The Omnivorous Fish

When my family comes to visit¹, I like to cook Italian, especially in the Italian style of service, since when we entertain, we generally do things in the French way (which, of course, is really the Russian way). How do they differ? If you don’t know much about food, not much. If you do, they are enormously different. First of all, Italians are AOK with a little cheese before dinner. Yes, Francophiles, get your jaws off the floor, I said cheese before. Charcuterie (or salumi, really) are often served with cheeses, olives and vegetables, although sometimes there is a separate vegetable course. For tomorrow I have salumi and giardiniera, though I will probably pick up some cheese, also, most likely some obnoxiously strong provolone, Pop’s favorite. This is the antipasto, “before the pasta.”

Next comes the Primo Piatto, the first plate. Pasta is more or less obligatory, although some other grain course can be substituted, like risotto or polenta (the Agent and I are big on polenta); alternately soup could make an appearance here. This course can contain almost anything or nothing. Many times, if the main course is a roast or braise, the sauce for the pasta is derived from it. Or, if something special is in season, like peas or truffles, they will make a simple adornment with some butter and/or oil and cheese. Risi e bisi, Roman rice and peas, is a perfect example.

What comes next is what we would call the main course, or the incredibly poetic Italian term, the Second Plate. This is generally some kind of protein, but there is no specific rule. Fish, meat, fowl (Italians love their capon), anything, the occasion being marked more by the elaborateness of the preparation or of the ingredients than anything else, like prime rib for Christmas (although that it is a decidedly American choice). Italian menus tend to be more relaxed in their structure to begin with, since the grand tradition of food is rooted in the home, rather than, as in France, in restaurants and hotels. Interestingly, many times in people’s homes I hear them brag about mimicking a technique found in a French restaurant, but when I’ve worked in Italian restaurants, the chefs bragged about mastering a technique learned from somebody’s mother. Sometimes, my mother has been known to put pasta and roast on the table at the same time since she is so sick of standing around cooking for us, but I think that’s a different sort of tradition. Truth be told, my mother doesn’t really cook like this anymore, certainly not in recent memory. I guess I’m now the standard-bearer for cultural gluttony.

Contorni, or sides (“surroundings”), come along with the secondo. A green salad may be included here, or might come after the secondo is cleared. In my family, very often, there are other contorni, but a salad comes in halfway through, sort of staggered with the secondo. In some families, any or many of these courses are always the same for festive occasions. For example, my friend Anna makes verdure fritti (battered and fried blanched vegetables) at nearly every large meal. I can be accused of always celebrating with a pork roast.

Cheese, fruit and cookies account for the most traditional dessert (and at our house, certainly, fennel, which I believe is a Sicilian tradition- will ask Mom tomorrow), but pastry can make an additional appearance (though certainly not replace them) for especially festive (read: elaborate) meals. Unlike in French table service, the lines between these courses are decidedly blurred, especially at home, where someone may want coffee right after they eat in a desperate- but futile- attempt to sober up before facing off with a cannoli and some anisette and/or amaretto.

Here’s the menu for tomorrow (subject to change):

Salumi, Cheeses and Giardiniera
Fried Squid (Calamari Fritti: that’s with flour, none of that breadcrumb BS)

Sweetmeat Pumpkin Soup (Zuppa di Zucca)

Roasted Wild Striped Sea Bass with potatoes and fennel (Spigola Striata al Forno)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon (Cavolini alla Pancetta)
Sauteed Spinach (Spinaci Saltati)
Beet Mash (Pure di Barbietole)

Fruit and Amaretti

Birth-a-day Cake

¹Getting my family to come to New York is a chore. My entire [immediate] family has only been once, and even then my sister-in-law was unable to come, and she was sorely missed, especially since it may be the last time I ever get them all here. They find going to their nearest city (Philadelphia) onerous, so the idea of going an extra 100 miles to the traffic-infested, dirty, non-English-speaking, crime-ridden den of iniquity I live in is especially unpalatable. Anyway, it’s just my parents.