briciole

prendere qualcuno per la gola

The literal meaning of this expression is to put one's hands around someone's throat, typically in an attempt to throttle them. In both Italian and English the expression is also used figuratively, so that no strangling actually takes place. In Italian, however, the expression is commonly used to describe a gourmet endeavor: to tempt someone by offering him or her delicious food. The temptation can be as innocent as make someone stray from a diet or eat more than necessary, but it can also have a more romantic objective, when the perpetrator exploits his or her culinary skills to win the... Read more →

mangiare i confetti

To eat comfits The sugar coating is rather hard, so most people let it slowly dissolve in their mouth, then crunch the almond. If the heart of the confetto is made of chocolate, the dissolving process can proceed seamlessly from coating to coated delicacy. Some people prefer to crunch the confetto as soon as it lands in their mouth, an acceptable option that is harder on the teeth and makes a distinctive noise. To celebrate a wedding (in the sense of going to someone's wedding party, not of performing the wedding ceremony) Giving confetti to wedding invitees is such a strong... Read more →

bricia / fragment

A rarely used noun that derived from the vulgar Latin verb brisare, to break. The dialectal version brisa is used in parts of northern Italy and I love the way the word sounds. Briciola (plural briciole) is a diminutive form of bricia and it is commonly used. Briciole usually refers to breadcrumbs, but also to other crumbled items, and even to intangible things, like happiness (una briciola di felicità). Crumbles of butter, flour, fine polenta, sugar and ground almonds make a cake typical of Mantua, called sbrisolona. It is different from a typical crumble, because there is no fruit layer underneath... Read more →

fare la scarpetta / to clean one's plate with a piece of bread

My father always uses a small piece of bread to gather and scoop up the sauce remaining on his plate. As a child, I was taught to do the same, out of religious respect for the food, magnified in my parents by their experience of wartime food scarcity. The expression usually refers to the tomato sauce left on a bowl after eating a portion of pasta, but as a child I had to fare la scarpetta no matter what dish I had eaten. The family tradition is now carried on by my husband, to my father's delight. Scarpetta means little shoe,... Read more →

fare una frittata

To make a frittata See, for example, my recipe for frittata di zucchine or an unusual one with roasted peaches. To make a mess Whenever my mother sent me to buy eggs as a child, she would always warn me not to make a frittata, i.e. break some or all of the eggs. At the store they did not use cartons (a great invention, if you ask me) and wrapped the eggs individually in pieces of newspaper, so that they looked like giant candies. The padding provided by the newspaper was often insufficient and I would arrive home with a cracked... Read more →

variazioni sul tema 'un latte' / variations on the theme 'un latte'

If you want to make sure you are not served a glass of cold milk, these are a couple of words you can add to your basic order of un latte: caldo: steams the milk so it is hot and frothy macchiato: steams the milk and adds a shot of espresso caffelatte: warms up the milk, so it is hot but not frothy, and adds coffee. This is what I had for breakfast as a child. I would never order it in a coffee shop: it would be embarrassing. Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned... Read more →

variazioni sul tema 'un caffè' / variations on the theme 'un caffè'

Forget about large and red-eye and all the other specifications that have currency in American coffee shops. These are some words you can add to your basic order of un caffè to obtain slight variations: ristretto: concentrates the espresso so the cup is no more than half-full and the flavor more intense doppio: double-shot lungo: adds a small amount of hot water so the cup is almost full macchiato: adds a small amount of hot milk; a small pitcher with cold milk is usually available on the counter and customers are free to help themselves corretto: adds a small amount of... Read more →

un caffè

1. an espresso Ordering un caffè results in the delivery of a single-shot of espresso with a layer of froth on the top, served in a small cup. The reason you drink it is not to quench your thirst, but to sip an intensely-flavored nectar that leaves behind a wonderful aftertaste. 2. a coffee Most Italians do not have an espresso machine at home: they use a stovetop coffee pot called moka. In 1933 Alfonso Bialetti revolutionized home coffee-brewing in Italy with the introduction of the Moka Express aluminum stovetop brewer. This simple, reliable machine became a design icon of the... Read more →