The weather is steadily getting colder here in New England and with Thanksgiving around the corner there are different foods showing up at the grocery store.  The summer fruits and veggies are gone and have made room for autumn foods and for me that means castagne (chestnuts.)  In Calabria they still have plenty of chestnut orchards and when we were there this past summer the chestnuts from last year still littered the ground as we foraged for wild mushrooms.

Chestnut trees here in the US used to be plentiful once but many were decimated by a chestnut blight over the last 100 years… I always wondered why there wasn’t a single chestnut tree on  “Chestnut Street” here in town.

I have fond memories of the castagne vendors this time of year in Italy.  They roast the chestnuts right on the street and the wonderful smell combined with the shop-lined cobblestone streets is a page out of a Charles Dickens book.  For 3000 lire (which I’m sure has become 3 Euro) you could get a mini paper bag with 10 warm chestnuts and eat them as you walk.

Most of the chestnuts in our local grocery stores come from Italy and E and I usually make them a few times a week… did I mention they go GREAT with wine?  Many of my non-Italian friends have never had chestnuts… which makes me wonder who’s eating all the “chestnuts roasting by an open fire” during the holidays??? Italians? (Bingo Crosbino?)

If your looking to impress your holiday guests this year… pick-up some chestnuts.  They are easy to make and delicious! This is what you need to do:

• pre-heat your oven at 350-375 degrees
• put a slit in each chestnut with a knife (otherwise they will explode in the oven)
• place the chestnuts on a baking sheet or pan and cook them for 40-50 minutes
• Serve with wine by a fire

In Calabrese we also call roasted chestnuts – ruselle

Back from Calabria and I wanted to send everyone l’auguri per una Buona Pasqua!  (Best wishes for a very Happy Easter.) Here are a few traditional Calabrian foods we will be eating tomorrow at our house. And here’s a recipe for Fraguni, which are my favorite!  What will be on your menu tomorrow?

I brought back a few special things for a lucky winner from my last post that I chose at random and the winner is Natalie from Love, Natalie. Congratulations Natalie! I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend.  Here a few photos from my trip.  I’ll post more soon.

Thanks to all my readers and friends for helping me reach 50 Comments on my post, Q&A with ABC Italiano author Sonya Caruso! I ordered the 50 books Tuesday and they arrived today.  With the help of Linda, Claudia, Marie and Barbara, I hope to get these books in the right hands and help some children take their first steps in learning Italian.

I decided to give away 3 books to those of you who were kind enough to leave a comment.  I removed any double comments and pushed everyone up and then used a random number generator:  Congratulations to Gabriele, Girasoli and Pete Maserati! (I will contact you all soon for mailing addresses.) If you still want a book, make sure to head over to Sonya’s website www.italianbabybooks.com/italyville and use promo code: Italyvilleamici for 20% off!

A very special thanks goes out to Mr. James Brady for contacting me to let me know that he was purchasing 10 books from Sonya and working with a local Italian restaurant in his area to distribute them as well.  Thanks for making a difference James!

Are you serious about teaching your child Italian?

If you are, or you want to take a few classes yourself and you live in the Yonkers, NY area: Make sure to check out La Piazza di Carolina. Carolina Gengo Di Domenico has a wonderful school with classes for children starting as young as 6-13 months and working up to adult classes as well.  Carolina takes it a step further however…. how about Italian Language Camp in Italy!  She’s offering Italian classes June 26th – July 17th in Lido di Camaiore, Toscana.  Go to Carolina’s website to see more details on the summer programs for children and adults along with the classes offered at her school in Yonkers.  Brava Carolina!

**There’s still time to participate in the Olive Oil Shop Giveaway (see below.)  You have until 11:59pm tomorrow.

I’ve been saving this fantastic photo for the holidays…. the photo was submitted by Julie at Julie Richey Mosaics. Julie took this photo in Florence while living and studying there.  Fantastic Photo Julie and thanks for sharing!

So I managed to wipe out my entire hard drive last week… to add insult to injury, I have a back-up drive but never got around to hooking it up.  All my photos (that I didn’t upload to snapfish) including some of the “fantastic photos” I had yet to post (sorry) and much much more.  I also had several emails from readers that I hadn’t replied to, so my apologies to you if you wrote to me and I didn’t reply.  Damn you hard drive!  But life goes on.

After roasting my hard drive, we roasted and jarred some red peppers.  Here’s the link from last years post on how we roast our peppers. It’s a simple process that is time consuming but  well worth the effort!

From my inbox:

*Joe C. from New Jersey has a couple fig trees that have produced a whole lot of figs (lucky Joe!) and he’s looking for a fig jam recipe.  I don’t have one but maybe someone can help Joe out.

*Michele D. asks for the family sopressata recipe…. let’s not get crazy Miche.  How many times do I have to tell you… there are no recipes.

*The Debate continues… I’m talking about THE DEBATE – Sauce vs. Gravy.  Todd thinks Gravy is cRaZy and Stacy grew up using Gravy in Boston.

* “How to be a Good Italian Daughter” by Antoinette LaVecchia is playing in New York City.

I’ve made lots of friends through sopressata… I really have.  My father has been offered money, a friend wants to feature it in a future restaurant he is opening and one of my Irish buddies has somehow gotten “in” and now chips in financially and helps make them in order to get a share… in turn, he has friends that work on his motorcycle in exchange for a sopressata!  It’s comedy but it’s also delicious and one of southern Italy’s culinary delights. (Click here for more details on the process)

My father is a sopressata connoisseur of sorts.  In his own way, he studies the art of making it.  He tries different techniques, tinkers with the process, adds new ingredients/levels of ingredients and over the years it seems to have worked out well as we have managed to take home First Place at the “World Sopressata Championship” for the last 5 years running! (I’m kidding.. there’s no such thing.)

My brother and I have our own opinions on how and how much of course, so they have also been getting more and more “piccante” (spicy hot!) over the years.  This year we have a very controversial NEW process that the professore introduced : dry packing them instead of sotto olio (submerged/preserved in oil) Go figure?!  So far so good… they are ready to eat and the verdict is in: FIRST PRIZE once again!!

It’s timeless, it’s beautiful and it’s the foundation of Italian cuisine.  With its silver/green leaves, its fruit and the oil it produces… the olive tree is nothing short of AMAZING.   What’s not to love about the olive tree?    It is referenced throughout history, religion and sports and used as a symbol of peace and glory.  The olive oil industry is one of Calabria’s largest industries producing some of the worlds best oil (I’m a bit biased of course but it is also true.)  The variety that is native to Calabria and most predominant is the Carolea (aka Catanzarese-Nicastrese) As I’ve mentioned before, my family has a large olive grove and an olive mill in Calabria.  It’s interesting to learn the ins and outs of the olive oil industry especially from a marketing standpoint and the impact that it has on so many families. In my next post I’ll dig deeper into the industry.

The season had just ended when I arrived but the work hasn’t as the trees need pruning, the mill needs cleaning and before you know it… another season will begin.

A few forgotten

Olive trees as far as the eye can see