briciole

capellino / angel hair

Capellino (singular) is a diminutive of capello, hair, which in Italian is countable. Capellini is the plural. My mother does not like to cook very thin pasta, so it was only when I stayed with my aunt Lucia that I ate capellini and capelli d'angelo (angel hair). My recollection is that she would make capellini with a light sauce, while she cooked nests of capelli d'angelo in broth. She probably used De Cecco, which distinguishes the two kinds of pasta, capellini and capelli d'angelo. Barilla, on the other hand, appears to use the two names as synonyms and makes capellini, also... Read more →

gelato

My favorite gelateria in my home town of Perugia was not open year-round, so its first day of operation in the spring was an important event. Given the rich selection offered by gelaterie, eating gelato is an exploration not only of single flavors, but also of combinations of them. My favorite combination of flavors changed often and I alternated between asking for a dollop of panna montata (whipped cream) on top of my gelato and forgoing it. I also alternated between asking for a cono (cono) and preferring a coppetta (small cup). When I visited Palermo in 1980, I was introduced... Read more →

noce / walnut

The fruit of a deciduous tree (also called noce), consisting of an external hull (mallo) surrounding a hard shell (guscio), which contains the edible seed (gheriglio). My aunt Lucia used chopped walnuts (noci) and egg whites (chiare d'uovo) to make croccanti for Christmas, then delivered small packages of them to family members. My father remembers cracking the walnuts his sister would use. At my parents' house, a tray of walnuts and hazelnuts (nocciole) was always on the kitchen counter and as a child I loved using the schiaccianoci (nutcracker) to extract the gherigli from their shell. A bottle of home-made nocino... Read more →

fico / fig

Fresh figs from the farmers' market brought back sweet memories of fig picking. Different kinds of figs (fichi) ripen at different times during the summer, so when I was in Italy, summer was a season of continuous fig eating. I remember neighbors arriving at the house in my dad's village with baskets lined with fig leaves, full of sweet-smelling fruit: they never lasted long. My mother would spread peeled figs over slices of bread for a nutritious snack for me and my brother and I have been doing the same for my husband. The summer bounty gets stashed away in the... Read more →

pâté di fegatini di pollo / chicken liver pâté

The version of this dish I am referring to here is typical of central Italy and is eaten spread over small slices of lightly toasted bread, called crostini. Crostini con pâté di fegatini di pollo are traditionally served as an appetizer and they are featured in the menu of many restaurants. I recommend you try them if you find yourself in the area, and maybe compare the different local versions. It is also possible to purchase fresh pâté in stores. I grew up eating the variation common in Umbria, the region where I was born. My mother would make pâté di... Read more →

botte / barrel, cask

The first botti I came to know as a child had lived their file as wine containers and were located in the cave my father and her sister had in their native village. I know this sounds strange, but that is how it was: not far from the house in Poggio Catino, inside the village, a massive door opened to reveal a high-ceilinged, dark and cool corridor carved into the rock. For many years that was our refrigerator and also our long-term storage area for staples like fruit, wine and olive oil, and also for the wood my aunt used during... Read more →

pollo arrosto alla Julia Child / roast chicken à la Julia Child

The time is a few years ago and the place is my mother-in-law's apartment in the Chicago area. My mother-in-law is watching TV when we arrive: she is enjoying the program, so we start watching it too. On the screen there is Julia Child preparing a chicken for roasting. That was my first and only encounter with her. Julia's manners and her interaction with her partner, Jacques Pepin, made me overcome my natural aversion to watching television. That was also my first and only encounter with a food program. I don't watch TV of any kind, so this has nothing to... Read more →

fagiolino / snap bean

Phaseolus vulgaris Fagiolino is a diminutive of fagiolo (bean) and it is most often used in the plural, fagiolini. I have always called fagiolini green beans here, but a recent post by Lisa of Champaign Taste featuring the purple and yellow varieties, besides the green one, made me decide to consult the dictionary. As a result, from now on I will try and call them snap beans, a term previously unknown to me. I have always loved fagiolini, even as a vegetable-averse child and teenager. The day of the first written test at the end of high school, after six hours... Read more →

panino con la frittata

Costantino Caponangeli, plumber by profession, private detective by chance, is about to go from Pescara to Venice on a very delicate assignment: he must find his employer's wife, who has decided to take some time off from her family (husband and two sons) and is now reportedly living in the city on the lagoon. Costantino is dressed for the part and is trying to maintain his composure in the face of his mamma's behavior. The scene is from the 1999 Italian movie Pane e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips). Mrs. Caponangeli has prepared some panini for her son's trip, wrapped them well... Read more →

far venire l'acquolina in bocca / to make someone's mouth water

If the sight, smell of thought of a certain food mi fa venire l'acquolina in bocca then, as a result ho l'acquolina in bocca (my mouth is watering). Both expressions are of widespread use in Italy. I have always found the word acquolina (which literally is is a diminutive of acqua, water) particularly charming: it dances in my mouth like a tasty morsel. Avere l'acquolina in bocca should not be confused with acqua in bocca!, which is an injunction to keep something a secret. The idea is that if your mouth is full of water, you cannot talk. I taught my... Read more →