ITALIAN

You know you're Italian when:

1. You go to Olive Garden and know you could make all these dishes at home

2. You ask your Nonna about Uncle Tony in the mafia and you're always told to never talk about him

3. You tell people your favorite vegetable is broccoli rabe and they give you weird looks because they've never heard of that before

4. You get annoyed when people mispronounce "mozzarella"

5. You lose a tooth when you're little and your Mom gives you a paper towel to stop the blood in your mouth but the paper towel is drenched in wine

6. You laugh when places in America claim to have gelato

7. You talk with your hands

8. Many of your relatives live in a close proximity around you

9. Your Nonna's homemade lasagna and meatballs are the best!

10. Your last name ends in a vowel

11. Your relatives have either lived with you or moved in next to you one time in your life

12. Any of the big family gatherings are all centered around food

13. Your Grandpa had a wine cellar

14. You know how to pronounce ricotta

15. You have a fig tree in the backyard

16. You know Peppino the mouse and Dominic the donkey

17. Your Nonna and family will break out in singing old, Italian songs

18. You think dandelions make up a good salad while everyone else thinks they're weeds

The TV show, The Sopranos, became a very heated topic in that it was stereotyping Italians.  Some people agreed, some disagreed.  Maybe not every single Italian has a relative in the mafia or is part of organized crime.  But when it comes to spending time with extended family and eating good food, I can definitely relate to that.