DINNER FOR MORE ITALIANS

Isn’t the 22nd of November the day Kennedy was shot? I guess for everyone my age and older, this was not only the most shocking thing to have happened (and of course continued to be so as the years went on, with the Warren Commission investigation, and ultimately the general consensus that there had been a conspiracy of some sort, but no one ever quite proved this beyond a shadow of doubt), but this was the defining moment of the times. The question “where were you when Kennedy was shot?” was the topic starter for many a conversation, and to this day, I’m sure anyone over the age of 50 or so still remembers where they were and what they were doing.

I was in the sixth grade at the time, and I remember a woman, maybe the school secretary, coming into our classroom and whispering to the teacher, a nun. I must have been sitting close to the front of the class because I remember that initially I thought she said “the principal was shot’…and of course at that time (1964), this was more puzzling than scary. I mean, who would shoot some old nun? I remember being very puzzled, but then our teacher told us that the President had been shot.

Because Kennedy was a Catholic, he had the immediate and unquestioning support of many Catholics, including the priests and nuns. The fact that his political career had questionable beginnings, the fact that he had previously been married, and the fact that he was a philanderer of some note wasn’t generally known at that time, and even if it had been, the fact that he was a Catholic was good enough. Sort of like the reason many people say they voted for Bush…or “shrub” as Molly Ivans (or is it Anne Richards?) likes to call him..those high moral values. Those values that let you lie about the situation just to get what you want, or the values that let you slide on your military obligation, or the values that let you kill thousands of innocent people and let US soldiers die in order to perpetrate the lie that you’re making the world a safer place.

Anyway, that’s a date that’s always stuck with me….more useless trivia to clutter my brain!

This past week we finally had our friend Corinna and her boyfriend Maurizio over for dinner. Corinna works at the Nestlé Perugina plant in Perugia, in the museum. She’s the one who gives free chocolate to the visitors and the one who leads the tours of the plant. We met her on our first visit to Perugina in March of 2001. We first saw the film about how chocolate gets from the jungle to the factory, and were just about to take our tour of the plant when a union meeting was called and the plant was temporarily shut down.

When we returned to Perugia in October of that same year to attend the Eurochocolate Festival, Corinna remembered us, and we were allowed to tag along with a school group who was visiting. Since then, we just become friends, and as with most of the Italians we’ve met, Corinna was always so friendly and helpful to us.

Corinna was born in Venice, but Maurizio was born in Marsciano, and they’ve recently bought a house there. Maurizio also works at the commune in Marsciano, and we found out that we have some friends in common. Maurizio knows Enrico and Gino Biscotti, the brothers who are both interested in anything to do with American Indians, cowboys, and anything related to the Old West. And of course he knows the Testatondas, the family who own Ternana’s. We were saddened to hear that Ternana’s had been closed last week because Rita’s brother died. We’re not sure if he was the brother who lived with them, or if she had more than one brother. We’ll offer our condolences when we go into Marsciano this week.

We had also invited Wendy and her friend Giuseppe, but on Thursday
Wendy got sick…she must have had some sort of virus, because she was throwing up and had a fever. She went home from work on Thursday and Friday, which is extremely rare for her. She did go to the doctor on Saturday, but was still feeling too bad to either eat “normal” food, or socialize.

I decided not to stress out about what I was going to cook. Before I had been hesitant to cook “Italian” for the Italians, and wasn’t quite sure what types of American foods they might like, so inviting Italians to dinner had always caused me to wrack my brain for ideas. Eventually I decided this was just stupid, and that I’d cook what I like and not worry about it.

For this dinner had I decided we would have Pecorino cheese, salami, and bruschetta with new oil for our antipasti. The pasta course would be an American recipe…one that uses pesto and sundried tomatoes and has just a bit of a kick, due to the cayenne pepper in it. For the main course we would have the roasted chicken we had made in cooking school, along with grilled eggplant. For dessert I had planned to make something with chocolate, and/or an apple pie, but later I decided to try a new recipe for an orange pecan cake with olive oil…I’m trying to use up the last bit of last years oil so that we can start on the new stuff!

The weather has gotten cooler, so the idea of a fire sounded wonderful. Art started in about five o’clock, even thought they weren’t due to arrive until 8:30. It was nice to have the fire while I was working in the kitchen, and the coals it produced would be just perfect to toast the bread for bruschetta.

Corinna and Maurizio arrived at 8:30 on the dot. They brought a beautiful dessert called the Cardinal’s Cake…I need to find out the history of this cake. They also brought a bottle of new wine, and a box of the new chocolates with pepperoncini that Perugina has just come out with….this is the trendy new thing! Art gave them the tour of the house while I put the finishing touches on dinner. One of the nice things about Italian cooking is that other than the pasta course, nothing has to be piping hot. Serving vegetables and even some meats at closer to room temperature is perfectly acceptable. For those of us who have always strived (and often failed) to have everything ready, hot and on the table at the same time, this is a welcome relief.

The cheese and salami were already sliced and on a platter, and I started to toast the bread by holding the grate containing the bread over the fire. Maurizio told me that if I pulled the coals forward, and sat the grate over the top of them, the bread would toast and wouldn’t be as smoky tasting. After comparing the bread I had toasted to the bread that he toasted, it was easy to see the difference…not that the smoky taste was overwhelming, but with bruschetta the bread is just there to hold the oil…and especially with the new oil, you really want to savor it.

I had been pretty sure that Corinna wouldn’t mind a bit of spiciness in her food. The last time we had been to Perugina, she had given us samples of the new varieties, and the one with pepperoncini was her favorite. As we ate it, she was very complimentary. She told me that in this dish, unlike many others, the sundried tomatoes didn’t overwhelm everything else, but that each flavor was distinct, yet still complimentary to the others. I had never thought much about it, but realized that she was right.

I’ve made this dish many times…it’s a personal favorite of ours, partly because it has pesto in it. It’s an American recipe, but I’ve made a few changes to it along the way, fine tuning it to suit us.

SUNDRIED TOMATOES WITH BOWTIE PASTA

1/3 TO ½ CUP PESTO
4 OZ SUN DRIED TOMATOES
2 TBSP OLIVE OIL
3 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
8 OZ FRESH MUSHROOMS, SLICED
½ TSP SALT
½ TSP CAYENNE PEPPER (OR MORE TO TASTE)
12 OZ BOW TIE PASTA

OPTIONAL: 1 LG CHICKEN BREAST, SAUTEED IN OIL & CUT INTO SHORT STRIPS OR SMALL CUBES

In a small bowl, blanch the tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water (if using tomatoes not packed in oil) then drain well and slice into small pieces. If using tomatoes in oil, drain and slice the tomatoes, reserving the oil to use for sautéing the chicken breast or garlic.

In a large skillet, sauté in the garlic in the olive oil. Simmer for one minute, being careful not to brown the garlic. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté til tender. Add the pesto, salt, cayenne and sun dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer. Cook the past as directed and drain well. Toss the pasta in the skillet if possible, or mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Garnish with red pepper or parmesan cheese. 4-6 servings

The original recipe called for 16 ounces of pasta, but I thought that was too much for the sauce, and it also called for one full teaspoon of cayenne, which was WAY too hot for me. Make your own adjustments!

The chicken I made was from cooking school, and other than needing to prepare it in advance so that it can marinate, it’s not complicated at all.


POLLO ARROSTO ALLA REGGIANA SERVES 4

1 ONE KILO CHICKEN or
4 CHICKEN THIGHS
2 SPRIGS ROSEMARY
½ GLASS APPLE VINEGAR (4 0z)
1 CLOVE GARLIC
½ GLASS OLIVE OIL (4 0z)
10 JUNIPER BERRIES
6 LG SAGE LEAVES SALT & PEPPER

WASH THE CHICKEN, PAT DRY, CUT INTO 8 PIECES.
CHOP THE HERBS & GARLIC EXTREMEMLY FINE. ADD BERRIES, IDEALLY CRUSHED W/A MORTAR & PESTLE, THEN THE SALT & PEPPER. RUB THE CHICKEN PIECES WITH THE MIXTURE.

ADD VINEGAR AND OIL & MARINATE THE MEAT FOR A FEW HOURS, TURNING OCCASIONALLY.
PLACE CHICKEN & ALL THE MARINADE IN A DEEP NON STICK SAUTE PAN, COVER AND COOK ON LOW FLAME FOR 25-30 MINUTES.

UNCOVER & COOK 25 MINUTES MORE OR UNTIL THE MEAT HAS TURNED GOLDEN, THE HERB PIECES ARE STICKING TO THE MEAT, & ALL THE VINEGAR HAS EVAPORATED.
WHITE VINEGAR OR EVEN RED WINE VINEGAR MAY BE USED, BUT THE APPLE IS THE MILDEST AND THE BEST

I had never heard of apple vinegar before…apple CIDER vinegar yes, but this is just apple vinegar, and I think it must be very mild. Amazingly, plain white distilled vinegar is nowhere to be found in Italy!

I used two small chickens for the dinner, and kept the leg and thigh together. I split the breast in two, and removed the wings. I increased the ingredients by half, and probably could have doubled it for a more intense flavor, but I think the way it turned out was perfect.

I used the wings and back to make some chicken stock…another convenience that’s not found here. Making my own stock certainly isn’t difficult, but it does take up space in the freezer, and it also requires me to be prepared…when the spirit moves me, I want to be able to make a recipe that calls for chicken stock without having to make some on the spot.

The chicken was also a big hit. I told Art the next morning that it might have been a good thing that Wendy and Giuseppe didn’t come…we only had two pieces of chicken left, and I’m sure that Wendy would have wanted more…she loves spicy food.

Since Corinna and Maurizio had brought dessert, I served theirs instead of the cake I had made. This “Cardinal’s Cake” was from the pasticceria in the shopping center that houses the Coop. We’ve had panini’s and sweets from this place before, and have always enjoyed their food. This cake was not exception…it consisted of a light crust filled with a light cream filling, and possible some oranges. I’m going to ask on the ST and Expat message boards for more information.

After dinner we just talked and got to know one another. Corinna and Maurizio share our ideology, so discussing politics was more of a commiseration about the state of the world. For whatever reason, those supporters of Bush think that denying that most of the world disapproves of his policies will make it true.

I asked Corinna if it would be possible to bring my sister and her friend Sandy for a tour of the factory, and she was happy to oblige. We’ll give her a call at work to confirm a day and time.

I guess the evening didn’t end until after midnight, but it had been very enjoyable. Of course Corinna speaks English very well, and after struggling through with our broken Italian, we discovered that Maurizio speaks and understands more English than we had realized. Like most people who know only a little of a foreign language and don’t get a chance to practice, he was just shy about his English. As usual, his little bit of English was still better than our little bit of Italian.

The next morning we decided to try the cake I had made for breakfast. The texture of it is a bit like zucchini bread…very moist, and as good for a breakfast/brunch as for a dessert! Here’s that recipe

ORANGE PECAN CAKE

2 CUPS CAKE FLOUR
¾ CUP MILK
1 TSP BAKING SODA
1 TSP VANILLA
½ TSP BAKING POWDER
2 TBSP ORANGE ZEST
¼ TSP SALT 1 ORANGE, DICED
1 TSP GROUND CINNAMON
¾ CUP SUGAR
1 CUP RAISINS chopped
½ CUP OLIVE OIL
1 CUP PECANS, chopped
2 EGGS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 325ºF
GREASE A 9 X 12 BAKING PAN

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the sugar, olive oil, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat well w/an electric mixer for 60 seconds. Add orange zest, diced orange pieces, raisins and pecans.. Beat for 60 seconds.

Pour batter into pan and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

May be served with orange icing/glaze. Serves 15

Because we were left with the entire cake, we took some to Adamo, and also to Armando. We could have easily eaten it ourselves, but try to be good once in a while!

Yesterday I spoke with my sister. She and her friend Sandy had gotten together to pack. They’re each putting half of their clothes in the other’s suitcase, just in case. We discussed our itinerary and tried to strike a balance between sightseeing and relaxing. Because everything closes in the afternoons, and because it gets dark by 5:30, it really is necessary to get up early each day and do your sightseeing in the morning. After a leisure lunch and a scenic drive home, we’re leaving the afternoons and evenings for relaxing…maybe we’ll take a walk around San Venanzo or head down to Marsciano for a pizza, but that’s about it.

We’ll take the train to Rome and spend their first 2 ½ days there, then come back to Umbria. We plan to visit Assisi, Perugia, Perugina (of course!), Orvieto and Florence. We’ll also hit the market in Marsciano on Monday, along with the grocery store. Since we’ll be in Rome from Friday morning until Sunday night, we’ll need to get bread, milk, and some fruits and vegetables for the week. I hope the weather cooperates, as least as far as rain goes. We can dress for the cold, but I really hate the rain. Not only does it make you feel colder, it also hides the beautiful scenery, which is one of the things we love about our area.