If you are from an Italian American family with roots in southern Italy and lived in the greater New York area, you know what these are. Anginetti were a part of every family celebration – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Engagements, Weddings, Baptisms, First Communions, Graduations – you name it they were there. These were usually made by the family matriarch, more often than not the grandmother, who began the production line days before the event monopolizing the kitchen table along with every other surface at home. The finished Angenetti were arranged on dollie lined aluminum pie tins, wrapped in cellophane and transported to the party destination to be proudly placed on each table….
Pitigliano – The Little Jerusalem / La Piccola Gerusalemme and Il Tufo Allegro
A number of years ago following the winding road from Orvietto through the countryside of southern Tuscany known as Maremma, it seemed as though we would never reach Pitigliano. The rolling green hills, olive groves and vineyards were a scenic backdrop, but with no direct route to our destination, piccola La Levitt was becoming a tad restless. After clearing yet one more turn on a windy country road, the medieval town of Pitigliano majestically emerged, perched atop of the massive volcanic rock from which it is built….
Liquore al Limone – Lemon Liquor
Lemon Liquor
There is a centuries old Italian tradition passed down through the generations of producing flavored liquors fatto a casa, or made at home. Family artisans relied on the local spices, herbs, fruits, flowers, nuts, seeds, and barks of the countryside as the flavoring essence for their liquor. One friend living in Florence prides himself on his annual Nocino liquor production made with unripened green walnuts, always being certain to share a bottle with us to take to back to the states to be opened at Christmas time. Further south along the coastal Campagna region, the picturesque destination of writers, celebrities, and later film stars since the 19th century, one finds both family and commercial production of the iconic lemon liquor know as Lemoncello….
Funghi Selvatici al Cartoccio – Wild Mushrooms in a Package
As a child, I remember my grandfather returning home with a sack of mushrooms he foraged from a nearby wooded area. My grandmother would take the harvest and cook it along with a silver coin; legend had it that if the coin turned black, the mushrooms were poisonous. Now please don’t try this at home, although this method is widely utilized across cultures as a litmus test for determining the toxicity of wild mushrooms, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim. Reflecting back, it seems as though my grandparents must have known something about selecting forest funghi, as none of us were ever rushed to the emergency room after meal….
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