My life under the Tuscan sun

Today after church the coolest thing happened.

I was on my way out and because I had been loitering and talking, people were arriving for the Italian Mass. The Italian mass takes place after the Latin mass. This is at St. Anthony's church in downtown Buffalo. Anyway, this couple were walking down the sidewalk toward the church, and I was passing them because I was on my way to, you guessed it, the social hall -- to do more loitering, this time over coffee.

As the couple drew near I heard them talking in Italian.

And I smiled, and I called out: "Buon giorno!"

That was the greatest! Because last week I had passed some folks heading toward the Italian mass and speaking Italian, and I had said, "Good morning." And later I was kicking myself. How many opportunities do you get to say "Buon giorno!"? Without shelling out to go to Italy, I mean? Why hadn't I said "Buon giorno!"? Shame! Misery!

Ergo, today I was ready.

"Buon giorno!" I sang out. And the couple lit up. I mean, I know I probably have a terrible accent, one that would make Leonard Pennario, let alone St. Anthony of Padua, cringe. But the man and woman seemed to think it was fun. They said it back to me.

Then the woman asked me, in Italian, how I was doing. I can't remember what it was but I understood it. In foreign languages I always understand better than I speak. In English it is the other way around.

Somehow I came up with the word "Bene." And they nodded and smiled in approval. We were all laughing and enjoying.

I rule!

I spoke Italian!

Without shelling out to go to Italy!

I will have to work up a new phrase for next week. Anyway -- till tomorrow --

Ciao!

And the new cooking buzzword is ...

Today The News printed my insightful interview with the chef Lidia Bastianich and so I have been thinking about food. Oh, wait, I think about food anyway. But still.

It is amazing the lengths to which cooking magazines will go to be unappetizing.

My new issue of Cooking Blight arrived and the new buzzword seems to be "plants."

As in: "For Thanksgiving, I am serving up a smorgasbord of cooked plants."

The editor actually wrote that! I might not have it word for word but I know I have the part about cooked plants right. They pay this guy to write and that is what he writes. Cooked plants!

You know, I love vegetables probably more than anyone. If you are what you eat, I am a vegetable! But can't we find more appetizing language? Cooked plants?? All I can picture is, well, plants.

What about Robert Plant?

They should have him as the editor of Cooking Light. Because "plants" are suddenly the it-word. It is what "local" was last year. Now it is all about plants. The word is all over the magazine. It is like a weed.

Plus naturally they trot out all this language as Thanksgiving is approaching. Along with long lectures on portion control. Cooking Light is crazy about portion control. Every issue we are lectured.

This is very much at odds with my life-enjoying, Leonard Pennario-listening self.

Fie on Cooking Light.

Fie!

The Year of the Oxtail

Today, great excitement! Today is the day I make Ochsenschwanzsuppe.

That could be one of the best words in the German language. It means "Ox Tail Soup." Think Ochsen (ox) schwanz (tail, ahahahahaha) plus Suppe (soup). The way you say it is "AHKS-en-schwanz-SOOP-uh." Don't you just love it?

There is a runner-up for Most Ingenious German Word and that is "Auspuhfsrohr." You pronounce it "Aus-poofs-roar." It means exhaust pipe!

Every weekend I like to take on a culinary challenge. Last weekend I made this Winter Vegetable Lasagna out of The Buffalo News. I made that for the guys at Howard's cigar party as it turned out. And it turned out well. You can still find the recipe! Here it is.

I have been wanting to make Ochsenschwanzsuppe for a while because I have never made it and Beverly the butcher, who used to be at the Broadway Market but is now at Camellia's on Genesee, has told me so many times how good it is. Yesterday at the Broadway Market there were these oxtails sitting there and I knew it had to be done. Also, it is the Chinese Year of the Ox! That is another reason to get this project going. That is a picture of an ox up above. It is a Musk Ox, probably not the kind of ox whose tail I will be cooking up shortly. But I could not resist that picture. I liked the look on the ox's face.

This morning when I got up I went looking for recipes for Oxtail Soup. You do not find that in the paper the way you find Winter Vegetable Lasagna. That is unfortunate but true.

I found a recipe in this British cookbook I have. This cookbook came from the Broadway Market, too, come to think of it. Remember that fly-by-night cut-rate book stand, the one that closed under mysterious circumstances? That was where I bought it. The rest of the world can sneer at British cooking but I know the truth, that it is wonderful. I thought I could count on this book to have Ox Tail Soup and sure enough it did.

And if you think Ochsenschwanzsuppe is hard core you should see what is on the page next to it.

Pressed Tongue!

They have a picture of it, too, and it looks like a big tongue. That is exactly what it looks like. I bet you could find that at the Broadway Market. Who knows? Maybe that will be my challenge next week.

As our dear departed talk-show host John Otto would say: "Yes, maybe ... maybe not."

Oh my goodness. Here I was all ready to wind up this post so we could all virtuously get on with our day. Then I made the mistake of clicking on that John Otto link! That is a page by WBEN's Steve Cichon devoted to clips of John Otto dealing with various callers. It is priceless! Here is a picture of John Otto.


Note to out-of-towners: Listen to just a few of those clips, and you will hear how great John Otto was. Listen to "On Mosh Pits."

Howard just said it is like listening to Leonard Pennario.

You know you are hearing a master.