Archive for 2010
My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino
My Calabria on Amazon
Rosetta Costantino was born in Calabria and moved to America with her family at age 14. Although they left behind much of what was familiar to them, the Costantino family never lost their culinary traditions — and now Rosetta shares them with us in My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South.
When paging through My Calabria, you feel like an honorary member of the family at the table as you learn about how Rosetta’s father recreated their Calabrian garden in Oakland, California; how various members of the family make the same dish; and also the 11 ingredients every Calabrian pantry should have on hand.
Rosetta also shares information about the historical and cultural influences on Calabrian cuisine and lifestyle, so aside from being a wonderful collection of recipes (150) that includes appetizers through dessert, My Calabria is simply a wonderful resource book on the region — you’re getting so much more than a cookbook here.
The recipes themselves are authentic as they come and easy to follow — one of the best things about Calabrian cooking is that it’s user-friendly as it uses so few ingredients — and the book is just gorgeous. There are plenty of full-page and other sized color photos throughout, not only of recipes but also of various sights from around Calabria.
From a personal standpoint as someone who has been making Calabrian food ever since I could cook — first from my grandmother’s recipes and now also from P’s mom’s — I give this book five very full espresso cups out of five. Rosetta is a wonderful tour guide through this region’s food, history, and culture, and I highly recommend My Calabria for anyone who is interested in Calabria, southern Italy, or southern Italian cuisine.
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You can find out more about Rosetta, her book, and her culinary tours at Cooking with Rosetta and her blog, Calabria from Scratch. You can also listen to Rosetta’s interview in the Eye on Italy podcast, which I co-host.
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The Colors of Fall in Calabria
We do get some leaves changing color here, but fall in Calabria actually is quite colorful besides those warm autumnal hues I grew up with in the mountains of Pennsylvania:
Fall in Calabria on Flickr
1. Saffron flowers, 2. Chestnuts, 3. Persimmons, 4. Drying peperoncini, 5. Prickly zucchine, 6. Melagrane dal giardino, 7. Eggplant, 8. Hanging out, 9. Zucchine flower, 10. Lemon blossom after the rain, 11. Zucche, 12. Some of our olives in September, 13. Pomegranate seeds
Many of us expats in Italy have written about being more in touch with the seasons here than we were in our home countries, mostly because our routines are so much more ruled by what the weather is like outside. Over the past month or so, for instance, many of us have been busy gathering wood, picking olives, preserving the summer’s bounty for enjoyment all winter, and thinking about all the soups, stews, and dishes “al forno” we’ll be making for the next few months. The first “signs o’ fall” if you will.
And yes, for me, there have been other changes in the routine, like feeding the goats and locking the hens in the henhouse just a little bit earlier in the evenings and also picking back up some habits that had fallen by the wayside over a busy summer — wonderful daily commitments like yoga and working on a dusty old manuscript, and also weekend projects like finding little ways to make the house that much cozier.
We’ll be spending quite a bit of time in here in the coming months, after all.
Yes, fall here always inspires me to dig back into the good, warm, comfortable, and cozy . . . which comes first, the cooler weather or the nesting mentality? I don’t know, but I’m not complaining.
What says “fall” to you?
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Sausage and Peppers
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t love sausage when I lived in the States; here in Calabria is a whole other story, though, and one of my favorite ways to prepare salsiccia is with peppers and onions in tomato sauce.
P had never had sausage prepared this way before I came along, but it’s been one of my family’s favorites from back when my grandmother made it — and it has quickly become one of P’s favorites as well.
And you want to talk about easy? There are only five steps!
A couple notes before we dig in:
I prefer using sweet sausage, red onion, and red and yellow peppers:
Peppers and onions ready for sauteeing
You are, of course, welcome to play with various combinations that may include spicy sausage and green peppers. Here our sweet (“dolce”) sausage tends to have a little kick with peperoncino, so don’t be afraid to add a little hot pepper even if you’re using sweet sausage; mostly it will just heighten flavors if you don’t use too much.
Also, I like to make extra sausage and sauce so we can have it with pasta the next day — the first day we usually do the sausage and peppers on hard rolls (sausage and pepper hoagies for those of you who know what a hoagie is). This is why I use two cans of tomato sauce; if you only want to use this for one meal, one can is probably plenty. This is definitely one of those sauces, though, that tastes even better the next day, so I highly encourage making enough for leftovers.
Sausage and Peppers
Sausage and peppers ready to simmer
- Sausage links
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large or 3 medium peppers, julienned
- 1 large onion, julienned
- 1 large clove of garlic cut in half
- 2 cans of tomatoes/tomato sauce
- Salt to taste
1. In a large nonstick pan on medium to high heat, brown sausage (about 10-15 minutes).
2. Remove sausage from pan and set aside. Turn down the heat a bit and add the olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic. Saute until peppers and onions soften, at least five minutes.
3. Return sausage to pan and add tomato sauce, using about a quarter cup of water to rinse out the can (add that water to the pan as well). Add salt as desired.
4. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomato sauce tastes ready to you. This will take at least 15-20 minutes, but could take longer depending on your tastes. If you like a thicker sauce, be sure to take the lid off the pan at some point, which I do after about 15 minutes.
5. Serve sausage on hard rolls with plenty of sauce, peppers, and onions *or* serve with pasta (we prefer penne with this).
Buon appetito!
Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson
Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson on Amazon.com
If you’re in the mood for an escape to Italy but your bank account doesn’t quite agree, have a look at Georgia’s Kitchen, a charming book that will transport you to a trattoria nestled in Tuscany’s rolling hills. You’ll also spend a good deal of time in bustling New York City, where Georgia lives full-time as a chef until her career takes a hit from a bad review and her romantic relationship crumbles. Off to Italy it is, then, for Georgia, where her passions become clear to her — and to a local named Gianni.
Georgia’s Kitchen is a fun, delicious read that just may inspire you to dig deeper and follow dreams simmering below the surface. Nelson’s writing is descriptive but tight — and foodies will love reading about Georgia’s exquisite creations, particularly as she strives to create the Tuscan trattoria’s signature dish. This book would be great to take on vacation or even just to cuddle up with for a little while each evening, savoring each chapter. Four espresso cups out of five!
And now, my interview with Jenny Nelson:
1. I know Bleeding Espresso readers are dying to know more about your Italian connection, so can you please share a little more about this?
Beyond being a complete and total Italia-phile – I love Italian food, wine, art, architecture, fashion, language, films and, of course, people – my mother-in-law’s entire extended family lives in Milan. My husband grew up making frequent trips to Italy and speaks Italian fairly well. We’ve traveled extensively throughout the country, particularly in the Tuscan region, where we were married. In Georgia’s Kitchen, there’s brief reference to the wedding of an American couple at the former villa of Dante Alighieri – that’s our wedding!
2. Georgia’s Kitchen is grounded in the inner workings of the restaurant industry, particularly in New York City. Do you have experience in it? If not, how did you go about researching this aspect of the book?
I’ve never worked in a professional kitchen but, fortunately, I have many friends who have. Even more fortunately, they were all too happy to share stories with me and to provide crucial details when interviewed. So when I needed to know “the Rolls Royce of espresso makers” I knew just who to ask.
3. Tuscany also plays a major role in your book, and I know from a previous interview you’ve spent a lot of time there. What are your favorite places to visit in Tuscany and favorite meals to have while you’re there?
I adore Florence and could spend hours walking just walking around that amazing city. I love the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, the Church of San Marco, Farmacia Santa Maria Novella (the ancient pharmacy), and Cibreo. In the countryside, I really like Lucca (a great way to see the city is on a bicycle) and Greve, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve yet to meet a Tuscan town I don’t love. As for food, my favorite Tuscan dishes are the simplest: pappa al pomodoro, panzanella, ribolitta, Tuscan beans.
Visit Jenny Nelson's website
4. I’m always curious to read about how other writers create their work; can you tell us about your writing process?
I generally don’t get going until the afternoon. In the mornings, I’m with my daughters and after I drop them at school I tend to have errands and other things that keep me busy (read: checking email). I write in an office on the third floor of my house and if I’m having a tough time I’ll break to walk my dog, or make a cup of tea – I drinks buckets of tea. If I’m really into a scene I’ll come back to it after my daughters go to sleep, but otherwise I sign off in the late afternoon or early evening only to return the next day. I also keep a notebook handy so that I can jot down phrases or ideas as they strike. If I’m working on a particularly sticky plot point, I go for a run. It seems that almost all of my “aha moments” (when I’ve successfully worked through a tricky issue) come while running.
5. Who or what inspires you as a novelist?
My daughters, stories in the newspaper, films, theater, other writers – the list is endless!
6. In the interview published at the end of Georgia’s Kitchen, you mention working on a new book about a woman whose husband is imprisoned for white-collar crime and who moves to the country — and ends up raising goats. As someone who raises goats (and writes about them at Goat Berries!), I just have to ask for a little more scoop on this book. How is it coming along? And do you have any interesting goat research stories to share?
This book, as they say, has been turned out to pasture. I love goats and I love goat cheese even more, but I’ve put this project aside for the time being. I’m working on something else now, but I’d rather wait until I’m a bit further along to talk about it. I will say that it explores some of the same themes as Georgia’s Kitchen: love, food, self-discovery, to name just a few.
Thanks so much Jenny!
I’m really looking forward to reading your next novel — even without a goat!
Jenny Nelson is a former web executive and consultant and past editor and producer at iVillage, Vogue.com and Style.com. She lives with her husband, twin daughters and dog in Millbrook, NY and Manhattan. You can find Jenny on her author website JennyNelsonAuthor.com, on Twitter @jennygnelson, and on Facebook with Georgia’s Kitchen.
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Please Help a Calabrian Dog Get to America!
**UPDATED: Dino is scheduled to fly to America on November 22nd — thanks so much to all who helped! Remember you can keep up with Dino at his site Sponsor Dino.**
Put anything fuzzy or furry or feathered in front of me, and I’ll want to cuddle it — especially if it’s a dog (or a goat). And I know many of you are the same way. Needless to say, when I got an email several months ago about a Calabrian dog named Dino who needed a home, it really tugged at my heartstrings.
I would have *loved* to have taken in Dino, but as we already have two dogs, a cat, goats, rabbits, and a menagerie of flying creatures (hens, roosters, ducks), I just couldn’t do it. If you follow me @michellefabio on Twitter or the blog on Facebook, you’ve already heard a bit about Dino as I pleaded for help from anyone who might adopt him, but finally there’s some good news — he has a chance to stay with the couple who have fallen in love with him!
Except they’re moving back to America, and Dino needs a ticket to his new home — which costs 1400 euros. And this is where you come in. First take a look at this face:
Wouldn't I look adorable with a Stars and Stripes bandana?
Now tell me you’d be able to sleep at night knowing that he could end up back in a crowded, flea- and disease-infested kennel without anyone to give him the love and attention he so very much deserves.
You couldn’t, could you?
Please consider donating whatever you can to help Dino get to America to his new home. I know there are so many causes and so many awesome charities that could use your money, but check this out — right now there are 1,362 Bleeding Espresso “likers” on Facebook — if each of you only gave 1 euro (about $1.40 as of this writing), Dino would be as good as home! Let’s make this happen!
Dino so deserves it after all he’s been through.
For more information on Dino and how you can help, check out Sponsor Dino…and spread the word!
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
