Scene from My Italian Kitchen

Merry Christmas & Buon Natale,

I'll rank cooking next to running as two of my all-time favorite pastimes.  Both allow time to focus on a short-term goal, while at the same time being an excellent avenue to clear one's mind.  My family seems to recognize my appreciation of good food, especially the Italian variety.  After all, they offered Christmas gifts bearing the brand names Illy (Italian espresso), Molinari (San Francisco salame), Reggiano (parmesan cheese - is that a brand name?), Pan Ducale (biscotti), Ghirardelli (chocolate) and a new-and-improved pasta pot.  I'm in trattoria heaven.

(Warning: this is a bit of a long post, but if you're starving for some good, real, Italian minestrone, read to the end!)

I am fortunate the kitchen always smelled so delicious as a kid - and Mom let me linger, taste, touch, experiment whenever I wanted.  To this day, no kitchen smells better than Mom's when she's making spaghetti sauce. 

I picked up Mom's love of cooking - especially Italian.  It's an important part of who I am and my heritage, which means a lot to me.  (Speaking of which, when will we ask if America is ready for an Italian-American president?)

Last year, Mrs. Hat Rack purchased a cookbook (not like we don't already have 40-50!) for me written by Giada De Laurentiis, the granddaughter of filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis.  I know I rolled my eyes in my mocking way when I saw that a Food Network TV chef had written everyday italian, but upon perusing it, I kept an open mind.  After sampling a half-dozen recipes, I was hooked, floored and exhilirated.  Finally, a cookbook with traditional, delicious Italian recipes that are compatible with 21st-century lifestyle.  The marinara sauce is my new staple - ending 37 years of allegiance to my Mom's and Grandma's meat sauce.  Plus, I like simple measurements.  "One medium onion, coarsely chopped."  (Cooks ought to be able to figure out the details, like "What's a medium onion?"  Don't ask me to measure 3/4 cup of onion... one medium is close enough.  If you like onions enough, live a little - go medium large.  I digress.)

Tonight, from memory, I'll share the "Winter Minestone" I threw together from GIada's family dinners - all the while our Christmas braciola was in the oven a day late.

• (2) Carrots, chopped
• (2) Celery stalks, chopped
• (2) Garlic cloves, minced
• (1) Medium onion, chopped
• 3 oz Pancetta, chopped (I subbed Iowa pancetta, also known as bacon in your local store... if there's about 16 slices of bacon in a pound and 16 ounces in a pound - chop three slices, close enough!)

-- I sauteed the above in 2 TB of olive oil for about 10 minutes. Then, I added:

• (1) pound of red cabbage (she said Swiss chard - but no swiss here!)
• (1) Russet Potato, cubed

-- I sauteed for a few more minutes. (Gave the kids airplane/train rides around the house.)  Then, I added:

• (1) Can, diced tomatoes, in juice
• (1/2) Can, cannellini beans (Great Northern works)

-- Meantime, I pureed the other half of the beans with a little beef broth, then added that mixture, plus:

• (2) Cans, beef broth.

-- I simmered the soup another 15-20 minutes... added some rosemary, salt and pepper along the way... a couple TB of parsley at the end... OH, and Giada's secret ingredient - some old Parmesan cheese rinds...

This was the first time through this recipe for me, but Mrs. Hat Rack pronounced it a winner.  I hope you try it and like it.  Giada scores again.

Oh, the braciola?  That was another Giada creation that we figured would take the place of the holiday turkey, ham or pasta.  Except I got either stomach flu or food poisoning on Christmas Eve - and food just didn't appeal all that much on Christmas Day.  Braciola is a rolled flank steak filled with a bread crumb/romano/provolone cheese mixture (I accidentally put in Gruyere, but who noticed!) in a marinara and wine sauce.  It came out great as well.

Hungry?  Well, enough is enough. Thanks for reading!