The Name Game

A new baby on the block! A new baby on the block! The nonnas are all excited. Mother and child won’t leave the hospital for several days, but the nonnas have ready their arsenal of new-baby regalia—hand-knit booties and caps, embroidered pillow cases, fresh fruit for the mom, and of course, tiny red bows to ward off the mal’occhi0. (See Nonna the Red Menace.)

They sit on the stoop, stringing and tipping the big, flat, green Romano beans that fill their front aprons. Early in the morning, all but one had made marinara sauce to coat the beans as they simmer. The lone holdout announces that she is cooking the beans “in a new way, with a smoked ham hock.” The others raise their eyebrows and continue to exchange remarks about “the crispness, the color, the juiciness” — they find many things to say about beans.

When they finish stringing and tipping, they tie the beans, the loose tips, and the curly strings into their aprons. They rise as though ready to step inside, when one asks “What’s she going to name the baby?”

“Three daughters, now a son,” says one. “You know she named the first girl after her mother-in-law.”

“That’s the custom; it’s only right.”

“Yes, but, since the second one was also a girl, she named her Louise, after her father-in-law, Louis. She can’t have a Louis and a Louise, and she should name the boy for her father-in-law.” the nonna says, shaking her head.

“Now she named the third girl the right way — after her mother.”

“So what will she call this boy?”

“She can’t name him after her own father. That shows disrespect for her father-in-law —the first boy and all.”

“I wouldn’t like to be in her shoes.”

Several days later, mother and baby come home. As the mother clasps the swaddled infant to her chest and makes her way up the stoop, the nonnas extend their good wishes. They hand the gifts to the dad, who is following the mother. They cry, ” So beautiful,” and “He’s perfect.” A nonna pulls back the blanket covering the baby’s face, and each makes a sign of the cross on the infant’s forehead.

One hesitates. Finally, she asks, “What did you name the baby?”

“We named him Peter Mario. Peter for my husband, and Mario after me — Maria.”

The nonnas breathe a sigh of relief. The name doesn’t follow the naming tradition. But who can blame a father for calling a son after himself, they all agree. Another family crisis averted.

Romano Beans in Sauce

Serves four

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Sprinkle oregano
• 2 cups tomato sauce, unsalted
• 2 pounds Romano beans, washed, tipped, strings removed

1. In olive oil, over medium heat, saute all ingredients but tomatoes and beans.
2. When onion and garlic are golden, add tomato sauce.
3. Simmer 20 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
4. Add beans, simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until beans are fork-tender.

Romano Beans with Ham

Serves four

• 3 quarts cold water
• 2 two-pound smoked ham hocks, washed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 pounds Romano beans, washed, tipped, strings removed

1. Place all ingredients, except beans, in a 4-quart nonreactive pot.
2. Over high heat, bring to a boil.
3. Skim froth from surface.
4. Reduce heat to medium
5. Simmer 2 hours; skim froth occasionally.
6. When meat is falling off the bone, add beans.
7. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until beans are fork-tender.
8. With a slotted spoon, remove beans from pot.
9. Discard skin and bones of ham hock.
10. Break meat into small pieces; add to beans; serve.