Happy New Year! Buon Anno!
OK, let’s try this again.
I depressed even myself with the last post, but since then, I figured out why I couldn’t see my squares. Something to do with needing RPG coding to agree with Firefox (I sound at least a bit tech savvy, don’t I?). While I was in there fooling with my template, I decided to play around with my squares too.
So did anyone happen to notice that my squares are now textured?
And an added bonus! I’m going to try to make the best of a slow connection…and make it earn its keep by posting my darn pics. I’ve already been waiting for about an hour for these babies to get into Photobucket, but I’ve been keeping busy doing other things–like preparing for some sort of oral exam tomorrow for a translating/interpreting job.
Why yes, I do feel awful. And yes, I did call to tell the interviewers that. They don’t care. In their defense, it’s a job with a governmental branch, so this is like a pool of candidates sort of thing. I didn’t think they’d reschedule the whole shebang just for me, but it was worth a try.
But more on that tomorrow after I accidentally infect the interviewers at the health agency.
And, by the way, it’s now hailing outside. Yippee!
Now I present to you the last few hours of 2006 spent eating, drinking, and laughing in a hole in a medieval village in Italy. One of P’s friends used to have an enoteca (wine bar/shop) below one of the town’s bars, but now he just uses it for get-togethers like the one we had the other night.
I *love* the atmosphere here–it’s underground and yet so warm from the textured yellow walls and earthy accents. Don’t mind the “Terranova” bag, though. I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask the hostess to move it just for a picture (even if it was to be seen on the Internet).
To kick off the evening, a toast among the boys;
I’ve never seen an Italian woman join in these things.
Luckily I’m not really Italian.
Salute!
Then most of these boys left and it was just close friends and family around the table.
You can tell it’s early because there’s not even wine on the table.
But it arrived soon enough.
As did the antipasto:
tuna caught by Mario (guy in the blue sweater above on the left);
fresh pecorino cheese;
capicollo;
and, my favorite as you can tell from the portion size,
octopus salad.
And il vino flowed.
Then came the first dish–baked, stuffed cannelloni and shells.
And finally the traditional New Year’s Eve good luck dish–cotechino and lentils.
Please don’t ask what the cotechino is made of.
Then I’d be forced to look it up, and I know I don’t really want to know what I ingested.
Just know that I immediately felt the “luck” coming on.
Um, then a couple hours later, it was midnight.
Buon 2007!
And that’s all you’re going to get photographic evidence of.
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[tags]new year’s eve, calabria, cotechino, lentils [/tags]
14 Beans of Wisdom to “Happy New Year! Buon Anno!”
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[...] I wasn’t going to post a recipe today since I honestly haven’t been cooking very much lately... bleedingespresso.com/2008/01/whats-cooking-wednesday-bagels.html
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[...] or lentils, are a common menu item for New Year’s Eve/Day meals in Italy, often served with cotech... bleedingespresso.com/2010/01/whats-cooking-wednesday-pasta-e-lenticchie.html
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.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
That looks like a fantastic New Year’s Eve! Sorry you were without internet and phone for a while. 🙁
You may not want to know, but I am going to go look up cotechino. I promise not to tell you what I find.
Glad you’re back. I was starting to go through withdrawals.
Happy New Year. Hope you are feeling better and good luck with the interview. Beautiful pictures and squares.
Gil
That looks like a great place with amazing food. Happy New Year!
Awww, I can’t see your squares anymore! 🙁 Oh well, as long as you can see them now.
Looks like you had a great time…great pics!
Happy New Year!
i noticed the textured squares yesterday but didn’t remember they weren’t textured ebfore that… Reminded me of cool wallpaper, a word i haven’t thought of in a long time here in the land of paint paint paint and more paint…. vanessa
Thanks for all the sweet comments and wishes–and R, for leaving just what’s in cotechino as one of life’s little mysteries. Seriously.
Happy New Year to you,the New Year feast looks absolutely scrummy. Very envious.
The non-interview interview sounds pretty awful. Question: is the Teresa you mention in this episode the Teresa who waved Markus and I up to her place, across from the “old” church, when the town’s people were carrying the baby Jesus around, blessing houses, etc.?
We too made lentil soup, as tradition has it, for luck, and ate it on New Year’s day! Your New Year’s Eve looked pretty unique – and the food!!
Nuovo anno felice (to “P”, too),
Toni
OK, let me tell you what a dope I am….
There is a bar/restaurant establishment in Tucson (AZ) named “Enoteca” – every time I passed by the place, I thought “Oh, how clever. They just reversed the word “Acetone” and made a cool name.”
It wasn’t until very recently that I discovered it was an Italian word – I think I came across it when researching something about wine – and I can’t tell you how I chuckled at my stupidity.
Good thing I didn’t pull the “I’m so smart” act and try to tell someone how clever I thought it was that they reversed a word to make it a cool bar name!
*Salena, that’s hilarious! I do that too, btw, with names. There’s a place in PA called “Enola,” and I think you’ll know what my first thought was when I saw it 😉