EATALY PURE FLOUR FROM EUROPE EVENT- GRANPA WOULD HAVE LOVED IT

 What fun to attend a Media Event with my daughter Sonya.

At Eataly on Bloor Street in Toronto, Pure Flour from Europe was the theme of the event.

Prosecco and some buschetta started the evening off. 

A slice of pizza with two different kinds on it. 

The Chef- Julien Spiewak made delicious food. Three dishes of pasta made with the flour.

So I did some basic research. The flour is organic soft wheat. Durum flour and semolina are made from this sourced product throughout Italy and Europe.

There is an Italian Association of Millers. (ITALMOPA)

We all received a gift bag with information that I still need to read. An apron and tote bag will be handy for future events.

ITALMOPA can be found online.

There were a variety of media people present. Sonya did a fun post on her Instagram after the event. Look for House of Kerrs in your instagram feeds.

The Consular General from the Italian Consulate in Toronto was present along with other Toronto media people. Toronto was just one of their media stops in North America.

The most fun was just being downtown, riding the subway and being with my daughter. Of course the food rounded out the event.

Adolph would have enjoyed an event like that one. So I represent Granpa whenever I can. Even though he loved to cook and eat, Nana loves to eat too.

#europeanflour#pureflourfromeurope#italianmillngindusryassociation#ITALMOPA#flour#torontoontario#consulargeneral#italianconsulate#eatinglotsofpasta#granpalovestocook#adolphdimambro#barbaradimambro

CHRISTMAS HONEY BUBBLES OR STRUFFOLI

My mother always made honey bubbles at Christmas. One of my favourite treats since I would particularly eat one whole circle myself. It is actually called Struffoli and is a Neapolitan dish. Many people throughout Italy make a variation of it.

INGREDIENTS

Dough- 3-5 cups of flour depending on how the dough holds.

4 large eggs

Tablespoon of butter

Some grated lemon rind.

Some grated orange rind.

Salt to taste.

Honey mixture- 3/4 pound( 300g) honey.

3/4 cup (150 gm) sugar.

13/cup water

Some people will put some pieces of walnut or cherries or candied orange, lemon on top at the finished product. I use Christmas sparkle or sprinkles or whatever you call them.

Added note for the dough-As with any dish that requires eggs and flour, the exact combination may vary with each cook and region. Eggs can be classified in various sizes depending on the country. So use good cook judgement by making sure the dough is firm and held together as well as using your own egg to flour ratio.

DIRECTIONS.

Put all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl and mix then knead and knead until made into a ball.

Let it sit for an hour or more.

Should be stiff.

Take off a piece at a time,  can use your pasta machine to flatten into even pieces then cutting off some and  rolling into long shapes like a skipping rope or snake making it very thin.

Cut the shapes into very tiny pieces. Sometimes a helper comes in handy.

As you are cutting the tiny pieces, the helper can be frying the cut pieces in oil. Olive oil can be used but I use vegetable oil.

Damp dry the oil off the cooked pieces.

For the honey mixture-

Put the honey, sugar and water in a pot, big enough so it can boil safely.

Boil until the foam dies down and the honey starts to turn a yellow colour.

Turn down the heat then add the cooked pieces- bubbles or struffoli.

Stir until it is completely mixed.

I put wax paper on the plate before pouring the mixture.

It is usually shaped into a wreath. Add your own topping. Mine is the coloured sprinkles. If the honey is cooked correctly, the finished product should not be runny. If it is, eat it anyway as the taste remains the same- very good!

You can see the uncooked pieces in the picture. There are two versions of the finished product. Sometimes adding little Christmas items like the Santa in the sleigh gives some festive fun.  I have not made this dish for a couple of years. It is very tedious and requires lots of patience.

For the record this is Post # 50. Again Barb made me do it.
#struffoli#italianchristmasdish#timeconsumingbutgood#gooditalianchristmasfood#honeybubbles#lotsofhoneymakeagoodstruffoli

CIOPPINO-ITALIAN FISH SOUP

Cioppino is not a Ciociaria dish. It is really from the Genoa area of Italy. You know home of Christopher Columbus before he sailed for Spain and Isabella! It is a hardy soup which originally used the catch of the day. I did some research on the soup because my card buddies at the Richmond Hill Italian Social Club were wanting a lunch one day so this dish seemed like a worthy adversary! If you like fish it is made with a variety of seafood items- shrimp, scallops, mussels, white fish( maybe cod or halibut or your favourite white fish) and clams. If you like crab and squid it can be used too. There are many recipes online and I actually used one for our lunch. So I must stay honest on this blog and only post my own recipes not others. Some more interesting tidbits- ciuppin in the Ligurian dialect from the Genoa area means to chop or chopped. So the seafood must be "chopped" as well as the vegetables that are cooked in the dish.  One of the ladies from the Club actually made lunch for us. Barb was at work so there are no pictures to illustrate the dish. Since we do love seafood, I may make my own batch someday to share with you.
Talking about soup- The National Post paper has a section entitled Gastropost. Barb entered my Minestra soup and it was one of the soup dishes featured November 10, 2012. For those of you who love to cook check out their weekly missions and as long as you get your item with a picture sent to the address mentioned on their page by 10:00 a.m. Wednesday mornings you may get a spot. So come on fellow cooks and bakers like Roy, Edna, Kathryn- try your hand on one of their missions that might contain an item you make- so I can see your name there too!
#ciopinno#Cioiaria#shrimps#scallops#granpamakescioppino#seafoodatitsbest#lotsofmussels

MY FIRST CANADA DAY-FROM ITALY TO CANADA IN 1959

For me, Canada Day is always a reminder of my arrival in Canada from Italy in 1959. We actually arrived June 29, 1959 so I was on a train to Toronto.

Barb wrote the story of our trip to Canada and submitted it to the Museum in Halifax- Pier 21. It was the port used for immigrants, British evacuee children during World War II, 50,000 War Brides & their children, over 100,000 refugees and 494,000 Canadian troops bound for Europe between 1928 and 1971. I think she even wrote a post on her blog about my immigrant story.
We came over on the Ship, The Queen Frederica. It was a Greek liner. We had left Cassino going to Naples, June 18, 1959 sailing to Genoa, Italy to pick up more passengers then on to the Straits of Gibraltar across the Atlantic Ocean to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Most of the sailors spoke a little Italian and were very kind to us. The food was great and we definitely did not travel steerage as immigrants did in other times.
When we arrived in Halifax the guys on the ship offered us a big basket of fruit but we declined thinking we would get great food on the train. The train ride to Toronto took us past vast, open spaces with a shack here and there and a dozen people waving at the train. I wondered where the hell had my mother taken us.
I distinctly remember Canadian bread. It was like an accordion and very soft. I even tried to bounce it. It was not hard and crunchy like Italian bread. We were served some spaghetti but it was from a can! Terrible! To a 9 year old quite disgusting! Again I wondered where my mother had taken us.
After arriving in Toronto and being greeted by my two uncles who took us to one uncle's home I started to like it. Since I learnt to settle into Canadian life, Canada became a wonderful blessing. Although Italian born, I am Canadian with Italian roots. I am lucky as I can enjoy the best of both worlds celebrating my heritage and loving my adopted Country!

Happy Canada Day 2012-#145! Forza Italia-hope we win the soccer game!
#landinginHalifax#QueenFerdericaship#newlyarrivedimmigranttoCanada#firstCanadaday#Pier21HalifaxNovaScotia#storyatthePier21museum#newhome#loveCanada

GRANPA COOKS AND DADS CAN TOO!

Today is Father's Day here in Canada. A celebration of being a Dad and now a Granpa! Back in Italy we had thriving businesses, then life made us come to Canada when I was 9. My father-padre died when I was 24 from ALS-Lou Gherig's disease.  My mother had worked and at the same time cared for him for years.

The picture is me when I was young with my father at one of his companies in Cassino Italy. He loved my mother's cooking. I was a different Dad. I am a different Granpa than others from my area. Guys cook for the women in your lives when you can! Change with the times and the women that you love!So another recipe next week, today I am enjoying my day!

ROSMARINO-ROSEMARY- THAT WONDERFUL LITTLE MEDITERRANEAN HERB

Rosemary is a wonderful herb I learnt to use in my cooking from my mother. It can be added to many dishes. Now I grow fresh rosemary in my garden but it can be bought dried in any store food section that sells spices and herbs.
With a little internet research, I discovered some history of the herb. Apparently when the Virgin Mary spread her blue cloak over a white rosemary bush, the flowers turned to blue so from that time it became known as the "Rose of Mary". It is supposed to have some medicinal purposes. For me, I just like the taste on my food.
It brings back memories of my childhood in Italy- Cassino area. We used to grow it all along our driveway.

I use it on a variety of meat.

Lamb with potatoes roasted in the oven is a popular dish for our family. That little Ciociaria lady keeps popping up everywhere!

One of our Sunday favourites growing up, was chicken and potatoes with rosemary cooked in the oven. It is an easy dish- chicken legs and thighs or breasts with potoato wedges covered in rosemary- bake in 400 F about one hour and check when ready.
A small pork roast will benefit from additions of rosemary. Barb tells me she just loves the aroma in the house when any food is being cooked with rosemary!

Pan Fried potatoe slices- the way I like them or you can make wedges cooked in vegetable oil  with garlic and rosemary in a pan on the stove. It is another welcome addition to any meal. I make this dish with a summer barbecue. It can be greasy so I like to dab the oil off the potatoes before eating.

GRANPA LOVES TO MAKE RAGU SAUCE FOR PASTAD-ADOLPH'S RAGU OR MEAT SAUCE

Adolph's Ragu or Meat Sauce

Most Italian regional cooking has their own version of the Ragu- Meat Sauce. Ciociaria cooking is no different.

A flavourful sauce is the base of any pasta dish that calls for tomato sauce.

INGREDIENTS

Bottled Passata di Pomodoro
Store bought or homemade- I usually use 2 bottles to make a good batch. A can of peeled plum tomatoes or a couple of frozen tomatoes can be added depending on what taste or texture you want the sauce.

1 onion- chopped

1 carrot-shredded or diced( optional)

Meat for flavour-
pork side ribs- 6-8
or veal- 1 lb ( 450 gms) shoulder blade cut
or pork sausages- 4

Ground beef- 1/4 lb ( 200 gms)- you can add more if you want a meatier sauce. Or make 6-8 medium size meatballs.

Garlic- 2-3 buds- chopped.

Olive Oil-EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt to taste

Pepper 1/2 teaspoon ( 25 ml )

Parsley- 2 tablespoons ( 30 ml ) chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot add some olive oil to  cover the bottom thinly.

Add the chopped onion, diced carrot, garlic and parsley.

Saute 4-5 minutes.

Add the ground beef in small pieces so it cooks thoroughly.

Add your other meat for flavour, making sure to sear or brown thoroughly.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Add one 1 can of crushed plum tomatoes.

Add the bottled passata.

Bring the sauce to a boil stirring to make sure all the ingredients are mixed.

Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for a minimum of two hours, stirring occasionally to allow the ingredients to be in the body of the sauce.

Be careful not to let the meat stay at the bottom or you risk a chance of burning it.

Some cooks like to add tomato paste now to thicken the sauce, but I rarely use it so did not include it in the ingredients.

A good sauce can be made for more than one meal. Use the sauce with penne, rigatoni or any variety of long pasta- like my homemade spaghetti or fettucine. Top with parmesean or parmiagiano cheese. Barb likes to add some hot peppers for flavour on her pasta.

ADDED NOTES

Modern busy cooks may like to make a batch on Sundays to use during the week for more than one meal. If you have a crock pot or slow cooker, it also can be made before going to work. Start the sauce as above. transfer the sauteed meat and vegetables to a lightly greased crock pot or slow cooker then add the passata and tomatoes. Slow cooking will allow the sauce to simmer slowly all day. There is nothing better than to come home from a busy day and smell homemade sauce in the the house.

As a teenager I would monitor my mother's sauce. My Nonna Maria- my Dad's Mom- lived with us. I remember one time tasting the sauce finding it a bit runny. I asked- Nonna- what did you do to the sauce? Did you add some water? Nonna replied- no! I asked again-Then what did you did? She replied - oh, I added some water- un poco d'acqua!!

Christmas Eve is usually seafood. But the last one-2011, I made two types of sauce along with the homemade pasta to satisfy all the guests at my daughter, Sonya and son-in-law- Andrew's home.

The fettucine with ragu sauce and meatballs for the grandchildren is in the foreground and the clam sauce in the background. Yes, don't worry I will provide that clam sauce recipe at some future time.

The aroma of sauce simmering in the home always brings childhood memories for me. It is such a traditional food item for any Italian home.

#ragumeatsauce#meatsaucebygranpa#groundbeef#goodonhomemadepasta#granpalovestocook#adolphdimambro#ciociariacooking#foodfromcassinolazioitaly#adolphlearnttocookfromhismother

ITALIAN FOOD IS SIMPLE

The Italian dishes I make come from the Lazio region, province of Frosinone. The area is known as Ciociaria. The slang for the people who live there- ciociari. If from Rome- romani. Naples- napolitano. So I was ciociaro originally but really Canadian now.
Italian food is very simple- basic really. It varies from region to region. Whatever is abundant or in season is used in the cooking!  
My home town was Cassino. It is between Rome and Naples in Central Italy. Famous during World War Two for the battles for the Monastery on MonteCassino.  I wish I could say there is a Cassino dish. Ma non e vero! But there is not one.
So I am going to explore and present some of the dishes from this region as well as food I have adapted in my new home in Canada.

Just to let you my wife Barbara is always taking pictures when I cook. Annoying but will be helpful with this blog.

At age 9, just before our family left for Canada. July 1959
#italiancooking#lazio#cassinolazio#ciociaria#Ialianfoodissimple#lovetoeat#granplovestoeat#whatisgreataboutitaliancooking