Our Family
Francesco Crinella
Anna Crinella
Domenico Zurlo
Teresa Zurlo
Marino Crinella
Marian Zurlo Crinella
Uncle Domenic
Uncle Lou
Aunt Marguerite
Cousin Marina
Family Photos
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About the Crinellas •
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Domenic Crinella
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During the winters, we ate fresh roasted wild duck at least once a week,
because Pop hunted ducks at least that often. By the end of hunting
season, our freezer was full, and we ate ducks once or twice a month until
the next season. Wild duck is quite different from domestic duck--the two
share the same name, but not much more. Wild duck is all red meat--the
striated muscle that enables the bird to fly thousands of miles during
their annual migration; domestic ducks are not built for flying, and have
no red meat. While domestic and wild ducks have a good deal of fat, in
the wild duck there is only thin a layer of subcutaneous fat that can be
rendered out when roasting the duck.
Domenic Crinella, the oldest of the Crinella brothers was born in 1892.
He was a master plumber and probably most responsible for the success of
the Crinella Brothers Plumbing and Steamfitting business in Virginia,
Minnesota, that created the resources that enabled the family to move to
California. He was a squat, muscular man, with forearms like whiskey kegs.
Even as a youth, he tipped the scales at 245 pounds. He was a jovial man,
who maintained a soft Italian accent and a quick wit. But he was strong as
a bull, and was known in Minnesota for taking on all comers in a lumberjack
version of Greco-Roman wrestling. He won the regional championship by
throwing a gigantic Finnish immigrant into the lake, at a 4th of July
picnic, a storied feat that followed him all of life. We all knew the
story of how Uncle Dom tossed the "big Finn" in the lake.
As a young man, Uncle Dom married a local Italian girl, Stella Lenzi, who
had aspirations of becoming an Opera star, and eventually did become an
internationally-noted soprano. Unfortunately, their incompatible life
styles led to divorce, but not before their very talented daughter, Julie
was born, in 1917. Julie went on to earn a master's degree in music from
the University of Washington, and spent many years with her husband, Tom,
in the U.S. Diplomatic service, where her culture and social elan graced
the U.S. Consulates at various locations throughout the world, notably
Palermo and Genoa, where her fluent Italian came in handy. She was also
to be found in the violin section of the local philharmonic, and now, in
retirement, at age 81, she continues to play with the Seattle Symphony.
Following his divorce from Stella, Uncle Dom married a vivacious young
German girl, Frances Shugal from Virginia, Minnesota his wife of
nearly 50 years. Aunt Fannie was energetic, a marvelous cook, an even more
gifted organizer of events, and loved to entertain. More remarkable she
lived
for about thirty-five years with her mother-in-law in her home and never had
a cross word with her. Aunt Fanny learned to speak Italian so she could
talk
with Nona Crinella who spoke no english. In the 1940's, she ran the Rio Nido
Grill, on the Russian River, during the summers, with Nona Crinella, who
then
in her 80's serving as the master chef.
Later, Fannie opened the elegant and succesful House of Garner in
Ukiah, with their close friends the Venturis which she sold in 1955.
But, she continued to organize and cook for the special events for
virtually every service club in town and held legendary parties in her
vast basement kitchen-wine cellar-dining room, which had, of course, been
built with just that purpose in mind.
Uncle Dom was an avid hunter and fisherman. In 1928, he and Marino split
up the plumbing business (Uncle Louie had already cashed out
his share) because of an opportunity to take over a plumbing business in
Ukiah, where there also happened to be outstanding hunting and fishing.
Since he was the oldest brother, Nona Crinella, a widow, accompanied him,
as was customary.
Uncle Dom was the family expert on duck cooking. In his large basement in
Ukiah, there was a long table that would seat at least two dozen people,
as well as a full restaurant caliber kitchen. He would assemble his many
friends and neighbors for feasts of roasted duck. He thought that there
was no greater sin than overcooking wild duck. He also insisted that the
ovens be as hot as possible before the ducks were put in, so that the
outer layer of fat would be completely burned off. The ducks were set up
on a rack, so that all of the fat would drip to the bottom of the roasting
pan. Unlike domestic duck, very little fat will remain in the bird. Here
is one of his special recipes for roasted duck.
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