Moving

I'm leaving! Not to worry though.... I'm not going very far. I'm right over here at www.Italyville.com .... come on over and see my new place! and if you would do me a great big favor: please change any links you may have kindly given me in the past to reflect the change:) GRAZIE 1000!! and see you over in Italyville.

The City that Never Sleeps

Buongiorno! I was in the city that never sleeps all last week for work, so I didn't get a chance to post. I'm a country boy mostly but what I like about New York City is that there's always something new to discover. A new street, a little shop, an off the wall concept, a cRaZy outfit and if you can think of it, it's probably waiting to be found in some little corner of the city. I had a great meal at my friend's restaurant "Forge" so a big thanks to Chef Marc Forgione and partner Chris Blumlo. The menu is always changing but if you get a chance to head down there soon, try the pumpkin creme brulee... it's delicious!

I also got a chance to have lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city, Bar Pitti. The food is authentic and very good. The owners and staff are all Italian and many of the customers are Italian as well. I sat near a group that was from Veneto (their accent gave them away) and had "Rigatoni Pitti" cooked perfectly al dente. If you're in New York, check them out but bring cash... cause that's all they take.


PS - I have gotten feedback that people are having trouble viewing posts on Italyville... wondering if anyone else is having difficulty viewing posts.

Guest Blogger: Justin Catanoso

What a great treat it is to be hosted on this wonderful blog, Italyville, and share with you some thoughts from my new book, My Cousin the Saint: A Search for Faith, Family, and Miracles (Morrow/HarperCollins). I should point out that the title is literally true -- I really do have a Calabrian cousin, a contemporary of my immigrant grandfather, who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 23, 2005. It was amazing. Sixty of us Catanosos from America were there for the ceremony (with 100 Italian relatives and 100,000 of our closest friends from around the world!). My book is a big, happy, sweeping drama that plays out mostly in New Jersey, Rome and southern Calabria. There are tales of immigration, stories of a courageous priest who goes on to sainthood, and vivid scenes of being embraced by my Calabrian relatives, who I met for the first time less than five years ago.

Chorio (RC)

What follows is a short description of a dinner at a trattoria in Reggio Calabria on the night of Dec. 27, 2003, when my wife and three daughters gathered with more than 20 Catanoso relatives for a memorable family feast. We had arrived in the city just a few hours earlier, and were meeting nearly all of these relatives for the first time ever. If you been to Italy, you won't be surprised to hear that it didn't feel strange. It felt like coming home.

For example, after we all settled in around long tables pushed end to end, the food came out in waves. No menus, just an array of plates filled with thin-sliced hams and salami, risotto, frittelle (zucchini flower fritters), frittata (onions and eggs with capers), grilled eggplant and mounds of olives and beans. Jugs of red wine were within everyone's reach. Every time I drained my glass, Vincenzo Infortuna, who was on my right and married to cousin Caterina Catanoso, would refill it with a cheer, "Salute!" He knew no English, but we talked as best we could, trading an Italian-English dictionary back and forth.

The appetizers were followed by oval platters of rigatoni, in both a hearty tomato sauce and white crème sauce. It crossed my mind that my mother might actually be in the kitchen. "Mangia, mangia," Vincenzo said as he spooned the macaroni on my plate. Amid the steady din of conversation and laughter, Giovanna Catanoso told me, "We are all Catanosos here, but we are from different branches of the family. There are cousins here that I don't see very often. Most live here in Reggio, but some are visiting from Milan. It really feels like Christmas."

That's just a small taste of the three-hour dinner I describe in detail in my book, one of many scenes that centers on the love of family and food so central to the heart and soul of what it means to be Italian, especially southern Italian.

Guest Blogger - Author: Justin Catanoso

It has been a crazy week but I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and hope you all had a wonderful weekend. As you know, yesterday was Columbus Day here in the States and good old Berlusconi was visiting his buddy W in Washington DC.... he also managed to break the podium when he went to speak. Nice one Silvio! It goes to show that politicians are really good at breaking things but not so good at fixing them... but enough about that, we have a special guest for you tomorrow!

Justin Catanoso

As many of you may have seen recently, Justin Catanoso, second generation Italian-American and author of My Cousin the Saint: A Search for Faith, Family and Miracles has been making his rounds on the blogosphere and we are happy to have him as a guest blogger tomorrow here on Italyville.com. So make sure to check back tomorrow (after I have my coffee) for his post. Justin is Calabrese (Chorio), so he fits right in around here. Also if you haven't done so yet, make sure to head over and visit my favorite Calabrese bloggers Cherrye at My Bella Vita and Michelle at Bleeding Espresso where you can enter to win a copy of Justin's book. You have until Friday the 17th..... not to mention, Michelle has a recipe for Pasta al Forno con Melanzane that looks delicious! So please stop by Italyville tomorrow and help me welcome Justin.

Roasted Red Peppers

There's nothing like roasted red peppers to add that extra flavor to a sandwich, as a side-dish, appetizer or in your favorite recipe. We usually roast red bell peppers but you can certainly roast green, yellow, orange... or any other color you like. Roasting red peppers has been an annual tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. (We also make several jars or red pepper sauce to use in another Italian specialty coming up in a few months, so stay tuned... right Maria from Philly?;)

As usual, the process varies but here's how we roast our red peppers... and remember, as my dad likes to say, "No work?, no eat!"

1- We buy red bell peppers by the case or pick them at a local farm. The price seems to vary from year to year. Late September or early October is usually the best time to find red bell peppers at a great price in our area as they are in season. We picked them for $10 per bushel this year.

2- Wash the peppers and remove any blemishes but do not remove the stems or cores. Leave the peppers whole.

3- Place them on a fire grill. We use a wood burning grill that dad made by cutting a barrel in half. Any flame grill can be used but make sure the flames are large enough to char the skin of the peppers. If you slow cook the peppers, they will be too mushy (mushy is a very technical term!) I've heard of people brushing oil on their peppers but I don't see a need to do it.

The pepper cooker

4- We designate a “pepper cooker” (Dad) that is in charge of cooking the peppers on the grill. (what else would a “pepper cooker” be in charge of??) It’s important to cook the peppers enough to char the skin so that it peels off easily and that’s it. Don’t cook the entire pepper. This is done by turning the peppers often. It takes some practice but isn’t that difficult.

5- Once the peppers are ready, take them off the grill and let them cool a little. When they’ve cooled for a few minutes, you can hold them by the stem and peel the charred skin off with your fingers. Be careful, they should still be very hot. If you let them cool too much, they will be more difficult to peel. We usually have a bucket of water nearby to clean and cool our hands. Peel off as much of the skin as you can but don’t worry, there is always some black specks of charred skin or uncooked skin that remains (you’ll be able to tell how good your “pepper cooker” is by the amount of un-charred skin remains (the less un-charred skin the better) We usually remove the skin first and then go back and remove the stems and core. We do this because it’s easier to remove the skin when the peppers are still pretty hot, which means the insides are even hotter, so we wait until they cool down. It’s also easier to hold the peppers by the stems when removing the skin.

Important: do not dunk the peppers in water as they will lose flavor.

6 – Once you have removed the skin from the peppers and they have cooled down completely, go back and remove the stems and core of the peppers. You can also tear the peppers into pieces at this point. The size of the pieces is up to you and your preference. If there is still charred skin remaining, this is a good time to remove as much as you can.

7- Now that you have removed the skin, stems and core of the peppers and torn them into the size pieces that you want, you can start jarring them. We use small jars for the most part so that we have smaller portions when we decide to open a jar. We’ll make a few large quart size jars as well for holidays or special occasions. Make sure to pack the peppers down well as you jar them. Again, do not wash the peppers as they will lose flavor.

8 – Once you have jarred and topped your peppers, you will need to boil the jars to seal the tops. Put your jars in a large pot and fill the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil and let the jars boil for 20-30 minutes. Once they are done boiling, take them out, place them on a blanket and cover them. This will keep the jars from cooling too quickly and cracking.

Simple roasted red peppers: Open a jar of roasted red peppers, add a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, cut a loaf of fresh bread and you have a great side dish or snack. Enjoy and buon appetito!

Adventures on Contrada Calluzzi

Contrada Caluzzi is a small country road in the town of Feroleto Antico (CZ) in Calabria where my mother's family is from. My brother, sisters and I spent many summer vacations and made lifetime memories there. Here's a small window into summertime on Contrada Caluzzi.

Feroleto Antico 2008

If the rooster failed to wake us the dogs would finish the job. The summer heat in Calabria could be felt early in the day and mom and nonna would already be hard at work with the daily chores when we woke. Nonna would break from her work to feed us warm milk and biscotti and a slice of bread drizzled with olive oil when we asked but soon after she would usher us outside.... there would be no staying in the house, which was just fine with us. The houses were angled slightly facing each other like 2 sides of a triangle with an old stone barn situated at the corner between them. The barn's weathered wooden door doubled as a goal when we kicked the plastic ball around as we pretended to be our favorite soccer players (I was always Paolo Rossi or Cabrini) but a hard shot against the old door would make an awful rattle and a few hard shots would bring nonna to the front window yelling at us to go find another place to play... unless Zio Peppe was playing with us as he could usually convince her to let us play 10 minutes more.

The Old Barn

As you drive through the gates of the property, the pebble driveway with a lone olive tree in the center will bring you directly in front of my family's home. My grandparents live in one house and my two uncles split (upstairs and downstairs) the other with their families. Less than 100 yards down the road a third uncle built his house on the property as well and that meant plenty of cousins to play with when we arrived for the summer. There was ample adventure and trouble to be found each day on the 20 or so acres and we did our best to find it. The property consists of olive grove, fruit trees, gardens and vineyard. I would start the day looking for my cousins who were often doing chores of their own and sometimes I would help out or keep them company until they were done. After chores we would have a meeting of sorts as we all had ideas of what we wanted to do. We would swim, play soccer, visit one of the many fruit trees on the property, walk to the vineyard, build forts, throw rocks at bees nests, chase lizards and much more but my favorite adventures were the ones that we took off the property. We would put on a pair of old shoes, take along a plastic bag and a pocket knife and head into the woods to find mushrooms, or pignoli nuts or change into clean cloths and walk the mile or so into town to get a gelato and play video games at the local bar.

E at the gate with her boots on a muddy day

The days continued like this throughout the summer with occasional trips to the beach or Nicastro to go shopping. After dinner we would all sit around the mimosa trees where nonno had built his benches and wobbly chairs and listen to stories under the stars until it was time for bed.

Some mornings we would wake to my aunts gathered to make tomato sauce or my nonno plucking feathers from a chicken or my uncles heading off to the vinyard and we were eager to help. The days we were all together were my favorite as I would listen to the stories, learn and laugh and then, like all good things it would come to an end and we would return home.... with a little oil and a lot of coffee, a bag of oregano and a few pieces of cheese, some dried olives, a jar of nutella, and a pocket full of memories.

to read about my father's town: Adventures in San Michele

1000 words

One of my favorites: My aunt and uncles in Calabria (circa: 1970/1971)

Homemade - Tomato Sauce

This past Saturday, we made our tomato sauce for the year. We used to be able to make all our tomato sauce from tomatoes we grew in our own garden but times are changing and the garden isn’t as big as it used to be. Not a Problem! Do you think we would buy it at the grocery store? NEVER! It’s still doable. This years tomato crop here in New England took a serious hit from all the rain and finding Roma/Plum tomatoes has been difficult and expensive. The local farm we usually buy them from didn't have any but after a little research, I found a great website called pickyourown.org that lists farms by state where you can.... you guessed it, pick your own fruits and vegetables. After about 10 phone calls with no success and venturing further and further from home, I came across a farm in Avon, CT that had Plum tomatoes and we were off to pick em! We picked 5 bushels and got together to make sauce. Interested in giving it a try??

What You’ll Need:
-Tomatoes: Cost - $15-20 per bushel ($10 last year!) if you pick your own, more if you get them pre-picked. I’m sure the cost varies from farm to farm and certainly from year to year, so shop around if you can.
-Tomato Sauce Machine
-Large pots, buckets, containers
-Large wooden spoon
-Sharp knives
-Jars, jar tops
-Basil (optional)
-Stove or propane burner

We like to pick our own tomatoes, so that we can select the ripest and best ones. Why leave it up to someone else? Our family has always used Plum or Roma tomatoes to make our tomato sauce because they have less water content. Less water = thicker sauce. As I mentioned, this year we picked 5 bushels (give or take) of tomatoes and they yielded about 80 quart size jars of tomato sauce.

Here’s a brief step by step of how to make your own homemade tomato sauce.

1- Select the ripest tomatoes: We recommend Plum/Roma tomatoes. They can usually be found at a local farm in your area. In our experience one bushel of plum tomatoes will make 15-ish quart size jars of tomato sauce.

2- If your tomatoes need to ripen a little, lay them out for a few days. We usually lay them flat on a tarp or a blanket in the garage or shed.
3- Call the family over, friends… whoever likes to show up when you’re making pasta on Sundays. Use the, “no work, no eat” phrase that my dad likes to use whenever one of these occasions presents itself.

4- Wash the tomatoes in a large container to get rid of any dirt, etc. Basically fill the container with water and dump in your tomatoes for a quick bath.
5- Once you’ve washed the tomatoes, cut the top piece off… not too much, just the little round dot on the top of the tomato (not sure what it’s called in English but codicino in Calabrese) and slice the tomato down the center the long way. You don’t need to cut them in half, just slice them so that they open up. Some people like to squeeze some juice out of the tomatoes after they slice them but we don't do that anymore. It all depends on the type of tomatoes you're using. The round tomatoes like Beefsteak, Jet Stars, etc. have higher water content, so it might be a good idea to give them a squeeze if that's the variety you're using.

6- Place your washed, sliced tomatoes in a large pot (see below) and cook them for approx 20-30 minutes at high heat, stirring occasionally. You’ll know they’re ready when they start getting soupy and you can pinch the skin off the tomatoes (don’t burn yourself trying). We find that it’s easier and quicker to cook the tomatoes on a propane burner. It speeds up cooking time, you can use larger pots and you can do it outside or in the garage/shed, which makes cleaning up easier.

7- Now that you’ve cooked the tomatoes, you’re ready to put them through your sauce maker. You can buy a sauce maker online or at a local kitchenware store. There are manual and automatic ones depending on your preference and price point. They can run from $40 for a manual one to $200+ for an electric one. We use a manual one…. My dad says the sauce tastes better when you work harder. Which is code for, “I’m not paying for an electric one, so shut up and turn the handle.”
8- Scoop the stewed tomatoes into the machine and crank the handle. We usually scoop some of the water out so that the sauce is thicker. The sauce will come out one end and the skins out the other. Make sure you have containers to collect both. Once you have processed the tomatoes, put the skins through for a second time. The sauce from the second round is thicker because there’s less water. We usually put the skins through a third time as well but you don’t have to.

9- Now that you have your sauce you need to fill your jars. The sauce machine usually comes with a funnel that fits standard jars to make things easier, otherwise you should buy a funnel… or you’ll make a mess. We grow a lot of basil, so we like to place a few leaves in each jar for taste but it’s not necessary. Scoop your sauce with a cup or mug and fill your jars a few inches from the top. Don’t fill the jars too high, we’ve found that when we fill the jars too high some of them go bad (not sure why.)

10- Once you’ve filled your jars, cap them with jar tops (you can finds jars and tops at any hardware store.)

11- When you’ve finished jarring, you’ll need to boil your jars of sauce to seal them. Place the jars in a large pot and fill the pot with water so that all the jars are submerged. Bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for about 20-30 minutes. Again, we like to use the propane burner (seen below) because it’s faster and we can use a larger pot. The pot below holds about 20 jars.

12- After boiling the jars, remove them and cover them with a blanket. We lay one blanket down and cover the jars with another blanket so that the jars don’t cool too quickly and crack. You can leave them overnight.

This sauce has no preservatives or additives. You can't find this quality of tomato sauce in a grocery store. You’ll still have to cook it, add spices, meat, etc. but you’ll have fresh, homemade tomato sauce made from local ripe tomatoes for the entire year. Open a jar, make it the way you like it and Buon appetito!!

Delicately Priced Pasta

I was at a local grocery store the other day that in my my opinion has been modeled after a Whole Foods.... basically it has lots of organic foods, high end products, etc. and I came across a display for "Benedetto Cavalieri" pasta (from Lecce.) It was in a real fancy package (that included a ribbon.) It looked good and since I am always one to try new pasta, I bought a pound of the Casarecci.... even though it was $7.99! I cooked it and it was good... not sure if was $7.99 good but I chalked it up to experience. De Cecco is still better:) I guess I got a deal since I just saw some online for $8.60.

Here are a few reasons I think they can justify the high price of this pasta:

1. They've been around since 1918.... if it's an old company they can charge more.
2. Apparently they use the "Delicate Method" which is VERY expensive. It costs more to be delicate.
3. The Blue ribbon on the bag.
4. I hope you're not taking me seriously.;)
   

Nassa Giardiniera - Hen of the Woods

Where have I been?! After a week in the desert (Las Vegas) for work we went on vacation to Cape Cod.... the weather was fantastic! Wish we were still there... ahhhh, back to reality. I've been neglecting Italyville but I'm back and promise to post more. I will also do my best to get back to everyone who has emailed me in the last few weeks. I also promise to mow the lawn and finishing painting the house..... Blah!

What a great time of year! I must say, late summer/early fall is my favorite. The weather, the veggies, the wild mushrooms.... did I say wild mushrooms? That right. My favorite mushroom is here and E and I have been finding them everywhere! As I mentioned in my last post on wild mushrooms, in my family we call all the tree growing mushrooms "nassa" but the correct name for these is "Hen of the Woods" or "Maitake" They also sell for a big $ at the grocery store. In addition, the American Cancer Society promotes Maitake on their website as boosting your immune system among other things.

I saw this one on the side of the road while we were driving... E can't figure out how I spot them on a drive by... must be the vigorous training my nonno put me through when I was younger.:)


We decided to take a little walk through the woods after finding this one and we ended up finding a few more.

So what do you do when you find yourself with a whole lot of wild mushrooms?

Nassa Giardiniera

What you'll need:

• white vinegar
  
• Canola oil
• garlic
• hot peppers
• salt
  
• black pepper (optional)
• jars/lids

Thoroughly wash your nassa in cold water and break them up into small pieces. (They grow in the woods so there's often bugs, dirt, leaves etc.) After washing them, place them in a pot of bowling water for 20-30 minutes. Then transfer the nassa to another pot of boiling water and white vinegar (approx. 1 to 1 ratio) Make sure to use a ladle to transfer the nassa so that any dirt that was removed in the first pot of boiling water doesn't transfer along with your nassa. Boil the nassa in the vinegar/water mix for an additional 20-30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once your nassa is cool, squeeze the excess water out of it with your hands and place it in a separate bowl.

Add Canola oil, diced garlic, diced hot peppers, salt and pepper to taste and mix with your hands. NOTE: It's important not to use extra virgin olive oil (you won't hear me say that too often) as it congeals when you put it in the fridge and it doesn't come out as good.

Tightly pack your nassa into jars and then add a splash of Canola oil to the top. It makes a great side dish, snack and personally I like them with my eggs in the morning.

Enjoy and buon appetito!

PS - Hen of the woods is fairly easy to identify but please don't eat ANY mushrooms that you are not sure about as there are many mushrooms that can cause sickness and even death!

Italyville Farmer's Market

What's in the farmer's Market this month? Cherries - Ciliegie or if you prefer the dialect Cerasa.
I know they are on the way out but there's nothing better than fresh, sweet, plump cherries! My favorite!...... the only problem is they never last long enough to make it into a recipe. Oops:) My parents told me that I would eat the whole cherry when I was a kid, pit and all! Enjoy them while they last.

Chicken of the Woods

I'm thankful for many of the things my dad and nonno taught me growing up but one of my favorites is hunting for wild mushrooms. I also love the fact that E loves it too. I think it's a combination of being in the woods and the fact that I've always been fascinated with finding hidden treasure (it would be nice if it were in the form of gold or cash but wild mushrooms will do) not to mention, they taste GREAT.

It's a great time of year for what my family always referred to as "Nassa" growing up, which for us is basically any mushroom that grows from or around the base of a tree. The correct layman name for this orange beauty is "Chicken of the Woods" not to be confused with its partner in crime that usually gets a later start (September) called, "Hen of the Woods" among other names. I'll post about that once when I find the first one of the year.

It's really hard to mistake "Chicken of the Woods" for another wild mushroom but PLEASE do not eat anything you are unsure of.

It has been a great year for "Chicken of the Woods" so far and this is our favorite way to cook it.
What you'll need:

• olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 cups of tomato sauce
• salt, pepper and other seasonings of your choice
• splash of heavy cream (optional)

A good "Chicken of the Woods" is soft and tender. If the mushroom is in it's later stages of growth it will be hard and woody. You may still be able to use the tips of the mushroom as the tips are usually softer but a really good one will be soft and tender throughout.

After cleaning the mushroom thoroughly, you should be able to tear it into small pieces with your hands. If you're able to do this, the mushroom should be tender enough to eat.

Once you're done pulling or cutting your "Chicken of the Woods" into small pieces, place it a frying pan with a little olive oil and garlic and fry it for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. (The mushroom will turn a beautiful dark orange color.) Add your tomato sauce, season well and let it simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. You can also add a splash of cream if you want (we usually do) for a richer taste. Serve as an appetizer with some bread or as a side dish. Enjoy and buon appetito!

Gravy vs. Sauce

Well my last post certainly triggered some rants and stirred the pot a little.... I like that. It also got me thinking about a topic that I have always wanted to post about but it's a monster of a debate, so I have stayed away .... until now. Maria from Philly mentioned it in her comment. The topic is "Gravy." che cosa? exactly..... GRAVY.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, "Gravy" is a term that some Italian-Americans use to refer to their pasta sauce.

I'll start with a sprinkle of what I think and add in a pinch of what I know.

What I think: The short answer is I think gravy is for turkeys... I'm not making fun, I just think it's what you should have with turkey.. not pasta.

What I know: "Gravy" is not an Italian term (then again, neither is "sauce".) It is however a legitimate Italian-American term in certain regions, so it has its place in Italian-American culture. If you are an Italian-American from New York or New Jersey... maybe even outside of that area you may refer to your pasta sauce as "Gravy". I grew up in New England and as far as I know, Italian American's in this area do not use the term.

I think the word "Gravy" may originate from a sauce that is made with meat. It's common practice to make a tomato sauce starting with meat and then pull the meat out as a separate dish. The juice from the meat remains though.... so like making gravy, you're using the juices from meat.

So the closest definition of "Gravy" in Italian would be Ragu, which is a meat based sauce.(not the porcheria you see in a jar at the supermarket)

What is Italian? Sugo, ragu, salsa di pomodoro
Look up sugo in an Italian/English dictionary and you'll find both sauce and gravy (sugo di carne.) It is a lively debate. If you grew up using the term, you swear by it and if you didn't it's a crazy concept. Either way... buon appetito!

I'll leave you with this little clip from the Sopranos... I just wanted to use the first part of it but couldn't find a shorter version, so sorry for the profanity.... and play nice!

PS - Notice how the Italians think Paulie is cRaZy!

Brand Italy - Brands trying to be Italian

UPDATE: Just to clarify: I certainly realize that Italians eat packaged foods and other "porcheria" like anyone else and that Italian companies make (in my opinion) junk (like Barilla sauce, which we also have here) My point is this: Regardless of what you name it or who makes it or where you may have learned it (Olive Garden) it doesn't make it authentic. Barilla is an Italian company in every way.... but jarring ready to eat pasta sauce is not authentic Italian (profitable maybe but not authentic) Olive Garden may send it's chefs to Tuscany to learn the secrets of Italian cooking but one glance at their menu and there's nothing authentic about it. Bertolli's sauce in a microwavable bag.... well, as Maria from Philly would say, "WTF is that??" ;) So to any company who emails me or any other blogs to ask us to promote your products, I say this: Take a look around, what do we post about? How are we branding ourselves?

Original post:

For the second time this year, I've received an email from a company asking me if I would mention their product on Italyville and in exchange they would send me some of their product for free. I don't have a problem with mentioning products or services that I use or am interested in or products that are authentically Italian.... but they have to fit in with brand Italyville.

So let me just list a few things that authentic Italians would NEVER DO.

1. We don't buy ready to serve jarred tomato sauce regardless if it's "Old World Style" or "the way Mama used to make" or "Nonna's secret recipe" .... We've all thought of starting our own brand maybe but WE DON'T BUY IT.
   
2. We don't understand how in the world ANYONE could think that a sauce like Prego or Ragu is good or how in the world anyone would eat it. Seriously.
3. Some of us may use microwaves to heat up leftovers or for popcorn but never as a primary cooking appliance. (My mother uses hers to store bread)
4. We don't buy or eat frozen dinners. We plan life meal to meal... so why would we waste one on a frozen entree?
   
5. We've changed many of our friends' habits and lives by having them over for dinner. I guess they just didn't know what food was supposed to taste like ????
   
6. We often describe pre-packaged products as schifo or porcheria.

Traditional? Who's tradition are they talking about?

In addition, I would like to add a few Italyville "Brand Italy" facts:

• Just because your company or brand was originally Italian, started by an Italian, has an Italian name and makes a product that you think is Italian.... doesn't make it Italian.
• Chances are, if you've been bought by Unilever, CSC, Kraft, General Mills, etc..... you've probably lost some Italianess.

Here are a few examples of "sorry but your brand trying to be Italian isn't working"

• Burger King's Italian Chicken Parm Sandwich (really? stick to burgers BK)
  
• as mentioned above, Prego and Ragu (enough said)
  
• Bertolli's microwavable sauce in a bag.... (what the? a double negative doesn't make a positive in this case and believe me, there are no real Italian chefs getting upset at any of Bertolli's products ANYWHERE.)
  
• Olive Garden (first of all, I don't believe there is a cooking school in Tuscany that their employees go to.... and if there is, who's running it? not a real Italian chef!!)

Those are just a few, I would love to hear about your favorite "Trying to be Italian" brands.

Music that moves you

I love opera music..... mostly because of Andrea Bocelli. In my opinion, he expanded opera music's audience 10 fold. People who never thought they enjoyed opera music started listening to it (me being one of them.) It has the ability to move people, make them cry, make them hope, make them smile. Check out this audition video from "Britain's got Talent" if you live in the States there's a good chance you haven't seen it.... if you're from the UK it's old news but still such a great story. Watch the judges' faces as the video progresses, it's priceless. Hope you enjoy it.
(thanks to myredroom for the video)