Cafe Italiano!

I grew up in an Italian kitchen.  I am first generation American. My mom was born in Bascilicata, Italy. That is the city where the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" was filmed.  Mom didn't work outside the home. Everyday after school she would either be preparing dinner or at her sewing machine doing mending or making something.  Most times it was the former.  I learned to cook just by watching my mom all those years. She was a fabulous Italian cook.  I remember walking home from church on a Sunday morning, we could smell her sauce and meatballs down the block. Boy was I lucky!

My beautiful Mom!

When we had company on a Sunday, dinner was extra special. Mom would make lasagna. To this day, I have never had a cheese lasagna better than my mom's. It was so good and so filling! And the meats; meatballs, sausage, bracciole, and pork skin. Yup, pork skin; my dad and I loved it. For dessert, there was always espresso with a zest of lemon. I cannot have my espresso any other way! And let us not forget Stallone's cannoli.  Back then our tummies hurt after a feast of this magnitude. Oh, I didn't even mention the antipasto when there was company.  Thankfully we no longer eat this way. We lightened the load a very long time ago.

                Mom and me in the 1980's                       

Today I make lighter versions of the aforementioned foods. My meatballs are made with ground turkey, and frankly are just as tasty, sorry mom. I buy chicken sausage. I never really cared for sausages so this works for me. When I do make bracciole, I still use beef. And no, I never make pork skin. Although I made lasagna for years the way mom did, and still love it with ricotta, we have lactose sensitive folks in my home.                                                  
My favorite neighborhood and Italian restaurant is La Volpe. I have never had a morsel of bad food there. They are a family owned restaurant run by the Volpe brothers and their mom from Sicily. They serve fresh authentic Italian food. We have had many a special occasion in this wonderful eatery. We had all my old Italian relatives there for a dinner following my mom's funeral in 2008. There was nothing but praise from the group. I always avoided La Volpe's lasagna because it was not mom's. One day, I bit the bullet and ordered it, prepared not to like it. It was a dish made with Béchamel sauce instead of ricotta. When I took my first bite my mouth was filled with delight. Not only did it taste like the most wonderful lasagna ever, it was so much lighter. Franco Volpe told us that Béchamel was the original way lasagna was prepared in Italy. And this is the way I now make it most of the time! Thanks Franco!

La Volpe

La Macchinetta

Now let's get to the coffee. Yes, I did grow up on espresso from an early age. It was  made in a traditional macchinetta. It was served in those oh so small espresso cups, black with sugar and a zest of lemon. Oh, and we never called it espresso, it was always black coffee.  Mom always made 'black coffee' in this pot and she always used Medaglia D'Oro Italian Roast Ground Coffee. 

This brings me to my coffee tasting of the week. One of the many bags of beans my husband brought home on our anniversary was Starbucks Italian Roast. This is, by far, the best coffee I have had from Starbucks. I am not comparing it to the Ethiopian; that was just different. This is a dark roast that is used for espresso, but frankly, I had it as my mug of coffee every morning with a drop of cream. It was strong without being bitter and had a nice roasted flavor. The after taste was strong and intense, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our local Italian store had some wonderful imported gluten free cookies that were just perfect for dunking with this brew. To my gluten free friends out there; I have found that Italian cookies are the best!

Ciao!