My Biggest Family Secret

[@Nkp_09]

Grandad really laughed in the face of everyone that says that baking is a science and you must measure every ingredient

[@orbitsomnia]

hehe

[@BenjiRobi]

baker by trade here, we're lying, we eyeball everything and fuck around with whatever we want. Once you have a basic understanding of the science all you need is informed estimates.

[@billiechance118]

Those who don't bake regularly should measure. So those that do lie and say we measure so other ppls baked goods come out okay lol

[@autumnlakes23]

Love all the questions you posed that your grandad simply didn’t acknowledge 😂💕

[@izzychang]

a little hard of hearing or more responsive to italian, I think. but wholesome, nonetheless (ฅ´ω`ฅ)

[@supersizethefries]

Grandad drinking at 9AM is iconic, relatable, and girl boss power

[@Dana-cp8qz]

I love that your grandad either ignores or responds with hehe to your questions. Also I only have one grandparent left and i live so far away from her but i gained about 4 or 5 grandmas by joining my local stitching group where we do all sort of sewing, knitting, crochet etc. Listening to their stories about their younger days and seeing what they get up to today is so fascinating. I often forget that elderly people had lives before they turned 70. Also seeing them have fun in their older years is also amazing. Like one of them goes to latitude every year. Another one worked as a burlesque dancer when she was younger. One of them met her husband through a lonely hearts newspaper column. They all have such varied lives and its made me appreciate growing older. Im only 22 so im still miles away from being 70 or 80 but I feel a lot less scared of wrinkly skin and aching bones when I look at them and see there is joy in every age of your life.

[@planetaryg0]

that's lovely :,)

[@whereisjulia]

This is the sweetest comment 😭 I feel so happy for you and all your lovely grandmas!!!

[@caitlinc-r2957]

What a sweet and wholesome video! People over 90 are so funny, so many of them are kind of done with speaking in full sentences.

[@koalafriend]

Thank you PJ for sharing this with us! This time of year is so hard since there are significant grandparent dates this time of year for my family after they have passed. Glad you could enjoy this baking time with your grandpa!

[@Panzzer101]

The old man laugh that his granddad does is so adorable. He he 😄

[@rthomassonloper1]

this was very generous of you to share this family activity with us. thank you, PJ. happy christmas

[@garden.project]

as a 2nd gen italian immigrant to england this video means so much to me :') and i will be trying the recipe!! for any non-italian speakers who can't be bothered to use google translate, here's the handwritten recipe at 10:34 : 5 eggs 1 cup oil 1 cup sugar liquors, whichever you want to put beat eggs, sugar, oil, liquor put the flour with your fingers i implore you, make them well [there isn't a really good translation for "ti raccomando", it's much more colloquial in italian than it sounds in english lol] thank you, Lina

[@danmartinico944]

"Farina condita" actually means seasoned flour, "con dita" would be with your fingers 😂

[@Andrea-fh5vv]

Italian here. "Tazza" in Italian can mean both cup and mug. In this case, seeing from video, it means mug. So it's 1 mug of oil, and 1 mug of sugar. As to the "ti raccomando falli bene", yeah, it can be colloquial and that's the case. I would translate more with "make sure you make them well". Also, it's a very wholesome piece of paper, as it ends "Grazie Lina", which means "Thanks. Lina". Probably Lina is the person who gave him that recipe, maybe his wife or sister.

[@aliendonnie]

I love this kinda recipes where it is basically a list of ingredients that you have to feel how much you need to put

[@kuparisiipi5173]

That is the true grandparent type of cooking right there. No determined amounts, just vibes. How wholesome, much love to grandpeej

[@mickeylecompte]

my grandma (who immigrated from Italy to Canada as a young girl), wanted all her amazing recipes to die with her, so she refused to teach them to anyone or write them down. Her pizza was my favourite food of hers though. I remember her teaching me to make her pizza when I was a child, and I said something like, “Why are you showing me if you don’t want people to know?” And she said, “You’re 6, you won’t remember.” She was right, I don’t remember the recipe lol, but I’m glad I remember cooking with her :) and that memory still makes me laugh

[@falloutphan7341]

"you put too close!" - granddad liguori, 2023

[@MRLNLY]

My grandma (Abuela) used to make this soup that I loved so much. Unfortunately none of my family asked her how she made it and now that she has passed away, I can remember the way it tasted when I eat my sad attempts at recreating it. This was a great video. Much respect to your grandpa

[@AliceBarnden]

i really read that as soap and was so confused the more i read

[@koalafriend]

*hugs* I have some similar questions of my grandparents who passed and now we're all like "well... that's not it"

[@Fluffymonkeyem]

Granddad passing the torch (biscuit)

[@magbinious]

dude your grandpa is doing amazing for 94!! congrats!!! 🎉

[@berbeeb]

You put too close!!! lol All of my grandparents passed before I was old enough to appreciate things like traditions and recipes, so seeing your family have moments like this is cathartic, especially around the holidays. Thank you for sharing!!

[@jons_z]

This video was more like a short-film I'd see at a festival. I absolutely loved it, and would love to see more videos like this, if you like making them PJ. Thank you for this reminder to visit my grandparents, and listen to their stories more often.

[@illuminae4725]

Grandads Biscuit Recipe (to my best estimation): 6 eggs (whisked) 1 mug sugar 1 mug oil 1 shot of brandy Several heaping tablespoons of flour until you reach a thick batter consistency Drop a tablespoon mound of the mixture onto some icing sugar and coat it, place onto baking tray with parchment paper. "cook until ready" whatever that means, but I'll assume 365f for 15-20 minutes???

[@spidermanisreal9590]

As an Italian, I just realized that I do indeed kiss both cheeks of my grandparents when I greet them 😂

[@indieconquers]

Well, PJ, I liked a lot of the phrases. Thank you for sharing this with us. What a sweet lil video. "I threw a roast potato at my granddad" "you put too close!" "tall dark horse of an uncle"

[@Sima_.]

“You put too close” puts Gordon Ramsay’s “it’s raw” to shame

[@gretaiseppi6437]

I didn’t expect this video to make me tear up but here I am 😭 I never got to meet my grandad on my mom’s side and the other one on my dad’s side died when I was little, so maybe that’s why this video is so touching for me. the handwritten recipe at the end definitely gave me the knockout blow 😭 so sweet, and my grandma’s called Lina too!

[@gretaiseppi6437]

also nintendad cameo!

[@freakMasha]

thank you for sharing this precious family recipe with us! You don't really realise how big of a treasure it is until you find out how many recipes were lost over the years because people had no one to pass them to. My goal for next year is to learn all the recipes from my mum. I bring shame on my family's name and don't know how to make borsch yet for example haha For obvious reasons I started feeling more strongly about my culture's preservation. I wanna know stuff that will help me always have it with me, even if I lose some material things or my home eventually.

[@phloxazure]

PJ's heart-to-hearts are one of my favourite elements of his channel.

[@PeopleCallMeBiscuit]

The handwritten recipe at the end is the gem for me. Elders are archives. Lovely.

[@MisaoMRyuzaki]

I love that you put the original recipe at the end! I’ll try and make grandpa Liguori biscuits for my family :) my aunt has a chocolate pie (crostata) which uses mugs for measuring so I guess I’ll be fine haha

[@mediamom27]

I'm going to give it a try as well, non alcoholic and gluten free.

[@InvisibleDrew]

As much as baking seems like it should be an exact science, a lot of the time it's really more about the ratios of the ingredients to each other than it is about exact measurements. As long as you use the same cup to measure your ingredients and use whatever the right ratio is, it will usually work out, regardless of if it's a huge mug or a smaller cup. It's always so nice to see how much love and care older relatives put into making things with their family members, even if they've gone a bit hard of hearing and mostly make you watch as they make the biscuits, it's really lovely that you still have such a good relationship with your grandfather, and that he's still chugging along at 94!

[@victoriaaahhhhh]

This video was so sweet and heartwarming. I never really met my grandfathers because I'm the youngest in my generation so I was a baby when they passed, kind of the same with my grandmothers so I usually find it hard to watch these because I don't like to know what I missed out on, I also can't really relate, but all the same this video had me smiling all the way through. So this is who your liar trait comes from! But thank you PJ for sharing this moment with us of your family

[@BananahRae]

I love his little laugh. It makes me think of my grandmother’s smoker’s cackle. I miss her alot.

[@alicenham]

"I wonder what my grandad biscuits will be" - I love this as a way to think about small legacies

[@gas_on_my_hands8283]

i never met my great grandfather, but he, too, moved from a small Italian town to find work in bricklaying, in the United States. he moved here at 17 years old in 1923. he died thirty years before i was born, but his spaghetti and meatball recipe has been passed down by my grandmother. its like you said about the biscuits - ive never found a spaghetti sauce that matches the taste, and the ingredients/amounts werent measured exactly. in the past year ive been able to get in contact with much of his family, family we previously hadnt heard about, through my ancestry research. thank you for sharing with us, PJ :)

[@votria]

I definitely agree how taste is an underutilized part of nostalgia. When I was a kid my grandpa used to make a stew that I used to love so much, but he never taught it to my mom or any of my relatives and he's losing his memory now and is too weak to stand on his own nowadays. So it's really a lovely idea to learn recipes as a way to preserve tangible memories

[@kathrynzeh7907]

I wasn't expecting wholesome Grandad content, but I'm here for it and a lot teary. Everyone is so lucky to still have grandparents around and a good relationship with their grandparents. As for the measurements, my grandma had some recipes like that and when it's not an exact measurement, you 'measure from the heart'. It's a Southern/Island Virginia thing.

[@ciara1045]

i think its a grandparents thing because my nan from ireland is the exact same :')

[@applefructose]

This is so sweet. I don’t have any living grandparents, and haven’t for many years. I wish I could have had more moments like you have, cherish them!

[@danielerosalino5618]

I’m in tears! This reminds me so much of my grandma! She is still alive at 96 years old but, unfortunally, she can’t do much now-a-days. It’s such a shame how we take so long to appreciate and truly get to know our grandparents! I would love a video, next september, on grandad Ligouri’s wine!

[@aval00]

What a sweet video! Your grandad seems lovely. I'm taking a trip in a couple weeks to visit family, this video made me realize I should take time to talk to my grandpa more! He just turned 76 I believe, and the way your grandad was saying bye to you reminded me a lot of my Abuelito.

[@annagiambarda]

This video is so sweet, I lost all of my grandparents in these past few years and I realized too late how precious the time spent with them was. I wish I would've learned more from them. The one thing that I hold dear to my heart is that as I grew older I realized just how similar I am to my grandma. Totally unrelated, but I also discovered just now how very Italian PJ is, I honestly thought that just his grandad was Italian lol

[@emilywithers4849]

I absolutely adored the footage near the end of the household bits and bobs. There is a whole story in every corner of every home that we will never know, but means the world to a person. I love those little stories

[@raquelespinola513]

it's so sweet because you can tell the grandpa doesn't really understand all the questions pj does and he just answers back a "hehehe" "no" same, if you find yourself in a position when you don't understand something, just smile and nod hahahaha really sweet video!!

[@MyMidge22]

You can't make me cry like that when I'm eating mashed potato PJ, it's gone cold now!

[@istannen5679]

grandparents just know how to feel the dough and the dough recipe my grandma gave me is also half guess work and feeling the vibes 🤝

[@caitlingoodemote3830]

I always wanted videos of my grandparents, because after you lose them (I’m 2 down) you would do anything to hear their voices again❤ I’m so glad you were able to do that with your Grandad and that it can be a cherished moment for years to come!

[@randomhuman_1999]

this was so comforting with just the right touch of painful melancholy :') i wonder why i feel like crying

[@stacie_somerset]

This is such a comforting video to watch over the holidays. Thank you, PJ!

[@loveIetter]

3/4 of my grandparents already passed away - my grandma before she even turned 60, and both of my grandpas in their early 60s. sometimes i think about what our relationship would be like now when i’m 24 and about how they haven’t seen any of my important life events. when i see adults spending time with their grandparents it feels sort of bittersweet but i’m so glad people get to have that in their lives

[@BiancaDelahaye]

Thank you for making this. my nanna and I used to do all the Christmas baking together but she stopped cooking a few years ago and this brings back memories of us in the kitchen together 💗🥺

[@juliacardoso9945]

oh boy i cried a lot watching this video and remembering my grandma, miss her :(

[@PixieLovesItAll]

Much love to you Peej, thank you for this heartfelt video. A majority of my grandparents passed quite young, and as a grandkid born in between generations to older parents I didn't really get to know any of them, so I'm learning to treasure the older people in my life more and more the older I get, too.

[@kitreadsbooks7718]

i loved seeing this and your reflections. reminded me of my grandpa who also moved to the uk from italy as a young man and we always did the same greeting

[@alarocker]

I just lost my grandfather in September and we were fortunate enough to know a little ahead of time that he had dementia (even though it was organ failure that ultimately caused him to pass) but I was able to get a day of learning to make his famous chili and record videos of him preparing it so this video hit extra close to home ❤❤ thanks for the comfort video pj I needed it ❤❤

[@lpodverde]

My grandparents had a vineyard and we pressed grapes and made wine every year. Also a dish that is close to a grape juice pudding with cinnamon and crushed walnuts.

[@camtheartist]

as an english w an italian family this was so comforting to see

[@hmg191]

Humble and honest, god bless grandad pj ... and yes something about grandparents and measurements - its a pinch, a glug, a dollop or a smidge in our house!

[@Olly__Zines-By-Blade]

This was a really cute video and it came at a great time for me. My granny passed away just a few weeks ago, and her ''Grandad biscuits'' were Chocolate Biscuit Cake. She made it for all the family gatherings and it tastes like my childhood - even though it's really simple I've never eaten something exactly the same. My aunt made the chocolate biscuit cake when we met up at Christmas this year, and it was perfect - I intend to keep the tradition in the family for as long as possible. Whenever I eat it now I'll not only feel that childhood nostalgia but think of her

[@earthtoamanda7574]

PJ, I understand those existential thoughts very well. my morfar immigrated to Chicago from Stockholm when he was 19 (also was a bricklayer) and before he passed he used to tell me that he wished he stayed in Sweden after he met my grandmother (when he was in the army and stationed in France). Though I'm glad that I have been able to reconnect and stay in touch with my family in Sweden, and now I have his families pannkakor, risgrynsgröt, and glögg recipes that I can make my own.

[@immortanyoshi8577]

Thank you for sharing this moment with your grandad. This video took me back to having small moments like this with my late grandfather. This was so heartwarming and lovely to see you with your family. ❤ I hope that you’re able carry on his recipe. Also, how’s the wine? :)

[@donrex2321]

My grandad used to make a pineapple soda drink. I don’t like fuzzy drinks but that’s the only one I always had when I came over because he had his own soda machine and was so excited to make some for us

[@kierabelson4021]

this is such a beautiful video PJ :)) i really wish i'd done the same thing with my grandma's recipes a few years ago, but we lost her so unexpectedly when i was 16 that i never got the chance. thank you for showing such appreciation for grandparents ❤❤❤

[@lydiaallen9924]

Had a similar experience with my grandma recently… sharing recipes is such a special act

[@ALEXIEDWARDS7]

I'm getting teary-eyed and I'm two minutes in. My grandfather is 92 and I hope I get to share some time like this with him. He's still very active, I have to bring his power sander that I borrowed back to him, so he can sand and repaint his benches before spring.

[@sprinkledsunshine]

This is so cute ♥️ Love the little recipe card at the end. Is it on the back of a photo or postcard? Very nostalgic

[@sprouseyy]

this video you can truly see how special this was for you and to film! thank you for sharing with us!

[@EleanorTin12]

I love your grandads laugh, he reminds me so much of my grandpa- he had such a sense of humour and seeing Grandad Pj laughing knowing he had all that wine in the garage just reminds me of him- for my grandpa the secret was all the chocolates he wasn't supposed to have tucked in a little jar nearby. That and swearing as much as he could and turning of his hearing aid so my gran could tell him off till the cows came home and he would just laugh, blissfully switched off from her squeals of annoyance 😂

[@boylilikoi]

this video is so sweet, what a lovely time capsule for the future man. the last part hit me, i also wonder what ill be known for within my family, that is such a sweet sentiment i never thought of it that way

[@kHz0]

what a breathtaking video. the tender shots of the little magical spots around the house when taking about what you will pass on was amazing. i hope he knows how loved he is!!

[@TheKatieBusby]

This video is so beautiful. It brought me to tears at the end there

[@parkerm5051]

My mom’s side of the family is Italian. My mom grew up on a farm and her family speaks a near-dead language. My grandfather passed away when I was young but my grandmother and I have cooked tons together to the point that she gave me her old pasta maker when we got her a new one

[@jeanz638]

this is so wholesome

[@Angie-wj9qd]

Makes me wish I could have learned about my great grandmothers bread recipe. I remember one year my mom was given the bread and I had a piece, and it was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately within the last decade, she started to develop Alzheimer or dementia (i do not remember which one). Early this year she passed away, and the last time I had visited her was 2017. I'm very grateful I was able to see her again, but it was bitter sweet, really. My grandmother is getting me a few things from her house, and I'm a little curious if I'll ever see a recipe book with her handwriting. I didn't know her well enough, but I sure do miss her.

[@jamielozano6195]

I recently got to sit with my grandma and record her stories, she's 92 and this video gave me the same warm feeling that sitting with her gives me. sending much love to you and your grandad

[@bellamyavery]

As someone whose grandad was also an italian immigrant (tho he migrated to austria, not the uk) this was really heartwarming and it was really interesting recognizing some similarities, like the focus on a respectful greeting. I'm so glad you get to make precious memories like this with your grandad

[@eternaltreasure8333]

aww this is so sweet!!! the little "hehe"s that he makes tooo!! thank you for sharing! asking for family recipes is hard, i hope you made an edit somewhere for your family that shows all the cooking steps for the future!

[@eyes_espresso4803]

I had a similar experience when my grandmother finally taught me how to make her cornbread dressing. She's had a lot of surgeries, and she hasn't been able to cook in large batches anymore. So now, it's up to me to make the cornbread dressing that my dad and I love so much.

[@Tailsbeth]

I loved this video 🥲 I've been baking since I was a teen & have a lot of recipes like this, I always wonder what might be passed on when I have kids in the future. Also need to learn my granny's trifle recipe, she does it every Xmas & I look forward to it all year 🥰

[@nicdug]

I'm glad you got to do this💛 very wholesome

[@beanboy8830]

pj this is a beautiful video, i echo the sentiments at the end!! this christmas i saw my great nan who’s 98 and still got the majority of her faculties - she’s incredible!! i recorded her once in 2018 talking about her childhood. it seems so long ago when i did that, like now i live halfway across the country so its not easy to see her as much any more. but i will hold onto that voice recording when she’s gone!! ❤

[@danielledeedee]

This is such a sweet and amazing video. My grandparents are from Italy as well (though they moved away when they were much younger than your grandad so they didn’t maintain a lot of the traditions and language). They’re the same age too and it brings me a lot of joy to use my grandmothers recipes! She also gets so happy to hear I make her pizzelles every year, it’s just a wonderful tradition. I feel like my grandpa is a lot like yours too, so this video just warms my heart! 💖 (Side note, it’s actually my grandmothers birthday today so this is even amazing timing for me to have seen this video lol)

[@JudithARobinson]

Thank you so much for sharing this, PJ. I'm 56 and there's always been a part of me that's sad about never knowing my grandads. One died shortly after I was born, and the other emigrated to Australia before I was born and I only ever got to meet him (and that grandma) once. Treasure your grandparents, people🥰

[@raykrieger6784]

Such a beautiful video. Thank you for sharing this with us PJ. This had me in tears happily remembering when my grandma taught my dad and I how to make her famous homemade family bread with a recipe straight from Slovakia. Such special memories and a wonderful recipe that I'm looking forward to passing down in the future

[@minecraftfreak151]

Thank you PJ. I lost my grandparents last Christmas and this warmed my heart. I am so glad that you have these memories and thank you for sharing this with us

[@SometimesIWriteStuff]

My heart is so warm. Thank you for sharing this, PJ.

[@himynameisnickolas]

This video made me unexpectedly emotional. Its so sweet.

[@isaacsinclair4043]

thanks for making this video its so sweet :,) really reminded me of my own grandad and his jam in the garage! and got me very nostalgic. hope you guys had a good Christmas

[@maiulen93]

My grandad still bakes his own sweet bread for christmas and it is a tradition that got from my great grandad who came from Italy to Argentina looking for better opportunities. When I was little my grandad would also bake pizza every thursday for the whole family. Nowadays I bake them every once in a while. Those little traditions are good to keep alive. Lovely video PJ.

[@rhiagray]

beautiful piece of storytelling pj!! rly made me think abt my own fam and nostalgic ties at an important time of year for us :o)

[@alicenham]

My Grandma used to make the best beef casserole. We attempted to learn it from her, my mum watched exactly how she did it and copied it, but it never tasted quite the same. Sometimes there's some extra grandparent magic too to give it the flavour we remember

[@MelanieTheAdventurer]

Incredible beautiful video. Thank you for sharing with us.

[@kingure6237]

The recipe at the eeend, I love how every italian grandparent has the same handwriting. (Also the "ti raccomando falli bene" is the sweetest thing)

[@ellamould3653]

The sweetest thing 🥹🥹🥹 grandparents are so special and your grandad seems like such a character. And your exactly right we should cherish every moment we have with them ❤️

[@pixyireproductions]

This is a really delightful video, thank you so much for sharing it

[@ErickaJanes]

What a beautiful video! Thank you PJ!

[@NixieEppler]

This is a wonderful video. I lost my great grandma a little over a year ago, she was 89. She grew up dirt-floors poor in rural Oklahoma in the 30s & 40s. She was a home maker through and through. I wish I’d learned more from her in my childhood. I’ve become a stay at home mom now and try my best every day to replicate the love and comfort she breathed into the home. I baked for my family’s holiday celebrations this year and wish I could sit in her living room and tell her all about it. Ask her for tips. This was a really awesome video for you to make

[@marciavera1819]

this was such a lovely video, thank you for sharing it with us! my grandad is around the same age as yours an he is an immigrant too. he would always tell me stories about how he left his home country to come to work here, and now that I'm older I am in awe at how young he was when he made that decision. he loves to cook and has a beautiful garden, and he still shares his memories with me. grandparents are such a treasure

[@Xtrems]

As someone who's left their life behind and moved to another country for better opportunities: I respect and admire your grandpa - I'm only 23, and I'm struggling immensely to survive without my usual support network. Currently sick for the third time in four months due to overexhaustion and harsh living conditions. The only thing I could think of when listening to your grandpas story is: he went through the same, but so, so many years ago when everything was this much more difficult. It's insane to think about.

[@Cosmicatoms]

this video made me miss my grandpa a lot, i’m so glad you shared this special time with all of us

[@farrahwho]

pj, you put too close!! no good!! in all seriousness, this was such a lovely video. nothing better than connecting with your relatives in a way that you weren’t able to when you were younger

[@puddlebones]

such a sweet and cozy video ;-; love the measuring of ingredients with just heart and vibes, your grandpa is adorable 😆 am so happy for you that you're able to share this experience with your granddad and preserve something so special to you ❤️ taste is such a strong nostalgia-evoker for sure. my grandma on my mum's side always used to buy me wanton noodles from a specific place whenever she visited because she knew I loved it, and whenever I have it now I always think of her. The quality has dropped unfortunately so I can't say they're the best tasting anymore, but they're still my favourite noodles and I love them all the same simply because of the nostalgia and warmth that comes with eating them. thank you for sharing this lovely video with us!

[@MS-bi4lb]

This is such a sweet and heartwarming video. Loved seeing the 3 generations of boys just hanging out in the kitchen. I love recipes that have vague "you have to feel it" measurements, those are proper family recipes

[@chiaragff]

This video is so heartwarming, especially at this moment of the year. I've seen my own grandad in yours, in the way he moves and in his shy smiles, in his silent passion and creativity. Mine loved making wine, and tomato sauce and we used to spend a lot of time making jam, too! We're all very passionate cooks in my family, but I've never found that wonder in watching him do it, again. He taught me that problems were normal and we can solve them without necessarily follow the rules. Nobody in my family cooks with measurements, we "use the eyes" as we say here in Sicily. I find it so beautiful, and it's a good thing to learn, I think. Thank you for sharing this. I don't know who Lina is, but I can see in your eyes that your grandad sure made these biscuits well, as she recommended

[@sliverofamoment]

This is so wholesome! The older I get the more I realize how precious the knowledge of my elder family members is. I feel so grateful that only a few months before my grandma died I learned my grandma’s mince tart recipe. I was surprised to discover that all along she bought the tart shells and premade mincemeat and put them together to bake! She bamboozled us all our whole lives. I love it. It makes me laugh! Asking for your granddad’s recipe probably meant a lot to him. This was an act of love going both ways 💚