Italian Cooking
Unknown
but have those funny names ending in consonants:
There are many regional differences in Italian cooking, but many
things are universal. Want to know if you qualify as a true Italian
cook and/or gourmet? If you do, you:
1. Believe your way of cooking ___ is the only way. Anyone else's
way is so wrong as to be laughable.
2. Call it macaroni (or more precisely, mahcahrohn). You are annoyed
that when other people started calling it pasta, the price doubled.
3. Make gravy (okay, this is more a New York thing than Italian), not
sauce.
4. Grow your own basil and parsley. You know that dried basil is a
poor imitation, as is curly parsley, and that the taste of dried
parsley cannot be distinguished from that of cardboard.
5. Know that bread that can be sliced without making a lot of crumbs
is no more than a large hot dog roll. (This has been dubbed
"chewngumbread" by my father as suggested by its texture.)
6. Can eat virtually anything that comes from the ocean without
blinking an eye. This includes baccala, for which no possible reason
but tradition can justify eating.
7. Start every recipe by getting out the garlic.
8. Don't ask, "For what?" when you hear the command, "Put the water
on!"
9. Know that real provolone cannot be sliced on a machine.
10. Know that the rest of the world has the wine and water goblets
reversed.
11. Eat only one meal on Sundays (but it lasts all day).
12. Have a utensil that the entire family knows as "the macaroni pot."
13. Can look at a seven-course meal and think, "That's all?"
14. Know what real lemon ice tastes like.
15. Have at least three grades of olive oil, one of which you buy in
gallon containers.
16. Serve the salad after the entree.
17. Spend an hour making your antipasto platter look like a work of
art.
18. Know that good marinara will not make up for lousy macaroni.
19. Can make pasta e fagioli without looking at the recipe.
20. Can reconcile the paradox that if nothing is left over, you didn't
cook enough, but if anything is left over, it wasn't good enough.
Bonus points - You really earn your apron if you:
1. Make your own wine and vinegar.
2. Use a piece of wooden closet rod as a rolling pin for making
home-made macaroni.
3. Make your own sausage.
Anybody have any to add? Argue over? :)
Rick Marinelli
RickLisa"deletethistoemail"@tidalwave.net
Cooking is like love: It should be entered into with abandon
or not at all.
<RJ>
MYGOD....... that was beautiful !!
I may print it, frame it, and hang it in the kitchen.
btw Is there really a diff in macaronis ? ( spaghetti noodles )
I remember an old Consumer Report article that claimed that
"spaghetti is spaghetti, the difference is all in the sauce"
RobDgot
>but have those funny names ending in consonants:
>>>
I love it! Being a New York Italian/American/Jew I have lived my entire cooking
life with this list. Of course all those items come to me as naturally as
breathing. Now, what about the list for those that "like to cook and/or eat
Jewish food". Anyone care to try?
Getting old is inevitable, growing up is optional
Bob Gottlieb
FINO...@webtv.net
remember my nonna saying "macaroni & gravy" and as a kid I used to tease
her - calling the dish "nonna's s & m" which of course stands for
"spaghetti and meatballs". How about cookies for Christmas and
weddings? We had piles piles piles of cookies of hundreds of different
types but made from the same dough! I remember when grandpa died, we
received more than 5 platters of almond paste cookies from the local
bakery - so much that we had to freeze most of them, ten gallons of veal
stew, truck loads of meats and cheeses, 20 loaves of breads etc...oh -
how i miss that very strange Christmas dessert - a wreath of fried honey
balls with almonds and orange. We used to have eels for Christmas Eve
dinner...I remember freaking over live eels in nonna's bathtub....There
is no smell more delicious than meatballs (loaded with fresh cheeses,
parsley & garlic) frying in olive oil...,
Myra Shinkman
: A few notes for those of you who like to cook and/or eat Italian food,
: but have those funny names ending in consonants:
<snip>
Will you marry me?
: 14. Know what real lemon ice tastes like.
My ex-husband (he's half Sicilian) liked to make a beverage consisting of
a scoop of lemon ice, a shot of Orgeat syrup and some club soda. Very
refreshing.
Myra
____________________
Please direct e-mail to "myra [at] primenet [dot] com"
FINO...@webtv.net
Thanks, Michael
Rick and Lisa Marinelli
>ricklisadele...@tidalwave.net <> wrote:
>
>: A few notes for those of you who like to cook and/or eat Italian food,
>: but have those funny names ending in consonants:
>
><snip>
>
>Will you marry me?
>
I'm taken, but if you make my wife a reasonable offer, she'd probably
love to get rid of me... :)
Rick Marinelli
rickandlisa"deletethistoemail"@erols.com
Rick and Lisa Marinelli
>
>MYGOD....... that was beautiful !!
>
>I may print it, frame it, and hang it in the kitchen.
>
>btw Is there really a diff in macaronis ? ( spaghetti noodles )
>I remember an old Consumer Report article that claimed that
>"spaghetti is spaghetti, the difference is all in the sauce"
>
Fooey on Consumer Reports. True that there are many good macaronis,
and the differences between them can be very slight and very
subjective. But cook lousy macaroni one time and you will be
convinced that it can make a big difference.
We have recently switched to Barilla. I was skeptical, but it lives up
to the advertisements.
On a somewhat unrelated note, I have a particular pet peeve about
products that use a name with a certain ethnic sound (Italian names
for macaroni, French names for shampoos, etc.), sometimes with
"IMPORTED" in huge letters. Then you find out it is imported from
Lower Slobovia. Maybe just as good, but I have a thing about being
"scammed."
Young
> We have recently switched to Barilla. I was skeptical, but it lives up
> to the advertisements.
I tried that a couple of times ... I guess I like my strands of pasta
to get along somewhat! ... doesn't have to be mushy but I don't
necessarily want to feel every single strand of pasta in my mouth,
either.
I've given up on angel hair, but I'm developing a real fondness for
Ronzoni linguini ...
nancy
Rick and Lisa Marinelli
wrote:
Life would be boring if everyone had the same taste... :)
Myra Shinkman
Myra Shinkman
: I'm taken, but if you make my wife a reasonable offer, she'd probably
: love to get rid of me... :)
Well, since you're taken, I'll just have to keep on mooning after my *new*
true love - David Ruggiero.
Myra - who finds Brooklyn accents soothing
C.L. Gifford
>
> Rick and Lisa Marinelli <rickandlisadel...@erols.com> wrote:
>
> : I'm taken, but if you make my wife a reasonable offer, she'd probably
> : love to get rid of me... :)
>
> Well, since you're taken, I'll just have to keep on mooning after my *new*
> true love - David Ruggiero.
>
> Myra - who finds Brooklyn accents soothing
Myra, you would be so unhappy in Sandy Eggo. ;) My one trip to
NY was horrifying to me. Nerves you know.
Charlie (Liam)
____________________
> Please direct e-mail to "myra [at] primenet [dot] com"
--
*****************************************************************
Charles Liam Gifford 32:44:58N
<>< 117:06:33W
USS PORTERFIELD DD682
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/8893
IMOCKU
>true love - David Ruggiero.
You'll probably have to "moon" him from a distance. He and his accountant were
arrested and arraigned on charges of I believe credit card fraud this past
Monday in NYC. Chaces are very good that he will be in the slammer for quite
some time.
Apparently he was messing around with customer credit card receipts (not
frauding the customer, but frauding the tax man).
I don't know how much longer the Food TV network will be broadcasting his show
if the charges stick.
Ilene (NY)
IMO...@aol.com
I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.
Myra Shinkman
: You'll probably have to "moon" him from a distance. He and his
: accountant were arrested and arraigned on charges of I believe credit
: card fraud this past Monday in NYC. Chaces are very good that he will
: be in the slammer for quite some time.
Oh dear. Criminal activity is a definite "turn-off" for me!
How could he be soooooo stupid???????
: I don't know how much longer the Food TV network will be broadcasting
: his show if the charges stick.
Well, I wasn't all that interested in his recipes (although I agree with
about Katz' pastrami).
Myra - feeling crushed (with a bit of chili pepper flakes)
Myra Shinkman
: Myra, you would be so unhappy in Sandy Eggo. ;) My one trip to
: NY was horrifying to me. Nerves you know.
I have panic disorder, for which I take medication. Still, I like New
York - I have lots of family there, so it's not so "foreign" to me.
Myra
C.L. Gifford
I too have panic disorder. During my few hours in NY I took lots
of my medication! Having family would help, I have no doubt. San
Diego living is slow and calm can be had. Part of the problem I
had in NY was that I had just spent a month in the countryside of
Ireland. Landing in NY immense culture shock!
Charlie