Recently in US Culture Category

 

(photo: the author of Cucina Povera, Pamela Sheldon Johns)

If you were to tell people that Italy and America have a few things in common you'd most likely receive some awkward stares.  After all, America is a country driven by capitalism and rationality while Italy operates under a lifestyle driven worldview with importance placed on living well and understanding the subtleties of day to day existence (at least outside of large cities like Milan, Rome, and Turin!).      

Let's face it, without the many ethnic groups now a permanent part of the US fabric we'd all be living in a pretty bland and sterile environment.   Specifically, immigrants are at the heart of American life and they are what make our country so special.  If not, for example, the culinary traditions of recent immigrants to the United States we'd have an almost non existent food culture.  So, on this 4th of July remember and recognize your immigrant past and celebrate with a few foods from your specific tradition (Italian or otherwise).  

Food Philosophy - You Got to Be Kidding!

(photo: eat more real food like tomatoes, red onion, sardines packed in olive oil, fresh whole milk mozzarella, great bread, and red wine) 

(photo: cooking at home begins with basic ingredients; olive oil is key)

"By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind, creating more healthful, less expensive and better-tasting food that requires less energy, water and land per calorie and reduces our carbon footprint. Not a bad result for us -- or the planet."

I've always been interested in language and partly because I grew up speaking two languages at home. Specifically, I speak a southern Italian dialect from the Bagnara Calabra region of Calabria and, of course, English.  My mother tells an interesting story of the local kindergarten teacher in New Jersey wanting to send me back home on the first day of school because she thought I had just arrived from Italy (with brown leather shoes, dark socks pulled up to my knees, and a short sleeved Merino wool shirt that would have made John Travolta envious).  My mother argued that I would pick up English quickly and that I should remain in the kindergarten class.  Flash forward about 30 years and despite the abundant spelling errors on Scordo.com, I picked up English and retained my knowledge of the Italian dialect spoken by my relatives in Calabria.

I became interested in language not because I speak two languages but because I had an interest in the idea of whether language has an impact on culture or identity (this idea is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or linguistic relativism in academic circles).  More specifically, linguistic relativism is the concept that differences in the way languages encode cultural/cognitive categories affect the way people think, so that speakers of different languages will tend to think and behave differently depending on the language they use. 

Before I headed to college, I was convinced that my perception of the world changed according to what language I spoke and that, for example, if I spoke Italian my outlook or view of the world was somehow different than when I spoke English.  After a couple of college linguistic courses and a few poorly written papers I discovered that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is pretty much an unproven theory (partly because of folks like Noam Chomsky).

But even though language doesn't influence thought, isn't language important when it comes to preserving cultural traditions, for example?  And what about the idea that the misuse of language can somehow water down a given culture?  This very question came up during, of all things, a Facebook message comment I left on "Johnny Meatballs" wall.  Johnny (star of the VH1 series, "My Big Friggin Wedding") posed the question, "What's your favorite SENG-WEEEEEECH" in honor of National Sandwich Day and a bunch of replies were posted to his wall (not only does Johnny actually market and sell his own line of meatballs he appears on a new reality TV show called, "My Big Friggin Wedding").  I took issue with a few of responders saying things like, "PROSUT and FRESH MOZZ."; meaning, of course, "prosciutto" and "fresh mozzarella."  John responded by saying:

"Paisan, I know such terms have been referred to as "bastardizations" of the Italian language or less than "authentic" words, however I often find it's the uptight Italian "scholars" (generally not from the East Coast) who don't understand this particular Jersey slang and protest it because they oddly equate it only to the mafia or the low class. But this is a very true and real language in itself my man. Btw your seng-weeh link looks friggin' fab lol. ;)"

Of course, maybe I was being a little uptight, but what happens when the informal pronunciation of a given word turns into the only label for the item in question (for example, if "prosut" replaced the word "prosciutto" would it be the end of world?).  The short answer is no and it's actually how languages works (dialects and pigeons <all forms of language> eventually, if the speaker group is large enough, evolve into full blown languages), but knowing and understanding the origin of words (like prosciutto and mozzarella) certainly contribute to a deeper understanding of the culture tied to the given item or product. 

So, if I was giving advice today, I would tell any Italian-American to first understand the origin and pronunciation of a given Italian word and then either use the more formal word or embrace the more informal use of certain Italian words in certain communities (at your local Italian American deli, for example, or while hanging out with your buddies).  After all, it's all about context as "Johnny Meatballs" said:

When I write recipes or order such foods in a formal establishment, I do say prosciutto di Parma, but with the boys at the deli I say, pro-shoot. I agree it's important to know both sides but my only point is that it's harmful to discredit ...one or the other or try and distinguish which is more real. And it's not just food terms, it's all the words. This is a regional thing that differs from place to place like any dialect, here and in Italy.?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

(photo: the ideal Italian life represented in Pellegrina, Reggio Calabria)

Italian Shopping on Steroids

You'll have to excuse me if I sound a bit crabby this morning, as I just finished reading a New York Times review of the mega supermarket Eataly (located in New York City).  While the Times article was somewhat critical of the 50,000 square foot space (including multiple restaurants, an espresso bar, butcher, fish shop, wine store, cooking school, etc.) calling it, "...a mass-market retail play that capitalizes on the fame of its most visible partners, Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and his mother, Lidia Bastianich", they also applauded the store for possibly, "represent[ing] a step forward for Italian food at the upper end of the economic spectrum of New York" (I hate to think of the hidden implications behind this statement).

The Authentic Italian Life:
The Mom and Pop Shop Versus the "Unlimited Brand Experience"

What gets me all fired up is the fact that one aspect of what makes Italian life so special is the experience of purchasing and consuming food. That is to say, in many small villages in Italy the average Italian visits the cafe for an espresso in the morning, the Salumeria for some sausage and salumi, the Panificio for bread, and a local farmer for fruits and vegetables (or their own farm if they're lucky) - this may be changing in large Italian cities where "supermarket" shopping is beginning to take hold.  If Eatly-like establishments were to open throughout Italy (there are, in fact, a chain of Eataly like Über stores in Italy) then we could all say good by to the small, local, shops and the idea of supporting local farmers and artisans directly.  And while Eataly claims to carry some local products, most of their items are brought in from overseas (as the Times article points out). 

What Eataly is telling it's customer is to shop here and you can find everything you need (and, by the way, screw the mom and pop shop selling cheese and salumi next door, because they don't offer cooking classes, a handmade pasta station, and the option to have "dinner" in the middle of a super market).  The question that keeps popping into my mind is why would I shop at Eataly and, beyond the novelty of seeing a 50,000 sq. ft. Italian circus (as, again, the Times suggests), would anyone would want to form a relationship and shop in an overly exploited corporate environment?  And, moreover, haven't we had enough of Home Depot, Starbucks, Staples and the idea that every consumer niche in the US (including our beloved Italian lifestyle) can become a brand commodity?

Simple Advice

My advice this morning is to continue (or start) to support the local shops in your area that offer wonderful products, great service, and that one to one relationship and connection that makes living life the Italian way (i.e, the good life) so special.

I always find popular culture, well, a bit strange.  Take Columbus Day, for example; growing up in New Jersey the holiday didn't mean very much in our Italian neighborhood.  Sure, we recognized Christopher Columbus as an explorer who first arrived in the Americas, specifically the Bahamas, but the day didn't symbolize or represent the Italian experience.  

(photo: street scene in Bagnara Calabra, courtesy of myworldshots.com )

I'm going to make a statement that may upset serious cooks, but here goes: It's almost impossible to cook foods from other places in the world outside of their place of origin.  I'm not stating an absolute truth because you can get pretty damn close to replicating a pizza from Naples for example; maybe importing a wood burning stove (along with olive wood or some other exotic species to get the right temperature), specialty flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and bottled water from Italy, but at the end of the day it's just not going to taste the same as, say, a pizza made in Italy. 

There are intangibles when experiencing a given food, including the physical environment, the person preparing the food item, and, of course, the psychological state the eater is in.  For example, if you're on vacation in August in Bagnara Calabra facing the Stretto di Messina in Southern Italy and you order a pizza and a cold beer at a local eatery, you're going to consume a pizza made with fresh mountain water, just harvested tomatoes, and first cold pressed olive oil from one of the surrounding villages.  You'll also be sun-burnt and famished because you've spent a few hours on Bagnara's famous Violet Coast.  In other words, that pizza will most likely be the best you've ever tasted. 


(photo: courtesy of Artisan Books)

My point above is not to discourage you from cooking Italian food in the US, but rather to make a subtle point that all Italian food made in the US is "Italian-American" food (this, to get fancy with a philosophical term, is an a priori truth <i.e., a truth independent of experience!>).  I cook Italian-American food, my mother cooks Italian-American food, and Mario Batali, for example, cooks Italian-American food. 


(photo: courtesy of Artisan Books)

Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo cook classic Italian-American food (by way of their families) and they are both extremely proud of the cuisine they serve each and every night at their restaurant.   And, although, I have not eaten at their Carol Gardens, Brooklyn restaurant Frankies Spuntino, they rightly situate the "American" in the "Italian-American" food category (that is to say, their recipes and cooking style focus on the classics of Italian American cuisine, rather than to try and bring "authentic" Italian fare to it's customers which, to my point above, is impossible in the US!)

Falcinelli and Castronovo recently published their first cookbook entitled, "The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual" and the book hits on a few terrific themes including bringing the classic dishes prepared in their Brooklyn restaurant into your home kitchen. 



The book, which is beautifully produced and leather-bound, has terrific illustrations and includes sections on cooking equipment and the Italian pantry, as well as a wonderful chapter on the philosophy of "Sunday Sauce." The same chapter has a brilliant timelines of how to go about constructing a traditional Italian meal on Sunday (this section would make any engineer proud!). 

Other recipes included in the cookbook (really a "cooking manual) are Linguine with Fava Beans, Garlic, Tomato and Bread Crumb, Sardine, Blood Orange, and Puntarelle Salad, Cipollini Onion Vinaigrette, Roasted Eggplant, Braised Pork Shank with Gigante Beans and Rosemary.  Falcinelli and Castronovo have produced an excellent, all around, cookbook and it may be the only Italian-American cookbook you'll ever need to use in your kitchen!   In fact, why don't you enter to win a chance to receive your very own copy the The Frankie Spuntino Kitchen Companion!  Here's what you need to do:

- Only one entry per person please.

- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 9/20 and a single (1) random user will be picked via Random.org (sorry contest only open to folks from the US given shipping logistics).  The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow me) and on Scordo.com by 8PM on Friday, 9/21.

- Requirements (both are needed): 1. Become a fan of Scordo.com on Facebook (if you're a fan already please "share" the page on your Facebook account) and 2. leave a comment on an experience you've had where a dish/food item was incredible because of the location / atmosphere. 

- Artisan Books will send out the book to a single contest winner during the week of 9/27.

 

(photo: the beach in Bagnara Calabra - pure happiness!)

(photo: Bok Choy with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes: $2.00 for 2 pounds)


(photo: One pound of Wild Flounder made with breadcrumbs, olive oil, and lemon zest.  The fish easily fed four people: $9.99 per pound or $10.00 for serving of four).

Like the popular folk song states, "I'm from New Jersey."  Yes, that State next to New York defined by the "Turnpike", Tony Soprano, and Bruce Springsteen.  However, and as Lee Siegel point out in an excellent Wall Street Journal article, "The Hidden State of Culture", New Jersey often gets a bum wrap.

New Jersey has produced countless artists, academics, musicians, intellectuals, actors, and its geography goes from gritty to picturesque in a matter of miles.  New Jersey is also packed full of cultural diversity from eastern European immigrants from Italy and Croatia to Asian imports from Korea and Vietnam.  

New Jersey is, indeed, awesome and Mr. Gorka we are good enough and do expect much! 

Sometimes it's obvious, but most of the time it's not.  What am I talking about?  I'm talking about how we, as humans, are comforted by following the pack or making decisions that everyone around us is making.  For example:

- We like buying Google stock because it helps us find things (there are alternatives) and the media loves Sergey and Larry.

- We like buying SUVs because they are safe (not really) and Bob has one in his driveway.

- We like buying Green because it helps the environment (not all the time).

- We like not saving much because easy credit is (once was) available.

- We like buying our own home because there's a tax savings (doesn't off set initial investment) and because we're told every American is entitled to one (not true).

"There's a choice we're making we're saving our own lives. It's true we'll make a better day just you and me"

I think it's time Wall Street gets together and records its own version of We Are the World, maybe something along the lines of "We Are the Capitalists".

Seriously, folks, have a listen to the original 1985 recording and it will make you feel warm and tingly all over, regardless of your bank's share price.

The current political and financial scene in Washington and New York could not be unfolding in a more dramatic fashion.  Key congressional leaders, the President, McCain, Obama, and Secretary Paulson met late into the evening yesterday only to walk away with no deal to rescue US banks and the ailing markets.  Click here for a brilliant account of the events via Stolberg of the New York Times.

Meanwhile, the US Government seized control of Washington Mutual and sold parts of it to JP Morgan Chase.

This is high drama with tons at stake, folks!

Why are Americans so divided when it comes to political choice?  The 2008 documentary Split: A Divided America takes a close look at the current state of American politics and the problems surrounding how we choose and elect a President.

The movie is a must see before heading out to vote in November.  Here's the trailer and the official documentary site:

 

If you're any where near the NYC metro area, then you're bound to notice great tension in the air.  The tension is the by-product of recent financial news headlined by the financial giant Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy.  Today's NY Times summarizes the current state on Wall Street well:

Nervous investors tried to make sense of a rapidly changing financial landscape on Monday as the State of New York offered American International Group a lifeline, the Bank of America began the task of assimilating Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers started its journey into bankruptcy.

The surprising development surrounding this disastrous Monday is that the Fed allowed Lehman to file for bankruptcy.  If you remember, the Fed rushed in to bail out Bear Stearns over concerns that if a major bank was allowed to go bankrupt, financial disaster would follow. 

So what can we make of the recent developments?  From the latest news reports, there are certainly more banks to fall (even the mighty Goldman Sachs is mentioned) and with no real, grand, government intervention likely, we may see some real downturns before the Banking sector can recover.

Read all about the current financial misery at:

NY Times Business section

Wall Street Journal

Financial Times

 

OPEC is taking measures to cut oil production in order to control market pricing - don't you love the oil cartel.

George Bush has ordered fighting to begin in Pakistan.

The world didn't suck itself into a man-made black hole.

You think your family was competitive, see the latest review on The House of Wittgenstein.

Finally, what makes working class and rural Americans vote for pro-business Republicans when their interests will not be served?  Psychology Professor Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia attempts to offer an answer.

The NY Times has a terrific interactive map on how people across the world spend their discretionary income.  Some interesting findings include Japan spending more on recreation than clothing and Greece throwing money at clothing versus electronics.  Read the full article here.

The US Government likes to keep unemployement between 2-5 percent, 0 unemployment is actually a bad thing (according to some economists), so it's quite surpising to see the latest unemployment figures at over 6 percent.

Have you ever given much thought to what it must have been like for an intellectual during the Inquisition?  Say, for example, you opposed the Church and read a little Plato; that could get you in some serious trouble, as it did for the sixteenth - century heretic Giordano Bruno.

OK, so I just updated my Facebook status to read, "Vincent is feeling Old World" and I need to explain the thinking behind the status:

I just finished watching Emanuele's Crialese's The Golden Door and it was truly magnificent.  Crialese tells the story of a Sicilian's family voyage to the US in the early 20th century.  The film is simplistic in story, but very rich in language and meaning.  The language component is remarkable in that Crialese manages to accurately reproduce the Calabrian/Sicilian dialect.  The film has rich dream sequences and true to life depictions of the immigrant experience at Ellis Island (psychological tests and all - looks like the Soviets weren't the only ones trying to create a perfect society).

The film had tremendous meaning to me as I'm a first generation American - my parent's immigrated to the US in the early 1970's (from the same environment that Crialese depicts in his film).  However, you don't need to be an immigrant's son to appreciate the film, so go out and find the DVD or purchase it on Amazon.

Here's the trailer: