Mama Angela's Trattoria

I think I was born into the wrong culture. Seriously. I believe I was meant to be Italian and something happened and I got shipped off to the woman I call Momma in the deep south. In Italy some poor woman is shaking her head and watching her daughter prepare chittlins and hog maws for her family. I registered for an Italian class at the local college but they cancelled the class at the last minute! Argggghh!! I do have the textbook requirements and the tapes but so far I know very little of the Italian language. It is sad. I love Italian things. Food, art, music. I could bathe in olive oil. I love that stuff! I love the sharp fruity scent of extra virgin olive oil and I also love the not so fruity scent of the successive pressings that yeild the other three grades of oil. I wonder if an olive tree will grow in Virginia so I can at least pretend I am near Tuscany. My kids love Italian bread: sauteed in olive oil until it is crisp and seasoned with garlic and basil pannini style or simply plain and dipped in olive oil. We all love pasta. It doesn't have to have sauce on it either. Just some pasta drizzled with good olive oil and salt and pepper, sometimes a little pat of butter. It's a dang good meal! This weekend I picked up 2 nice plump black beauty eggplants at the grocery store. We like them and better yet they were on sale. (The same as the rutabaga that Hoss seems to think is a punishment. We love rutabaga. If people in Virginia would sell turnips with the roots still on I would buy them more often, Hoss.) Today we have made eggplant parmegiana for supper. My daughter is in the kitchen now sauteeing thinly cut slices of Italian bread in olive oil. Mmmmmmmm. We will throw together a salad of romaine, grape tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with (what else?) olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and garlic, salt and pepper. We are gonna be feasting tonight! My stomach is growling now. I do try at least once a week to prepare a vegetarian meal. Steven has had problems in the past and I find too much red meat (meats in general) really play havoc with his system. I make a hearty meal and no one misses the meat -well most of the time. My recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana Preparing the eggplant 2 eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup flour Bread crumbs Olive oil Mozzarella cheese Lightly salt the eggplant and lay on paper towels to absorb alot of the water they will extrude, about 30 minutes is enough. Lightly coat the eggplant slices in flour, dip in egg, coat with bread crumbs. Sautee them in a scant amount of olive oil until golden brown. Remove to more paper towels. Slice the mozzarella thinly and refrigerate until needed. Marinara Sauce 1 large can of Hunts tomato sauce (Normally I am not picky about tomato sauce but if you are cooking Hunts is the best to use, it just tastes different, fresher, doesn't have that bitter after taste some canned sauces have.) 1 can plum tomatoes roughly chopped 10 basil leaves fresh from my herb pot, chopped finely 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 small onion very finely chopped 1/2 cup parmesian cheese, grated black pepper, fresh cracked salt Olive oil Oregano (I do not use oregano. It makes Steven gassy. It is not worth it!) Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add garlic and onion and sautee to release their flavor, do not brown. Add tomatoes and sauce, basil, pepper and salt to taste. (If it is too thin add 2 tsp tomato paste.) Simmer at a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the parmesian cheese. Simmer about 5 minutes until the cheese is beginning to melt. Remove from heat. In a casserole dish, cover the bottom lightly with the tomato sauce mixture. Make a layer of eggplant slices much like building a lasagna. Cover with a little more sauce. Add a layer of thinly sliced mozzarella cheese. Repeat until you have used all the eggplant slices. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the top. Sprinkle with a generous amount of parmesian cheese. Traditionally this would be made with a single layer of eggplant, sauce and cheese but I like mine thick and gooey. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 - 30 minutes before serving. My kids cannot wait for 30 minutes. They can't wait for 15 either but being the mean mother I am I make them wait. For plating I make a mound of pasta on each persons plate, top with a generous helping of the parmigiana. If you are coming over for supper tonight do you mind picking up a nice bottle of Red? I prefer marriage wines like an nice grenache/shiraz. I also prefer Australian wines made by Italians. There is a difference in the soil that adds something to the fruit of the vine. Try it. You'll see I am telling the truth -but it MUST be made by Italians. Grazie. trat·to·ri·a n. pl. trat·to·ri·as or trat·to·ri·e An informal restaurant or tavern serving simple Italian dishes. [Italian, from trattore, host, from trattare, to treat.] Note to MistressMary: It is a hog cheek (jowl) that his been smoke cured with pepper instead of salt. Some people will use a ham hock or a slice of fatback but it does not taste as good as the smoked jowl. It is not disgusting. It is pork fat. In the south pork fat rules, baby! Yes! Yes! Yes! We did eat butter and sugar sandwiches. Sometimes plain sometimes run under the broiler for a couple minutes. My kids have them, too.