Sorry!!! Scusate!!!

I accidentally refused a comment...managgia a me! (trans: darn me!) Paula, please post your comment again if you see this. I don't even have your e-mail to say sorry personally. How could I do that! Never refuse "love" :)

Taking on Family Traditions

Me and the chef!

When I went home for Christmas this year my grandpa passed on a great family recipe for Bagna Cauda, which is a traditional garlic dip from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, eaten with fresh cut veggies. I got the idea to post some pictures from this special event from Erbe in Cucina who has another version of this recipe on her blog.

There are several versions of this recipe due to large scale immigration in the late 1800s and, like most Italian recipes, to simple location variations. For example, Erbe's version uses butter, my grandpa told me the original recipe from his grandparents included cream which was then left out from the recipe we use because they just couldn't afford cream at that time.

Unfortunately I don't feel I have the right to post the full recipe. I might change my mind later, but at this point it would feel like a violation of a family secret. Let me say this though, the key to good Bagna Cauda is cooking the garlic for a long time, over very low heat. I guess this breaks down the acidity which causes a bad after taste and helps to avoid upset tummies-also my great grandmother told us always, never drink water because water and oil don't mix and will lead to upset tummies, that goes for drinking milk too, because it will curdle due to the hot temperature of the Bagna....so, the only option is to drink wine! Isn't that convenient! We usually drink a bottle of my grandpa's Zinfandel or Syrrah. Yum.

Look at all that yummy garlic

The top picture on the right is my grandma being the supervisor...she took over the role when my grandma Lucy died, I think I'll take over when it's time.

In the picture directly to the right I think I am already getting in the groove, telling grandma she can't use her bread as a dish, just as an oil drip catcher (one of the fundamental grandma Lucy rules) -ha!

In other people's eyes

When we see each other through other people's eyes sometimes it's difficult to see. Our behavior isn't always understood as we intend it to be understood, or according to our feelings at a particular moment. Is it important for us to know what other people think of us, or see in us? Maybe if we can take these views and learn what we like or don't like about ourselves, not so much what others don't like about us, then maybe it's useful. There's a book by a famous Italian author, Luigi Pirandello, where he asks, are we the person we see ourselves as or what other people see us as, and is it important to see this difference to understand our true identity. I think it's a combination of both and the observation of ourselves and others determines the person we eventually become.