Essays & Rants, Travel

The Village of Terranova

October 23, 2018 robiulo 2 Comments

Terranova in the distance.

The Village of Terranova

We hired a car and driver to take us to the village where my grandmother Nicolina’s family had lived and where she was born. Simone showed up at our hotel in a new black Mercedes and Nicki (Nicolina’s namesake), Bridget and I started the trip inland. We were going to Terranova, a village in the province of Salerno and the Comune (municipality) of Scignano degli Alburni.

As we drove up into the Alburni mountains the lemon groves that were along the coast gave way to chestnut trees and it got colder and mistier as we went higher. After about an hour and a half, we reached Terranova.

Nicki made some friends. When my Aunt Lena visited in the 1970s she saw goats in the streets. We only saw a dog and some cats.

The old and the new fountain.

Farmland in the valley below.

Streets too narrow for cars.

We arrived to find what I had expected – a small village, population 60, and a church – Chiesa San Giovanni Battista. Simone said he’d try to find someone to unlock the church for us. A woman came and opened the side door as Simone returned with the priest who told us some of the church’s history. The poor people were interred in the crypt below the church so we were standing over the bones of our ancestors. The church was built in 1300 and the stone baptismal fountain was at least that old although a modern cover had been made for it. Nicolina DiAntonio was born in the village in 1878 and her father Lorenzo, grandfather Luigi, great grandfather Antonio, and her great great grandfather Onofrio who was born in 1740 were all baptized there. (That’s as far back as I was able to research.)

Chiesa San Giovanni Battista

The old stone baptismal font with its new cover, and San Antonio and a recently exposed original fresco of Santa Lucia.

Terranova

To be continued – Lunch at Si Ma Quant Sit and a chili-olive oil infusion.

Travel

An Afternoon in Naples

October 19, 2018 robiulo 2 Comments

The Bay of Naples and Vesuvius

An Afternoon in Naples

The Famous Napolitano Pizza Margherita

Street Scenes

Traffico

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Pasta, Travel, Vegetarian

Spaghettata con Limone e Tonno

October 16, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Spaghettata con Limone e Tonno

If you’ve been following my blog you know that I don’t use packaged food products – until now. I was browsing in a grocery store in Amalfi in Southern Italy and noticed a clear cellophane package of dried lemon, onions, capers and other things called, “Spaghettata con Limone e Tonno.”

It was only 2 Euros so I bought it. The English translation of the preparation was a little confusing but I figured it out.

All I had to do was add 3 ingredients – water, olive oil, and tuna.

The preparation was easy and it was delicious. I tried to Google a location where I could buy some more but no luck. I guess next time I want it, I’ll have to go back to Amalfi or make it from scratch.

From scratch –

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil
1 finely chopped garlic clove
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsps. chopped capers
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 – 8 oz. jar of imported tuna packed in olive oil
1 lb. spaghetti

Start a pot of water for the pasta.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add garlic, zest, lemon juice, and capers and sauté for a few minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add tuna and the oil it was packed in and break into bite-sized pieces.

When the pasta is almost done add it to the sauce to finish cooking.

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Restaurants, Travel

Il Principe e la Civetta

October 12, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Vietri sul Mare

Il Principe e la Civetta

Toward the end of our stay in Salerno, Emanuele arranged a special dinner for all of us at Il Principe e la Civetta (The Prince and the Owl) in Vietri sul Mare. The décor was elegant, the wine excellent and the food was from heaven. There were also two very good musicians – a guitarist and his beautiful accordionist partner who sang Neapolitan songs for us as we ate.

I hope this Google translation works for my Italian friends.

Verso la fine del nostro soggiorno a Salerno, Emanuele ha organizzato una cena speciale per tutti noi a Il Principe e la Civetta di Vietri sul Mare. L'arredamento era elegante, il vino eccellente e il cibo era dal cielo. C'erano anche due ottimi musicisti - un chitarrista e il suo bellissimo compagno fisarmonicista che cantava canzoni napoletane per noi mentre mangiavamo.

The Elegant Decor

A Sampling of Their Excellent Wine Selection

Some of Their Heavenly Food

Neopolitan Songs

In Chef Antonio’s Kitchen

Antonio and Emanuele

If you’re on the Amalfi Coast, stop at Il Principe e la Civetta for a special dinner.

Buona Notte

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Travel

Buffalo Mozzarella

October 10, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

2600 hundred-year-old Doric temple in Paestum.

Buffalo Mozzarella

Near Paestum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and not too far from where we stayed in Salerno there was a buffalo mozzarella farm. It was some of the best mozzarella I ever tasted. Each buffalo had an implanted chip that kept track of when they were milked and when they ate. It was more like a buffalo spa than a farm. They could get a spray of water to cool off and have a massage whenever they felt like it.

They were milked in the morning and we ate it fresh in the afternoon.

The final product –

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Travel

Trip to Salerno

September 25, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Trip to Salerno — A View of the Amalfi Coast by Edmund Berninger

Trip to Salerno

I’m going to southern Italy. I’ll be spending some time on the Amalfi Coast and then inland to the hills of Salerno. My destination is the village of Terranova where my grandmother Nicolina was born in 1878.

I may not have an internet connection and it’s likely that I won’t be posting for at least a couple of weeks. I’ll continue when I get back in October.

Pasta

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

September 21, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

I adapted this from I recipe by Rhonda Carano that I saw in a Ferrari-Carano wine ad. It works for me.

Instructions:

In a small pot, heat chicken broth to a boil. Add porcini mushrooms and take it off the stove.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until translucent. Add the garlic. Remove the casings from the sausages, break them up and cook until lightly browned.

Remove porcini mushrooms from broth and reserve the liquid. Chop mushrooms and add them to skillet with rest of the ingredients. Add the Marsala, stir and deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and the reserved chicken/mushroom broth. Add oregano, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Cook the pasta until it’s almost done. Strain it and add it to the pan where the sauce is cooking. Remove bay leaf and turn off the heat. If necessary, add some pasta cooking water to thin the sauce. Add cheese and chopped parsley, blend and serve

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“Italian” Food

September 14, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Italian Food

To many people, “Italian” food means tomatoes, garlic, and gooey melted cheese in the form of things like spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and veal cutlet parmesan.

Well, that’s not what Italians eat, especially not Italians in Italy. The food of Italy varies by region, and it’s not what’s typically served in American “Italian” restaurants. (I suppose the same is true for Chinese food. Tourists are disappointed when they go to China and expect to find spare ribs, fried rice and egg rolls.)

What may be common in Palermo might be rare in Milano. Types of pasta and sauces, aromatics, herbs and spices and preparation methods are so varied throughout the regions of Italy that America’s Olive Gardens couldn’t possibly keep up with it so they make up their own “Italian” recipes.

“Italian” Spice – What exactly is it? I see it often in recipes – “add one teaspoon of Italian spice.” Try Googling Italian Spice and you’ll find dozens of combinations of spices including everything from garlic and fennel to dill and basil. Keep it simple and use the spices that fit the other ingredients in your recipe and not somebody else’s mix of what they think tastes good. Try asking for Italian Spice in a store in Italy and they won’t know what you’re talking about. Use good, fresh ingredients and limit the variety of spices – more isn’t necessarily better.

“Italian” Breadcrumbs – So what makes breadcrumbs Italian? It makes sense that they would be made from Italian bread but no, that’s not it.

Read the ingredients – Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Vegetable Oil (Soybean And/Or Cottonseed And/Or Corn And/Or Canola Oils.

I’d rather have just breadcrumbs in my breadcrumbs. Season whatever it is that you’re going to bread. Coat it in flour, dip in an egg wash and then plain breadcrumbs. Fry it in good oil and leave out the chemicals listed above.

“Italian” Salad Dressing – This one is a lot like Italian spice. Everybody has something else to add. The Olive Garden actually uses Miracle Whip in their so-called Italian salad dressing. Miracle Whip – can you believe it?

Here’s a simple version of dressing that’s common in Italian-American homes and in Italy too.

Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the greens. Then a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar (use balsamic if you like). Use more oil than vinegar. Toss and serve – that’s all.

Try this simple dressing on some cut up orange sections with a mix of arugula and romaine.

And don’t get me started on “Spaghetti Sauce.”

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Sides

Goetta – a Cincinnati Breakfast

September 7, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Goetta – a Cincinnati Breakfast

If you’re from the Cincinnati area you’ll know what this is and if not, you should try it. Goetta (ged-da, silent o, pronounce like feta) is a hearty breakfast side made of oats and meat that’s fried and goes great with eggs. It’s of German origin and I can’t think of anything to compare it to, so taste it and form your own opinion. It may not be Italian but it’s certainly cucina povera in that it started out as a tasty way of preparing a hearty breakfast when there isn’t enough meat to go around.

A couple of points to remember: (1) you must use steel cut oats, not rolled or instant and (2) some people use ground beef with the pork sausage and others use ground pork, it’s up to you.

Add oats, salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the boiling water. Return to a boil, lower heat, stir and simmer until the oats are cooked and thick (1 to 1 ½ hours), stirring occasionally.

Fry the onion in oil until soft and transparent. Remove the sausage skins and discard. Add the sausage meat, chopped meat, and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. When it’s done, set aside the meat-onion mixture.

When the oats thicken, remove the bay leaf and add the meat-onion mixture and blend thoroughly. Cook for another ½ hour. If it’s thick enough for the spoon to stand up in, it’s done. If not, continue cooking. If it’s too dry, add a little water.

Let it cool a bit and then pour it into a greased baking pan. It doesn’t matter if the pan is too big too big. Spread it to about a ½ inch thick layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Turn the pan over and cut the goetta into serving sized pieces. I got 12 out of this recipe. Fry and serve as a side with eggs or anything else you’d like. You can freeze any left-over pieces but wrap them separately so they don’t stick together.

And it’s not just for breakfast.

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Ninja Diet

August 31, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Ninja Diet

In the past, I’ve done the gladiator diet and the sumo diet. Today it’s the ninja diet. The ninja were pretty much vegans. They avoided meat, fish and dairy. They also avoided foods that have an odor so no one could smell them when they were sneaking around in the dark.

What they did eat was mainly whole grain rice and wheat, potatoes, mushrooms, chestnuts and pine nuts.

To quench their thirst the had “thirst balls” made of plum pulp, rye ergot and sugar. For hunger, they used hunger balls – carrots, flour, yam and licorice root steeped in sake.Ninja Encyclopedia

All in all, I think it was easier and tastier to eat like a gladiator or sumo wrestler than a ninja.

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Reveries and Recipes