Archive for December, 2006
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Potatoes and Peppers
And onions too, if you want to be particular.
P’s mom brought me some gorgeous peppers, so today we’re doing a side dish that’s good enough to eat as a whole meal–and it’s easy as all get out. Six ingredients. Olive oil, potatoes, green and red peppers, onions, salt, and peperoncino. That’s it. You can also use yellow peppers, by the way; you’ll have a sweeter overall taste.
But before we get to the recipe, a note on the peperoncino (chili pepper) for the uninitiated. As I was cooking, I realized that I put peperoncino in everything–I’m fairly certain this is the law in Calabria.
Those who don’t like spicy food might be afraid of this lil’ devil , but don’t be! If you add just a dash, it will heighten all of the other flavors. Add too much and you might be calling the Vigili del Fuoco, but just take it slowly at first, and you’ll be fine.
Potatoes, Peppers & Onions
(serves 4)
- 6 medium sized potatoes
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 2 large green peppers
- 1 medium onion
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- salt to taste
- peperoncino to taste
1. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Keep them in a bowl of fresh water until you are ready to cook them.
2. Wash and slice the peppers into thin strips.
3. Peel and slice onion into strips as well.
4. Put 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and turn heat on to medium. Sauté the onions until they are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Remove them, leaving behind as much oil as possible, and put potatoes in pan. Coat the potatoes in the remaining oil and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and slightly brown. Be sure to move the taters around a bit or they’ll burn and or/stick on the bottom.
6. Remove the potatoes.
7. Add another 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Put in the peppers, stirring to coat them in the olive oil, and sauté for about 10 minutes or until they are almost fully cooked to the consistency you like. They won’t cook all that much more once you throw everything in together.
8. Put the potatoes and onions back into the pan, add salt and peperoncino/pepper, and mix well. Lower the heat and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until everything is cooked to your satisfaction. Be sure to stir occasionally..
9. Serve hot with fresh Italian bread and/or as a side dish with sausage, chicken, and more.
Buon appetito!
Finding Holiday Cheer in Southern Italy
In the past week of posts, I’ve mentioned buying Christmas gifts, putting up my mini-tree, and having visions of sugarplums…but I have a confession to make.
Despite the occasional clementine orange leisurely strolling through my thoughts (there’s simply no dancing), I’m not feeling it this year. After my one morning of Christmas songs a few days ago, I haven’t heard a bell jingle let alone rock.
I’ll admit it. I’m putting up a Christmas Cheer front.
What’s the problem? Is it because the weather has been so mild (sweater, no jacket days)? Is it because in Italy we’re not bombarded with carols and decorations for months? Should I be turning to Jimmy Stewart and “It’s a Wonderful Life” for a heartwarming holiday story?
Hmm…there may something to that. With all the tales of woe in the world–the fact that our troops will be spending another holiday season in Iraq comes to mind–I need some good news for a change. I don’t have the It’s a Wonderful Life DVD, but I do have the Internet. So I went a-searching for some contemporary warm fuzzies.
My favorites:
- Naughty Christmas “Pornaments” are not nice, say Florida prosecutors: A chain of novelty stores in Florida is selling sexually explicit tree ornaments, but one Miami lawyer wants to play Scrooge. Ho ho ho!
- Holiday Shoppers Keep Buying During Fire: Thick smoke billowing through an Ohio department store didn’t stop these bargain hunters. Firefighters even had to block the doors to prevent more shoppers from entering. Now that’s the spirit!
- Get your reindeer hotdogs for $8!: As an apparent lesson to all the reindeer on Santa’s “Bad” list, a suburban Chicago hotdog vendor is selling these treats. Yes, grilled onion and mustard *are* included in the reasonable holiday price. Think of the touching memory:
Mother: What would you like for dinner tonight, Johnny? Johnny: Hmm…how about Dasher?!
Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Italians
It’s dark at 4.30 p.m., I have an insatiable craving for candy canes, and visions of sugarplums are dancing in my head. All of this can mean just one thing–the holidays are quickly approaching.
How are you doing on that list? Are you a bit behind? Stuck on what to get your favorite Italian? I just may be able to help you out. If a Vespa is in your budget, by all means, go for it. But for my loyal readers (one week today!), I’ve set up my own Amazon.com store with Italian gift suggestions. Books, movies, and music for now, and more items will be added periodically. Buying directly from my site earns me a small referral fee (as does buying a gift certificate from the above link), so please have a look.
Today’s feature pick is a book that a dear Italian amica gave me before I left for Italy three years ago: Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World by Peter D’Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish. The word “sprezzatura” is defined by the authors as “the art of effortless mastery,” and as something that no one has demonstrated quite like the Italians.
The volume is comprised of fifty fact-filled and entertaining essays that celebrate Italian contributions to the world. Subjects include well-known Italians such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Columbus, and Palladio, and also some lesser-known Italian feats including the establishment of the world’s first university in Bologna, the first medical school in Salerno, and the inventions of both the piano and violin. Catherine de’Medici, the godmother of French cuisine, and Cesare Beccaria, the founder of modern penology, are also featured.
Other essay topics include Ovid, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, Petrarch, Monteverdi, Bernini, Garabaldi, Marconi, and, of course, the Ferrari and Italian fashion.
There’s a little bit of something for all interests within these 50 essays, and it’s especially convenient because you can read one at a time and let the information resonate or skip around to where your interests lead you. Sprezzatura is also an excellent resource book–it can decide many “who was the first to” arguments in your house for years to come. The gift that keeps on giving, if you will.
Please take a tour around my store and let me know what you think. Suggestions are welcome, especially if you have a favorite Italian-themed item you’d like to see there. I’ve written some reviews, and more will be added as time permits; in the meantime, if you have specific questions about something I’ve listed, please feel free to email me at the address in my Blogger profile.
Happy shopping!
Top 10 Wonderful Things in Italy, Not America
And on the flip side…
In part because I’m a Libra/bilancia with a tendency toward fairness, and in part because I don’t want you thinking I sit around salivating over visions of waffle fries, I’ve prepared another list to accompany the Top 10 Things I Miss from the States.
Again, other than obvious answers like P, P’s family, and Luna, we do have some things over here that my friends across the pond aren’t going to find. Collectively, they are the:
Top Ten Wonderful Things Found in Italy
and Not in America
10. Ciobar. For the uninitiated, this is hot chocolate as it’s meant to be. Called “cioccolato caldo” here, order it in a bar (café as we’d call it), and you’re going to forget all about that old broad Swiss Miss. Here and throughout Europe, hot chocolate is thick, creamy, and rich–but the best part is that you can make it at home with a packet of Ciobar, milk, a small pot, and a flame. It’s un-freaking-real. I kid you not.
9. Free health care. That would be the dreaded socialized medicine that about half of the United States is so afraid of. Employees here pay into the system through deductions in their paychecks, but whether an Italian citizen/resident is employed, unemployed, elderly, whatever, she’ll still get a spot in line to see the doctor, a stay in the hospital if necessary, required physical therapy–all without the fear of going into heavy debt.
8. Dish-drying rack above the sink. I’ve been out of the U.S. for a while, so if you have these now, please forgive my ignorance. But these babies are ingenious–so if you haven’t seen them around Home Depot, all you industrious types need to get working on a patent. With these metal wire racks positioned above the sink and hidden inside a regular-looking cabinet, you can put your washed dishes directly there to dry *and* store. There’s a metal tray below that catches the water, which you then take out and dump separately. No more drying and putting dishes away! One stop washing, folks.
7. The World Cup. I know many of you will say you don’t care, but try to imagine something, anything (positive) uniting an entire country. It’s a pretty cool thing–and, you know, the views from the cheap seats aren’t too bad either. So to i miei italiani vi dico “popopopopopo-po!” How ’bout them Azzurri?
6. Raoul Bova. Purrrrr. Have you seen “Under the Tuscan Sun,” which, btw, shared nothing with the book other than the name, Tuscany, and an old house? Bova was the young luvah. We see a lot more of him in Italy than just that film, thank goodness. And on the subject of leading men…
5. George Clooney. You had him but you lost him. Sor. I’m sure you have sightings of him every now and again in The States, but honestly, he and his Lake Como villa are on the news here as often as the Pope. And that’s a lot.
4. Gelato. I doubt I really need to explain this one, but let’s just say it’s so much more than ice cream. Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy is sponsoring a Tour del Gelato, so go over there and join her quest. For my part, I’ll add that we have a special treat here in Calabria known as Tartufo di Pizzo, which translates as the “truffle of Pizzo,” Pizzo being the town in which it’s made. This tartufo is no mushroom, but it can resemble one after the chocolate and hazelnut ice cream with a liquidy fudge center is rolled into a rough ball and then coated in cocoa powder and sugar. Is it summer yet?
3. Really old stuff. I’m certainly not one of those people who says America has no history; if I did, that would make one of my bachelor’s degrees awfully suspect. But if you want to see some *really* old stuff, there are some amazing artifacts around here. Everyone knows about the Coliseum, the Pantheon, Pompeii, but come further south and you’ll see some excellent lesser-known pieces as well. My favorites are the 5th century B.C. Riace Bronzesin Reggio Calabria’s museum. The detail is breathtaking.
2. The opportunity to see the sun rise over the sea on the east coast and the sun set over the sea on the west coast on the same day without the aid of an airplane. Phew. Still with me? From where I am on the Ionian Sea, it’s a two hour drive to get to the Tyrrhenian Coast–this is the narrowest part of the Italian peninsula and enables the phenomenon described above. Theoretically, you could even put in a full day’s work in between if you do this in the summer. Kinda cool, no?
And the number one wonderful thing found in Italy and not in America:
1. Il pisolino. Perhaps you know it better as the siesta, but that’s Spanish. The afternoon nap, although dying off or already dead in much of the north (they tell me), is very much alive in many areas of the Mezzogiorno (south of Rome)–especially during the dog days of summer when it’s too hot to do much else. In fact, the word “mezzogiorno” means noon, and the south of Italy is so called because of the relentless midday sun. Nothing better than a couple hours of shuteye after a refreshing Caprese Salad on the terrazza (in the shade).
So there you have it. Good things are to be found everywhere if only you look.
Did I just violate the copyright of some Disney film?
But seriously, no place is perfect and everywhere has its positive and negative points. And even though I normally like balance, I do hope that wherever you are, the pluses tip the scales.
Top 10 Things I Miss from the States
Expats are often asked what we miss most about our home countries. For me, home is the United States, affectionately called “The States,” and as you may have guessed, there are a lot of things there that we just don’t have here in the Bel Paese.
Some of them I most certainly can do without (see yesterday’s post for an example), and there are always the obvious answers like “hugging down my niece and nephew.” But aside from friends and family, here are the:
Top Ten Things I Miss From The States
10. Comedy. I love me some Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo, but nothing and no one can replace the daily dose of Conan, Dave, and Jon that I’ve had to learn to live without. Thank goodness for Youtube. They’re starting to do their own version of SNL here, though. It’s…um…interesting.
9. Diet Coke. There’s some concoction here called “Coca-Cola Light.” Same kind of swirly writing on the bottle, but someone forgot to share the secret recipe. On the bright side, I don’t drink soda any more, but that would all change if the real Diet Coke (or Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, or Sunkist) made the leap.
8. Fast food. I’ll admit it. I miss the occasional Wendy’s bacon double cheeseburger or Chick-fil-A’s chick-n-strips with Polynesian and Honey Mustard Sauces. There is a McDonald’s near me, of course, but I’ve only eaten there once in three years (tastes pretty much the same as in the States, if you’re wondering). In this entry, I’ll also throw in ethnic food generally–Chinese, Greek, Indian, Thai, whatever. I don’t live anywhere near a city, so it’s rough going. But I know a good Italian place….
7. Ice. No, not on the stuff on the road–the stuff that makes our drinks refreshing. Many Italians are averse to anything either extremely hot or extremely cold (interferes with digestion!), so it’s quite a chore to find ice in public places. Making it at home, of course, is no biggie so long as you can find ice trays or the strange little bags that are perforated in circles for just this purpose.
6. Cheddar cheese. Go ahead and tell me that I live in the land that makes some of the best,most delicious cheeses in the world–mozzarella, ricotta, provolone, pecorino romano, parmegiano reggiano. I know, and I love them all. But what am I supposed to put on chili or nachos? Uh huh. Now you understand. But then again, there’s no sour cream here either. Tragic, I know.
5. Peanut butter. They just don’t do it. I don’t know why. They have peanuts, and they make Nutella, so it seems like a logical leap to me. Oh, have I explained the dangers of using American logic in Italy yet? Take this as your first warning.
*Updated to add that I have seen peanut butter here–for 5 euros for a container smaller than my hand.
4. Professional & College Sports. Major League Baseball, NFL, and March Madness are the big three for me. Yes, there’s “football” here too, and I can enjoy a match every now and again (say, for the World Cup)–but there’s nothing like calling off work just to watch a whole day of college hoops. That’s some good stuff right there.
3. American coffee. By this, I mean, you know, Folger’s, Maxwell House, nothing fancy. Again, I’m quite aware that Italy has some darned tasty caffè (take a glance at my blog title if you doubt how much of it I drink), but every now and again I just want a regular ole’ (biiiiig) cuppa. Preferably in a thermal cup that I carry with me while walking. *sigh*
2. Regular, lined notebook paper. This is a weird one, I know, but as an old-fashioned writer, I treasure old-fashioned notebooks. I hanker for just one Mead Five-Star (turquoise blue cover, if possible). Here the children write in booklets that contain what we’d call graph paper. I suppose this is good for penmanship, but the last time I used graph paper, I was plotting points, and that didn’t go so well.
And the number one thing I miss from The States:
1. U.S. Customary Units. These are things like inches, feet, pounds, ounces, Fahrenheit. Remember in 4th grade when your teacher told you that the Metric System would be all the rage, and you’d be left in the dust if you didn’t learn it? Yeah, I didn’t buy it either. In the words of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”: “Big mistake. Huge.”
Now I’m not going to say that this is a Christmas Wishlist per se, but if you happen to have an “in” with a certain jolly fella in a big red suit, whisper a lil’ something in his ear, would you?
Because I could *really* go for a Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee, extra cream, no sugar right about now.
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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