Tradizioni : (pron: tra-ditz-ee-o nee) traditions. How does a family separated by distance, time and a vast ocean continue its traditions? My mother immigrated with her mother to Canada from the Veneto region in Italy at 16 years of age, in 1923. She left behind her brother Antonio, who stayed in Turin. Over the years their only communication was letter writing. When my mother became a U.S. citizen WWII had already broken out. The letters from her brother became less frequent and often arrived censored.
The war ended and the letters continued. My mother was raising our family and trying to assimilate. The 1950’s in the US was a time of “modern convenience” foods. Noodles cooked with a can of mushroom soup and a can of tuna was a popular dish. My friends thought ravioli in a can was a treat.
My uncle’s way of reminding his sister about her Italian traditions was to write often from Torino about family and to send her a subscription to the cooking magazine from Italy, “La Cucina Italiana”. I so looked forward every month to tearing open that brown envelope with all the funny looking stamps with my mom. We would look at it together and she would show me pictures of what real Italian cooking looked like. My uncle and my mom have passed away. I have kept a few of the issues of “La Cucina Italiana” and tried to keep the tradizioni.
Recipe translated from La Cucina Italiana 1959
Maiale Ubriaco “Drunken Pork”
Choose some nice looking pork chops, pound them a bit add salt and pepper. Put them in the frying pan with a little olive oil and a mixture of chopped parsley and garlic. Cook on medium heat until the chops are golden on both sides. Turn up the heat a bit and add a glass of leftover Chianti. When the wine begins to bubble, put the heat on low, cover the pan, and let the chops absorb the wine.
Aldo suggests enjoying this with a good bottle of Castello di Meleto Chianti