Congratulations to Lorrie, our randomly chosen winner of a signed copy of “Up at the Villa: Travels with My Husband,” by Linda Dini Jenkins.
Thanks to all who commented
on Linda’s Inner Italian Q & A.
The Inner Italian Q & A: Linda Dini Jenkins
One in an occasional series of conversations with those who try to “live Italian” wherever they are.
"La Principessa" in Perugia
Linda Dini Jenkins is a freelance travel writer and photographer and the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with my Husband (more later on how to win a free copy!). She also blogs regularly about travel and travel writing at Travel the Write Way and teaches creative writing and journaling. She enjoys taking small groups of friends, to explore what Italy has to offer beyond the Florence-Venice-Rome triumvirate, and she can pack her suitcase in 15 minutes.
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Q: Living “Italian”. . . Is it a great way to live or the greatest way to live?
A: Well, I think it’s the greatest way to live. When you take into account the slower pace of life (outside the big cities!), the immersion in history and art, the fantastic cuisine, the love of design and music, the respect for taking time out to enjoy the simple things . . . whether it’s Italian or Mediterranean or European, it’s how I want to live.
Q: Why?
A: Are you kidding? Start with the food, the design sensibilities, the language, the arts, the vino, the pausa, the passeggiata . . . need I go on?
Q: When did you discover your Inner Italian? What is your Inner Italian named?
A: I always knew about my Inner Italian but, like other children of first-generation Italian-Americans who desperately wanted to assimilate, “being Italian” was something that just happened and was never really encouraged. In fact, I’d heard stories growing up of how hard it was for my father to be Italian in a New York suburb in the 1930s and ‘40s; even being Italian in my first job in New York in the 1970s was something of a liability. And I was always a little ashamed after that of being part Italian (my mother’s side of the family was English/Irish/German) until I met my husband and he took me to Italy in 2000. Since then, I have been a proud and vocal Italian-American. If my Inner Italian has a name and it needs to be something other than Linda, I suppose it’s Principessa . . .
Q: What does “living Italian” mean to you?
A: My grandparents came over from Italy in the late 1890s and they were anything but rich. So for me, living Italian has to do with cooking and eating together, always having crusty bread and wrinkled olives and green olive oil on the flowered oilcloth-covered table. It means not being afraid to be emotional—even if that involves fists and things flying when you’re angry. It means loving music and feeling the arts very deeply. It means trying to have a sense of style—of la bella figura—even if the clothes or table settings come from Target. And it means being a storyteller and a traveler and something of an adventurer.
Winner of SimpleItaly Loves Chicken
Auguri to Mary Ann Holm, who won the random drawing for a digital copy of SimpleItaly Loves Chicken.
Grazie to all who commented on the post to enter the sweepstakes. To thank you, here’s a recipe from the e-book.
Chicken Rigatoni all'Amatriciana is slightly spicy and totally satisfying. You'll find the recipe in "SimpleItaly Loves Chicken."
Rigatoni and Chicken all’Amatriciana
Serves 4 to 6
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced pancetta or bacon, cut in slivers
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper + extra for garnish
Salt
1 pound dried rigatoni
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Set a covered large pot of water over high heat.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the pancetta starts to crisp. Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until golden.
Scrape the pancetta and onion to one side. Add the chicken in a single layer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, or until no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and more pepper if needed.
When the water boils, add 1 tablespoon salt and the rigatoni. Stir. Cover and return to the boil. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the rigatoni.
Add the rigatoni to the skillet. Toss to coat. Add a bit of cooking water, if needed, to
loosen the sauce. Garnish with cheese and more crushed red pepper at the table.
Italian Vacation Dreams Come True
More than 150 countries exhibited at The New York Times Travel Show this past weekend—trying to drum up business for their homelands. According to data from program sponsor American Express, U.S. consumers are planning to spend 11 percent more on vacations in 2012 than last year.
Not to dash the hopes of all those vendors but we Inner Italians know that there is only one true destination. To get some tips on how you can better plan your 2012 Italian Adventure, Walter and I attended a Sunday afternoon seminar “Make Your Italian Vacation Dreams Come True,” hosted by author Susan Van Allen.
Sharon (left), Dream of Italy's Kathy McCabe and Walter at The New York Times Travel Show
Planning Your Italian Vacation
“Plan your dream itinerary. Put in everything you want and then cut it in half,” says panelist Kathy McCabe, publisher of the “Dream of Italy” newsletter. (Full disclosure: Sharon contributes articles to DOI.)
“If it’s your first trip and you long to see the art cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, allot at least three nights in each. Remember you’ll spend half a day on the train between destinations,” says McCabe. She even recommends cutting out one city to add a place where you can indulge a special interest. Perhaps the Amalfi Coast from which you can visit the archeological treasures of Pompeii and Naples. Ocean enthusiasts can go scuba diving off of Portofino. Architecture buffs may tour the Palladian villas in the Veneto.
Panelist Gina Ruggiero of Villa Vita International echoed the ‘three night’ dictum. “The longer you’re there, the more you like it.”
I related to the relaxed approach expressed by panelist Yannis Moati of Europe at Cost, “You can’t miss. Every region offers beauty. Get lost and you’ll love it.”
Susan Van Allen advises tacking a visit to the country—the Castelli Romani outside of Rome or the hill town of Fiesole above Florence—even if the city is your primary destination.
[Read more…]
Buon Compleanno Rossini
The house of Rossini's birth is now a museum dedicated to the composer.
If you’ve done a Google search today, you already know from the doodle that it is Gioachino Rossini’s birthday. The great Italian composer came into the world in the Leap Year of 1792. Luckily for me, Martin Kettle of The Guardian did the math on just what number anniversary this is. Depending upon whether you count every year or only the leaps, Rossini is either 220 or 53 (there are no leaps in 00 years).
Think you don’t know any Rossini works? You do. The theme from the classic TV program The Lone Ranger is The William Tell Overture. Director Stanley Kubrick also used the William Tell in the film A Clockwork Orange along with La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie).
As a fan, I’ve visited both Rossini’s birthplace and his tomb. The former is a two-room second floor apartment in the placid Adriatic coastal town of Pesaro. The latter is in the Basilica di Santa Croce, a veritable pantheon of cultural luminaries, in Firenze.
The triumphant arc of his life and career is summed up in those two locations. From his impoverished beginning, Rossini’s talent launched him into the musical stratosphere. He was a rock star of his era. Every August, Pesaro hosts The Rossini Festival continuing to shine a spotlight on their hometown genius. Check out the 2012 program.
Today, I’ll be listening to one of my favorite pieces—the overture from La Scala di Seta (The Silk Ladder). This wonderful recording is a performance of Arturo Toscanini conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1938.
Do you love Rossini’s work? What’s your favorite?
SimpleItaly Loves Chicken
Enter to win a FREE digital copy of "SimpleItaly Loves Chicken" by posting a comment below.
If you love chicken as much as we do, we hope you’ll check out our first digital cookbook.
This collection includes welcome ideas for family meals as well as inspiration for more special occasions. Selections range from “Antipasti, Soups, and Salads” to “Pasta and Pizza Dishes” to “Main Dishes.”
How do we love chicken? Here are a few of the ways:
Chicken and Potatoes alla Pizzaiola
Chicken alla Cacciatora
Chicken and Broccoli Raab Pizza
Chicken Polpettine
Pesto Chicken Noodle Soup with Chard
Chicken Rigatoni all'Amatriciana is slightly spicy and totally satisfying. You'll find the recipe in "SimpleItaly Loves Chicken."
The e-book is available for purchase online at the Barnes & Noble Nook store and the amazon Kindle store.
To celebrate the launch, we’re giving away a free digital copy to a SimpleItaly reader. Just leave a comment below to enter the sweepstakes. (Comments must be posted by midnight March 6, 2012.) A winner will be randomly chosen and notified by e-mail. The digital book will be sent to the winner by e-mail.
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