for the celebration because cannolis are an Italian tradition and this is the pie version of them.

Lisa Reginelli, Director of Transitional Services

Sausage Bread

This is a special dish for me because it’s something my mom makes for almost every occasion and event.

Adrianna Judd, Housing Manager, Evelyn’s House