I do not know what your relationship to reading, but it's common for me to buy books and then left untouched for long: flip through them quickly, maybe you start to read, then beside it on a shelf in the library and obviously when I open them now is the right time.
of Barzini's book I had seen the presentation in November at the Moroso space and I was immediately intrigued by the words of the author and the projection of old Caroselli that I have brought back in time, then, as usual , busy with other matters, I past of the mind and the book I bought just a month ago, but I literally "devoured"!
Stephen writes of his work: "This is not a cookbook, is not autobiography, nor even a historical essay and a search of manners. Or rather, it is all these things put together. ". First, the most salient episodes of his life, the author offers us the glimpse of half a century of Italian history, as the economy, politics and social transformation are marked by culinary fads and fashions that characterized the five decades considered: it starts from 'hard' years 50, which emphasizes the fear of the people against the specter of hunger and then move to the "fabulous" 60's, those of the economic boom that is reflected in the abundant pasta dishes and the introduction of hitherto inaccessible . It continues with "subversives" and the '70s with the advent of alternative food systems as opposed to food "symbol and emblem of the affluent society" . You get to the "unnecessary" 80 years, marked by a certain loss of food, the contrast between the physical and muscular supertonici of actors and supermodels, and the bellies of the political class. It ends with the '90s, with its trials, with the novelty of ethnic cuisines and the rediscovery of the healthy, natural, to complete a cycle that began nearly half a century before, thanks to new interpretations of many foods "poor", of which there are now no longer ashamed. In this analysis socioantropologica intersect perfectly scenes regarding the family in which the author, although I missed the first decade and a bit more, I have fully recovered, including the fact that single-issue ordering dishes in restaurants and gullible enough! And more than catapult nostalgically in the past, I laughed because of its ironic mockery of a bizarre "as we were" and the banning of certain dishes fortunately fallen into oblivion; but I also moved and excited to find places, songs, advertising. A those passages of life, recounted in a way that makes you forget that sliding stop reading, my family probably has as much standardized: there have been well on my trips to the coast of Latium with the ubiquitous rice salad ( with sausages and pickles that I hated!), months in the mountains with his grandparents in the farm animals and garden plants, the penne alla vodka of my twenty years (for me have been postponed for a decade!), the linguine with salmon, shrimp cocktail and rocket anywhere!
The recipes are at the end of each chapter, described, inter alia, in person, a technique that I particularly like and that time I adopted in my area (and which, I noticed, is becoming increasingly popular among bloggers!). To characterize each decade and even household items that have revolutionized the lives of Italians or have been stored in the drawers of memory, and so many other famous spots and five films chosen as icons of all times ("Poor but beautiful," "The Easy Life" "La grande bouffe", "The Saturday Night Fever," "Back to the Future"), as well as many film references that fill every page.
In the book there are some other moments that I especially appreciated the extreme and disconcerting sincerity Stefania, for example, when told of stealing in times of need and also was discovered to be or to have tried, as a child, an almost sadistic pleasure, but not hypocritical, in the neck to pull the birds he was accustomed to that natural cycle of the food chain (in full view that I share).
And, finally, words that perhaps best describes his approach to cooking ... which is also mine:
not only what was cooked to be exceptional, not only does its flavors to be surprising, were mainly the grace and ease with which those dishes were offered, to be special: the kitchen of Emma he had the soul, the same warm and precious blood of his lady and mistress. Among the many gifts that this remarkable woman has given me is the certainty that the board is certainly tastes and flavors, but without harmony and even the extraordinary generosity of the dishes is unsalted. So we ate: fifty years of Italian history between food and costume - Stefania Barzini Aphel - Gambero Rosso Editore - € 18.00
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