Personalities Archive

Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Ragù d’Agnello

Posted November 6, 2011 By Adri

From Abruzzo comes Guitar Cut Pasta with Lamb Ragù

Abruzzo Poster

Abruzzo – from the majestic Gran Sasso to its beaches on the Adriatic Sea this part of Italy has postcard perfect terrain. To walk in the mountains of Abruzzo is to walk the age old route of the transumanza – the seasonal sheep migration, and indeed, sheep figure prominently in the socioeconomic history of this region and its cuisine.

Gaetano Crocetti
Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti
Born 1894 Montesilvano, arrived New York 1913, died 1967 Los Angeles, California

My grandfather, Gaetano Crocetti was born in Montesilvano, Abruzzo. He loved the food of his homeland, and although I have written previously about Ferratelle, the Abruzzese take on Pizzelle, this region has as its most singularly recognizable contribution to Italian cookery an implement known as the chitarra, a tool used to cut pasta. In her book Food and Memories of Abruzzo Anna Teresa Callen writes that this tool appears in manuscripts dating as far back as the thirteenth century.

Pasta Chitarra

Indeed la chitarra is part of Abruzzese culture, Read more… »

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Mastering The Art of French Cooking

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1


 
“This is a book for the servantless American cook…” So begins Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the masterwork of Mmes. Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. This month we celebrate fifty years since the book’s publication. Congratulations to all involved in bringing forth this wonderful book. I can not believe it has been that long. I remember when it came out, and did it ever make a splash in my neighborhood.

The dedication reads:

to
La Belle France
whose peasants, fishermen, housewives, and princes-not to mention her chefs – through generations of inventive and loving concentration have created one of the world’s great arts

But the book is not for the French. Not at all, and the authors made that crystal clear in their Foreword when they wrote “In fact the book could well be titled ‘French Cooking from the American Supermarket.'” Their goal was to inculcate fundamental cooking techniques thereby enabling women to “…gradually be able to divorce yourself from a dependence on recipes.” The authors speak of “…a greed for perfection…” that informs the production of a perfectly roasted chicken. But this greed was not reserved to the roasting of a bird. It was this greed for perfection that drove the authors over ten years, countless rewrites and the rejection of publishers, to persevere and ultimately triumph with this masterwork. Call it seminal. Call it revolutionary. This book forever changed the way Americans cook. Read more… »

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Tortelli Caramelle for Columbus Day

Posted October 9, 2011 By Adri

Christopher Columbus del Piombo 1519

The second Monday in October? Hint – the children’s ditty:

“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue… “

Bravo! You got it. It’s Columbus Day. On this day Cristoforo Colombo or as we know him Christopher Columbus, intrepid explorer and navigator, arrived in the New World, and the Whole World changed forever. There were other momentous goings on that year – the demise of Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo de Medici, 1449-1492) for one, but today the subject is the gentleman from Genoa, not the nobleman from Florence. The historic arrival date is October 12, 1492, and Columbus Day is a very big deal in the Italian-American community. They stage living tableaux, parties and parades. Schools are closed. Italian flags are flown with pride as Italian-Americans joyously claim their heritage. Read more… »

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Cucina-Povera-CoverLarge
Cucina Povera: Tuscan Peasant Cooking

 

Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh hard times come again no more.

“Hard Times” Stephen Foster (American songwriter 1826-1864)

 

I was bowled over when I received a copy of this cookbook to review. Its subject is Tuscan peasant cooking, and true to its folk, the Mangiafagioli (beaneaters), pictured on the cover is a bowl of Roasted Tomatoes, Beans and Onions – peasant food if ever there was. This is a simple dish, economical and easy to prepare, but more than that it is representative of the soul satisfying fare within. This dish like so many others in the book can be put together without fuss, yielding flavor greater than the sum of its parts.

Throughout history the working class of Italy has been no stranger to hard times. Read more… »

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L’Americana – a Cocktail for Amanda Knox

Posted October 3, 2011 By Adri

Amanda Knox L'Americana Cocktail
Oh, how I waited on this one.  Don’t confuse this with the classic cocktail, The Americano.  No, I did not misspell anything.  For four years I have followed the saga of Amanda Knox, the young American student jailed in Perugia, Italy for the November 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher.  I followed Amanda through her original trial, her incarceration and appeal, and finally through this last most excruciating weekend.  I emailed with friends halfway across the globe.  We agonized for Amanda, her co-defendant Rafaelle Sollecito and especially for the Kercher family.  Lady Justice, as they say, grinds slowly, but she grinds finely, and she freed Amanda Knox.  Even now, Amanda is most likely on her way back home.  Amanda’s home now. Read more… »

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In Memoriam – Salvatore Licitra

Posted September 7, 2011 By Adri

 

In Memoriam

Salvatore Licitra

Salvatore Licitra

August 10, 1968 – September 5, 2011

Rest in Peace

The choir of angels is one stronger tonight.

I still believe I hear
hidden beneath the palm trees
your voice tender and deep
like the song of a dove.

– Je crois entendre encore

Les Pecheurs de Perles

by Georges Bizet

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