Buon 296o Compleanno, Lorenzo De Caro!

Buon compleanno al meraviglioso pittore napoletano, Lorenzo De Caro (1719-1777).

Happy birthday to the marvelous Neapolitan painter, Lorenzo De Caro (1719-1777).

Pasta Estiva! / Summer Pasta!

“Pasta primavera” è un amato piatto italoamericano, anche se il nome sia un po’ sciocco – sciocco perché ognuno deve mangiare i prodotti agricoli della stagione, e di ogni stagione, non solo primavera.  Sennò, cosa si mangia?  Un ortaggio del supermercato che era stata in qualche freezer per un mese? Poi, grammaticalmente secondo me il nome dovrebbe essere “pasta primaverile.” Un’altra sciocchezza è la popolarità crescente delle padelle in ghisa, che ora tutti gli snob comprano per dimostrare la loro chiccheria – padelle che i contadini miserabili senza due soldi in tasca usavano per secoli.  Le padelle più gloriose della storia – specialmente quando stagionate non con olio ma con ... strutto! La seguente è stata una ricetta tipo svuotafrigo. È venuta così spettacolare che ho deciso di ripeterla oggi. Ingredienti 3 fette spesse di bacon (o pancetta o guanciale) ½ cipolla rossa 2 spicchi d’aglio (camice intatte) 1 zucchina, tagliata a medaglioni 500 gr pasta (io cavatappi, Divella #87) 125 ml (½ mestolo) acqua di cottura pecorino frescamente grattugiato s & p Preparazione In una griglia in ghisa (io Le Creuset “Skinny Grill”), grigliate il bacon.  Poi la padella avrà abbastanza unto per grigliare gli altri ingredienti. Grigliate la cipolla, l’aglio e la zucchina. Rimuovete dalla padella.  Buttate la camicia dell’aglio.  Appena raffreddati abbastanza, questi 4 ingredienti taglierete a pezzettini (io con la meravigliosa “pull chop svizzera” di Kuhn Rikon).  Scolate la pasta, conservando 125 ml (½ mestolo) dell’acqua di cottura.  Mescolate la pasta, le cose grigliate. l’acqua e il s & p.  Spolverate con pecorino, e Buona Estate!

Pasta primavera ("Spring pasta") is a beloved Italian-American dish, even if the name is a little silly –  silly because everyone should eat produce according to the season, and in every season.  If not, what are you eating?  A vegetable from the supermarket that had been in some freezer for a month? Also, grammatically in my opinion the name should be pasta primaverile (with the adjective form). Another silly thing is the growing popularity of cast-iron pans, which now the snobs buy to demonstrate their chicness – pans that the poor peasants without two nickels to rub together used for centuries.  The most glorious pans in history – especially when seasoned not with oil but with ... lard! The following was a recipe of the empty-the-fridge type.  It came out so spectacularly that I decided to repeat it today. Ingredients 3 thick slices of bacon (or pancetta or guanciale) ½  red onion 2 cloved garlic (the "shirts" still on) ½ lb. pasta (I used cavatappi, Divella #87) 125 ml (½ ladle) pasta water freshly-grated pecorino s & p Preparation In a cast-iron grill (I used Le Creuset "Skinny Grill"), grill the bacon.  Then the pan will have enough grease to grill the other ingredients. Grill the onion, garlic, and zucchini.  Remove from the pan. Discard the shirts of the garlic. As soon as they are cool enough, these 4 ingredients you will chop. (I used the marvelous "Swiss pull chop" by Kuhn Rikon.) Strain the pasta, saving 120 ml (½ ladle) of the cooking water.  Toss the pasta, the grilled things, the water, and the s & p.  Sprinkle with pecorino, and Happy Summer!

Il Re mangia gli scarti / The King eats scraps

Che dite di questo pasto: Verza,  lessata nel brodo casereccio d’agnello,  sopra pane francese,  con una spolverata di pecorino romano frescamente grattugiato Se io fossi il Re, io non sarei imbarazzato dalla comparsa di questo piatto davanti a me. La realtà è che questo è stato un piatto di avanzi. Cianfrusaglie. Scarti. Già sapete, cari lettori e lettrici, che il mio freezer contiene sempre gli scarti per il brodo. L’intorno del picciolo di un pomodoro.  I gambi di un grumolo di finocchio. Il torsolo di una testa di scarola. L’estremità di una cipolla. Una crosta di parmigiano reggiano.  Et alia. (Vedete qua per la ricetta completa del brodo.)  In questo caso, il frigo conteneva qualcosa anche più preziosa: l’osso della gamba dell’agnello pasquale! Un’altro avanzo pasquale era il pane “francese”, che secondo la confezione sia francese.  Ma era mica francese questo. Quest’era il pane cafone amato da tutti i napoletani del mondo – l’esterno croccante, l’interno pieno di quei grandi buchi. Ormai il pane era raffermo, ovviamente.  Ma che cosa è più gloriosa della trasformazione del pane raffermo che capita nella cucina cafonesca?! Pertanto, iniziamo con questo pane cafone raffermo.  Sopra di quello, un filo d’olio d’oliva italiano extravergine.  Sopra di quello, la verza che si è lessata per 15 minuti nel brodo d’agnello pasquale e degli scarti del freezer.  Sopra di quello, il pecorino fresco. Si mangia, e quando si raggiunge il pane, è adesso tenero, inzuppato dal brodo e dall’olio. Sicuramente il Re non ha mangiato questo oggi. Povero lui.

What do you say about this meal: Savoy cabbage,, cooked in homemade lamb stock, over Francese bread, with a dusting of freshly grated pecorino romano If I were the King, I would not be embarrassed by the appearance of this dish before me. The reality is that it was a dish of leftovers. Odds and ends. Scraps. My readers already know that my freezer always contains scraps for stock.  The part of the tomato around the stem. The stalks of a bulb of fennel. The core of a head of escarole. The top of an onion.  A hard end of parmigiano reggiano.  And so forth. (See here for the complete stock recipe.)  In this case, the fridge contained something even more precious: the bone from the Easter leg of lamb! Another Easter leftover was the "French" bread, which according to the package was French.  But it was hardly French.  This was pane cafone, the peasant bread beloved by all the Neapolitans around the world – the crusty outside, the inside filled with those big holes. By now the bread was stale, obviously.  But what is more glorious than the transformation of stale bread that occurs in the peasant kitchen?! Therefore, we begin with this stale peasant bread.  On top of that, a drizzle of Italian extra-virgin olive oil.  On top of that, the savoy cabbage which cooked for 15 minutes in the stock made from the Easter lamb and the scraps from the freezer.  On top of that, the fresh pecorino. You eat, and when you reach the bread, it is now tender, saturated with the broth and oil. Surely the King didn't eat this today. Poor guy.

Pasqua 2015

Palomma 'e notte

Grandissimo, questo! Grandissima poesia dal grandissimo poeta Salvatore Di Giacomo (1860-1934), musicata nel 1906 dal grandissimo compositore Francesco Buongiovanni (1872-1940), interpretata dal grandissimo tenore napoletano, Gabriele Vanorio (1922-1969).  Nato coincidentemente sul primo anniversario della morte di Enrico Caruso, Vanorio fu nella sua epoca uno degli interpreti più importanti della canzone napoletana. Morì di un fulmineo tumore al cervello, all’età di 47.

Such greatness! A great poem by the great Neapolitan poet Salvatore Di Giacomo (1860-1934), set to music in 1906 by the great composer Francesco Buongiovanni (1872-1940), interpreted by the very great Neapolitan tenor, Gabriele Vanorio (1922-1969). Coincidentally born on the one-year anniversary of the death of Enrico Caruso, Vanorio was in his day one of the most important interpreters of the Neapolitan song. He died of a rapidly growing brain tumor at age 47.

NAPULITAN’ Tiene mente ’sta palomma, Comme ggira, comm’avota, Comme torna ’n’ata vota ’Sta ceroggena a tentà! Palummè, chist’è ’nu lume, Nun è rosa o giesummino, E tu a fforza ccà vvicino Te vuò mettere a vulà! Vattenn’ ’a lloco! Vattenne, pazzarella! Va’, palummella, e torna, E torna a ’st’aria Accussì fresca e bella! ’O bbì ca i’ pure Mm’abbaglio chianu chiano, E ca mm’abbrucio ’a mano Pe’ te ne vulè caccià? Carulì, pe’ ’nu capriccio, Tu vuò fà scuntento a ’n’ato E po’, quanno ll’hê lassato, Tu addu ’n’ato vuò vulà. Troppe core staje strignenno Cu ’sti mmane piccerelle; Ma fernisce ca ’sti scelle Pure tu te può abbrucià. Vattenn’ ’a lloco! Vattenne, pazzarella! Va’, palummella, e torna, E torna a ’st’aria Accussì fresca e bella! ’O bbì ca i’ pure Mm’abbaglio chianu chiano, E ca mm’abbrucio ’a mano Pe’ te ne vulè caccià? Torna, va’, palomma ’e notte, Dint’a ll’ombra addò sì nata! Torna a ’st’aria ’mbarzamata Ca te sape cunzulà! Dint’ ’o scuro e pe’ me sulo ’Sta cannela arde e se struje, Ma c’ardesse a tutt’ ’e dduje, Nun ’o ppozzo suppurtà! Vattenn’ ’a lloco! Vattenne, pazzarella! Va’, palummella, e torna, E torna a ’st’aria Accussì fresca e bella! ’O bbì ca i’ pure Mm’abbaglio chianu chiano, E ca mm’abbrucio ’a mano Pe’ te ne vulè caccià?

ITALIANO Guarda questa farfalla, Come gira, come svolazza, Come torna un'altra volta A tentare questa candela! Farfallina, questo è un lume, Non è rosa o gelsomino, E tu per forza qua vicino Ti vuoi mettere a volare! Vattene da là! Vattene, pazza! Va', farfallina, e torna, E torna a quest'aria Così fresca e bella! Lo vedi che anch'io Mi abbaglio piano piano E che mi brucio la mano Per volerti cacciare via? Carolina, per un capriccio, Tu vuoi fare scontento un altro E poi, quando l'hai lasciato, Tu, da un altro, vuoi volare. Troppi cuori stai stringendo Con queste tue mani piccole, Ma finisce che queste ali Anche tu ti puoi bruciare. Vattene da là! Vattene, pazza! Va', farfallina, e torna, E torna a quest'aria Così fresca e bella! Lo vedi che anch'io Mi abbaglio piano piano E che mi brucio la mano Per volerti cacciare via? Torna, va', farfalla di notte, Nell'ombra dove sei nata! Torna a quest'aria imbalsamata Che ti sa consolare! Nel buio e solo per me Questa candela arde e si strugge, Ma che arda tutti e due, Non lo posso sopportare! Vattene da là! Vattene, pazza! Va', farfallina, e torna, E torna a quest'aria Così fresca e bella! Lo vedi che anch'io Mi abbaglio piano piano E che mi brucio la mano Per volerti cacciare via? Traduzione italiana di Natalia Cernega (napule-de-canzone.com)

ENGLISH Look at this butterly, How it whirls, how it flits, How it comes back again To tempt this candle! Butterfly, this is a lamp, It's not a rose or jasmine, And you at any cost Want to fly nearer to it! Fly away from here! Fly away, crazy butterfly! Fly, butterfly, and return, And return to the air So fresh and beautiful! Do you see that I also Make a mistake And that I burn my hand, Trying to chase you away? Caroline, on a whim, You want to make another person unhappy, And then, when you leave him, You want to fly away to an other. Too many hearts you are squeezing In your little hands, But in the end, you might also burn your wings. Fly away from here! Fly away, crazy butterfly! Fly, butterfly, and return, And return to the air So fresh and beautiful! Do you see that I also Make a mistake And that I burn my hand, Trying to chase you away? Return, fly, butterfly of the night, To the shadow where you were born! Return to the balmy air That can console you! In the dark only for me This candle burns and melts, But let it burn to both of us Because alone I can't bear it! Fly away from here! Fly away, crazy butterfly! Fly, butterfly, and return, And return to the air So fresh and beautiful! Do you see that I also Made a mistake And that I burnt my hand, Trying to chase you away? English translation by Leonardo Ciampa

Foto: crazycompany.it

BUON 125o COMPLEANNO, BENIAMINO GIGLI!

Buon 125o compleanno, Maestro Gigli! Ed ecco due modi di festeggiarlo. Primo: comprate subito il libro GIGLI (in lingua inglese). Secondo: guardate questo video YouTube di due scene de La Traviata (opera che Gigli non incise nella sua interezza). Viene dal film tedesco, Ave Maria (1936), con soprano Erna Berger.

Buon 125o compleanno, Maestro Gigli! And here are two ways to celebrate it. First: buy the book GIGLI immediately!  Second: watch this YouTube video of two scenes from La Traviata (an opera that Gigli didn't record in its entirety).  It comes from the German film, Ave Maria (1936), with soprano Erna Berger.

What is real and true

A response to A PRIEST’S CONVERSION – “I GET IT NOW!” by Fr. Richard Heilman
http://www.romancatholicman.com/a-priests-conversion-i-get-it-now/

By pure chance I came across a blog post by a priest named Fr. Richard Heilman. I was struck by his candor and astonished by the many things that he said that were true – and equally astonished by a few things he said that were categorically untrue.

Fr. Heilman began by recounting the numerous strangers – the pest control guy, the checkout guy at a convenience store, a couple of guys at a party – whom he invited to drop by his church sometime. And they did. This all occurred within the last week.

I admit it: I felt a tinge of joy reading about Fr. Heilman’s evangelistic successes.

Something is happening in the Church and in the world today. And, I know something is happening with me. I can’t recall many times (any?) in my priesthood that I would unabashedly – with great confidence and joy – invite people on the street to these amazing sacraments. 

Personal invitation is the only way to build an organization without dumbing down. If you rely on advertising, you need a gimmick – something catchy, cheapening, and at least partially untrue. If instead you invite someone, the invited decides to come. The inviter doesn’t have to lower the quality of the product – the invited has already decided to give it a try.

Fr. Heilman continued:

I had spent a great portion of my priesthood buying into the notion that, if we create all kinds of trendy “programs” and socials, while we kept our liturgy as cheery and entertaining as possible, people would hear about how “cool” and “fun” and “with the times” we were, and come running. We may have “held our own” with numbers in the pew, but I also noticed the average age was continuing to rise, and – where were all the men? I could see that, while this trendy approach had short-term results, the future was looking unsustainable. It didn’t make sense. I was led to believe that “hip” and “trendy” appealed to the youth. And, we believed men didn’t go for all that ceremonial stuff – “Johnny Six-pack” likes it “real” like the rest of the world.

Naturally, I have been saying these things for decades, as have most of my colleagues. But to hear a priest say it was powerful. If the Millennials are interested in one thing, they’re interested in what is real and true.

However, it is on this very point that Fr. Heilman started to go astray.

First, the Internet was invented (thanks, Al Gore?). With the advent of the Internet, we began immersing ourselves in truth. Prior to this, we took the word of the so-called “experts” – those who specialized in such things as liturgy. These experts would give us directions and we would follow, never suspecting there may be more to understanding the deeper truths of the liturgy. Now, with so much information at our fingertips, we were becoming experts ourselves, overnight.

Unintentionally, Fr. Heilman touched upon an important fact: Millennials are educated, they can read, they have Internet access, and for those reasons, they will not, and should not, accept any old Medieval malarky that happens to emanate from the pulpit.

But Fr. Heilman continues:

With truth in hand, we were shocked and appalled to discover that, up to that point, we were receiving information through a liberal/modernist/progressive (pick one) filter. Essential facts were being left out or twisted to perpetuate this modern liberal agenda. There was an emphasis on what they wanted us to know, and a de-emphasis of things they did not want us to know. The fortunate and hopeful reality of our times is that “truth” is like a poison for the whole liberal movement. Many, especially the young who are more Internet savvy, are not buying what the liberals are selling any longer. This is one of the reasons why, I believe, our older generation remains indoctrinated in the liberal agenda – they are simply not using the Internet to the degree in which young people are today. And, I believe, this is one of the main reasons seminarians today tend to be more traditional. The liberal professors have a much more difficult time convincing them to follow their false agenda any longer.

What? In what diocese are the older congregants liberal? The Diocese of Fantasyland?  The vast majority of Catholics that I know are what I call “automatic Republicans” – they vote Republican because of The One Issue. I agree that abortion is a serious matter. However, for all its preoccupation with what happens before you’re born and after you’ve died, the Church often fails people who are still alive. The other reason most Catholics vote Republican is because conservativism does not conserve people – it conserves institutions. If gay marriage is OK, that shakes the foundations of Catholic teaching. Unfortunately for the institution, Jesus would say that homosexuals are real, living human beings, as are African-Americans, divorcees, and so forth. Rather than rush to strengthen those human beings, conservative churches rush to strengthen the teetering institution.

Frankly, I’m surprised that so many Italians practice Catholicism. Italians above anyone else appreciate the importance and significance of breaking bread together. How can a church hold up a banner that says, “ALL ARE WELCOME”? A truthful banner would include the footnote, “You can’t eat the meal with us, but you’re welcome.”

Fr. Heilman was fully within the borders of Fantasyland with his fictional description of the “liberal filter.” I almost laughed out loud. Any attempt to compare liberal secrecy with conservative secrecy cannot be serious. “What melting glaciers? I didn’t see any melting glaciers.” The GOP doesn’t lack a filter; they lack a thermometer. Now, would you like to talk about the secrecy of the Roman Catholic Church? I didn’t think so.

But as the topic turned toward liturgy, I started to feel a twinge of joy again.

The light of faith in our Church was rapidly dimming, and the way to restore its blaze once again was by, first, restoring the liturgy: “It is in the treatment of the liturgy that the fate of the Faith and of the Church is decided” (Pope Benedict XVI). Pope Benedict’s legacy was in trying to recover the sense of transcendence and beauty of the liturgy.  

I wanted to cheer when Fr. Heilman said,

We’ve come to understand that when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated with due reverence, honor and beauty, it opens our hearts to receive the magnificent power and majesty of God. It is the spark that, quite literally, changes a person. 

In my long career, I have never seen a shred of evidence to support the theory (which, thankfully, Fr. Heilman doesn’t hold) that beautiful liturgy in itself drives parishioners away, and “lighter” liturgy in itself attracts parishioners. I personally have worked in churches with beautiful liturgy yet many young people in the pews, and churches with guitars and drums yet very few young people in the pews. I’ve seen it many times, and in each case the difference was not the liturgy – it was the pastor.

In one respect, my perspective is clearer than that of most clerics. I have worked for virtually every major denomination, thus I can often see what each church has to offer, or “has going for it” so to speak. More than any other denomination, Catholicism captures the mystery. The stained glass, incense, and (in a few churches) reverent music enhance a worship service filled with readings and dogma which, frankly, don’t always make sense. There is little in the Creed that corcords with the laws of science. That’s a hard sell for college-educated Millennials who just incurred $200,000 in debt so that they could learn the laws of science. Now they’re expected to believe in a God who says, “I gave you a brain. Now, I require you to believe things that make no sense.”

According to Fr. Heilman,

Young people ... are looking for true, deep, intellectually robust spirituality, and they weren’t finding it until now.

The Millennials are looking for something – in particular, those with young children, whom they hope will grow up with “some sort of church experience.” According to Fr. Heilman, what they’re looking for is an encounter with the Divine; Someone who transcends them; Someone who is big enough, large enough, great enough to take care of them and lead them into an amazing new life. Alas, I don’t think that’s what most young people are looking for at all. After years of listening to the litany of grown ups’ lies, they seek what is real and true. They buy fresh coffee beans, not Sanka. They buy artisan breads, not Sunbeam. They buy Italian extra-virgin olive oil, not Wesson. They’re tired of the big companies poisoning the environment.  And yes, they are more fascinated by the pipe organ than by electronic substitutes. As for 60s-style guitar-strumming: if even I, born in 1971, am too young to remember that music, why would someone born in 1995 long to hear it?

Fr. Heilman concluded:

Now, I could look that pest control guy and Kwik Trip dude in the eye and say, “I know what you are looking for, man … Come Home!! We have it here!!”

Assuming, of course, that those guys are heterosexual and have never been divorced.