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WORK TITLE: Not My Mother’s Kitchen
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://robchirico.homestead.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/09/06/cookbook-not-my-mothers-kitchen/ * http://www.theday.com/article/20160830/ENT04/160839950
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married Valdina.
EDUCATION:Queens College, B.A., 1974; New York University, M.A., 1982.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and artist. Lisa Ekus Group, creative director, 1995-2004. Previously, worked as a professor of art history.
AWARDS:Grand Prize in “Build a Better Burger” competition, Sutter Home, 1991.
WRITINGS
Also, author of the e-books Vermeer Tango and Art in the Blood. Contributor of articles to publications, including Gastronomica.
SIDELIGHTS
Rob Chirico is a writer and artist based in Massachusetts. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in art history, criticism, and conservation. Previously, he worked as a professor of art history and as creative director at Lisa Ekus Group. Chirico has released books of fiction and nonfiction. His novels include Onward Kitchen Soldiers, Vermeer Tango, and Art in the Blood. Among his nonfiction books are Martini Madness, Up in Smoke: A Guide to Cigar Basics, and Field Guide to Cocktails: How to Identify and Prepare Virtually Every Mixed Drink at the Bar.
Damn!
In 2014, Chirico released Damn!: A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America. The book contains an introduction followed by nine chapters. Chirico highlights notable uses of curse words in films, books, and on television. He also comments on swearing by comedians, including George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. Chirico cites scholarly works on strong language from Melissa Mohr and H.L. Mencken, among others. He discusses the etymology of certain curse words in the English language.
E.L. Battistella, reviewer in Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, commented: “The major strength of the book is Chirico’s voracious amassing of detail to support his discussion.” Writing on the Lit Reactor Web site, Brian McGackin suggested: “This book could be a bit corny at times, but its in-depth look at various factors involved in swearing and its non/acceptance in our society is fascinating.” McGackin added: “Anyone with a mouth towards the vulgar will appreciate the comprehensiveness of Chirico’s handling of the topic.” Stan Carey, critic on the Strong Language Web site, remarked: “The book overgeneralizes a bit.” Carey continued: “Singular they and plural nouns would have helped avoid the objectionable generic he and the awkward likes of ‘to retain his or her individuality while having his or her say’. Some misspellings and grammatical lapses (fucking in ‘Stop fucking around’ is not a gerund) likewise distract.” However, Carey concluded: “Minor missteps aside, Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America is a bloody entertaining contribution to the literature on swearing, and finishes nicely with a brief account of the birdie. It is likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys strong language (and Strong Language).”
Not My Mother's Kitchen
In his 2016 book, Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking through Stories and Recipes, Chirico describes growing up in an Italian American family in New York. He notes that his mother was a terrible cook and often served frozen food or canned food for dinner. However, his grandmother’s cooking was much better. Chirico discusses developing an interest in cooking himself. His book includes over seventy recipes for Italian American foods. In an interview with Amy J. Barry, contributor to the Day Web site, Chirico explained: “The recipes in the book are illustrative of how I learned to cook and how other people can learn to cook. It’s more of ‘How to do it on your own’ rather than ‘Here are 6,000 recipes.’ I tried to keep people’s interest while illustrating great ways to cook and enjoy eating and share my stories and sense of humor.” Chirico continued: “I’m actually explaining why something might work, why something might not work. I tried to give a good sense of variety. While there’s a list of sauces in the beginning you can use with any pasta, with individual pasta recipes, I included things people may have never seen before like using broccolini with linguine.”
Reviewing Chirico’s Not My Mother’s Kitchen on the A Day in the Life on the Farm Web site, a contributor commented: “He gives the impression that because his mother did not enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen, that he holds her in disdain. Chirico does not seem to be able to embrace the fact that we are all built differently, with different tastes, likes, dislikes and attitudes.” The same contributor stated: “He made his mother seem very one dimensional and left you feeling that he felt that, somehow, his mother should have shown her love for him through food regardless of the other ways she showed him her love and concern.” Bob Walch, critic on the BookLoons Review Web site, remarked: “Everyone would have been better served if Chirico … withheld the personal anecdotes which were supposed to be humorous but often missed the mark.” Other assessments of the volume were more favorable. “Approachable recipes and fun facts make this an entertaining read,” asserted a writer in Publishers Weekly. A contributor to Internet Bookwatch described the volume as “a compelling and informative read from beginning to end” and said that it “offers a wealth of culinary inspiration.” Phillip Oliver, critic in Xpress Reviews, noted that the book contained “a wealth of facts and tidbits about Italian food.” Oliver suggested: “This will appeal to readers who enjoy chef biographies.” Kristin Palpini, reviewer on the Valley Advocate Web site, commented: “The recipes in Not My Mother’s Kitchen are a nice blend of nonni-style Italian cooking and the modern American take on Mediterranean rustic cuisine. The instructions are simple and clear and Chirico doesn’t overcomplicate his dishes with too many ingredients or finicky prep.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, April, 2015, E.L. Battistella, review of Damn!: A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America, p. 1308.
Internet Bookwatch, January, 2017, review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes.
Publishers Weekly, July 4, 2016, review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen, p. 58.
Xpress Reviews, June 10, 2016, Phillip Oliver, review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen.
ONLINE
A Day in the Life on the Farm, http://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspot.com/ (January 17, 2017), review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen.
BookLoons Review, http://www.bookloons.com/ (March 1, 2017), Bob Walch, review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen.
Day Online (CT), http://www.theday.com/ (August 31, 2016), Amy J. Barry, author interview.
Lit Reactor, https://litreactor.com/ (December 2, 2014), Brian McGackin, review of Damn!
Rob Chirico Home Page, http://robchirico.homestead.com (March 27, 2017).
Strong Language, https://stronglang.wordpress.com/ (February 23, 2015), Stan Carey, review of Damn!
Valley Advocate (Northampton, MA), http://valleyadvocate.com/ (September 6, 2016), Kristin Palpini, review of Not My Mother’s Kitchen.
LC control no.: no 99001920
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Chirico, Rob
Found in: Up in smoke, c1998: t.p. verso (Rob Chirico)
Damn!, [2014]: ECIP t.p. (Rob Chirico) data view (a writer
and artist living in Greenfield, Massachusetts. He is
the author of Field Guide to Cocktails.)
================================================================================
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QUOTED: "The recipes in the book are illustrative of how I learned to cook and how other people can learn to cook. It’s more of ‘How to do it on your own’ rather than ‘Here are 6,000 recipes.’ I tried to keep people’s interest while illustrating great ways to cook and enjoy eating and share my stories and sense of humor."
"I’m actually explaining why something might work, why something might not work. I tried to give a good sense of variety. While there’s a list of sauces in the beginning you can use with any pasta, with individual pasta recipes, I included things people may have never seen before like using broccolini with linguine."
Cookbook author Rob Chirico survived mother’s cooking, lives to tell tale
Rob Chirico’s Caesar salad omits the anchovies in favor of a dash of fish sauce. (Photo by Rob Chirico)
90
Published August 30. 2016 5:36PM | Updated August 31. 2016 5:02PM
By Amy J. Barry
Rob Chirico grew up in Brooklyn, New York, with an Italian mother, who, to his chagrin, couldn’t cook. He describes her as an “assassin,” who killed pretty much every dish she prepared.
In self-defense, Chirico, who now lives with his wife Valdina in western Massachusetts, learned his way around a kitchen, mastering traditional Italian dishes and putting his own creative spin on others.
A cookbook editor and author of “Field Guide to Cocktails,” numerous articles for culinary publications, and three novels, Chirico also is an artist and former professor of art history and has lived and painted in Argentina and France. In 1991 he won the $10,000 grand prize in the Sutter Home “Build a Better Burger” competition.
Chirico comes to the Westerly Library on Sept. 8 to talk about his new humorous food memoir, “Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes.”
The author gives us a taste of the inspiration behind his new book in this exclusive Day interview.
Q. You’re very funny. Did you develop a sense of humor as a defense against the awful food you had to eat growing up?
A. I was a naturally funny kid. My father was very, very funny. He won a (neighborhood) prize for Best Wit. He could always twist a phrase, come up with a terrible pun.
Q. How did your own passion for “real” Italian food evolve, despite your mother’s meals consisting of things like Chef Boyardee out of a can and “malformed, nearly cremated hamburgers”?
A. There must have been something inherent. They talk in art history about the grandparent theory that talent or interest skips a generation. And so, my grandmother would make things like her own ravioli with spinach but because I was used to the Butoni ravioli, I wouldn’t go near her ravioli. Same with lamb, as a kid, it was like eating shoe leather. When I got married, my wife’s family was having a leg of lamb. It was a revelation — they served it properly. In my later college years, I realized I had to learn to cook; it wasn’t just coming to me. I went to Italy and realized ‘Wow, this is what is should taste like.’ It became a quest to find the best ingredients, the best foods.
Q. What are some of the differences you discovered between Italian food in Italy versus the U.S.?
A. Growing up in New York, you’d get your plate of lasagna and a side of spaghetti. Italian meals are well orchestrated — you have a succession of dishes. Our meals at home are more like a jam session. I learned to cook in a very basic fashion in Rome. Even the other night, with all the tomatoes I have, I just cut up them up, got rid of the seeds and extra juice, put them in a bowl, added a little hot pepper, salt, garlic, and olive oil, let it marinate for an hour or two, and then threw the pasta into the tomatoes, topped it with some fresh basil and served it with freshly grated Parmigiano. I could eat that for dinner at least once a week in the summer.
Q. You say you’re less interested in recreating authentic Italian dishes as you are experimenting. Can you explain?
A. I do list a couple of authentic recipes in the book. At the same time, having tasted many of these foods in Italy, it lets me try something completely different. After years of doing this every day, I have a very good sense of what I think will work. It’s like mixing colors on a palette. It’s not like I don’t read other people’s recipes, I read them all the time and I can see ways to alter them to my own taste. People can use this (cookbook) as a springboard for their own imaginations. Pretty much every recipe can be adapted to everyone’s palate.
Q. Can you talk a little about the misuse of the tomato?
A. The other day I started making a sauce — six quarts that I’ve frozen to have all winter. I’m not going to buy fresh tomatoes in the winter because they’re flavorless, like hockey pucks. Too many people have the idea that sauce has to be completely covered with tomatoes. It’s not true in Italy. They use just enough to coat the pasta. Pasta has to be an integral part of the dish. I buy very good Italian pastas. There’s a nuttiness, a flavor to it that just can’t be matched by inferior brands.
Q. You say you had no intention of creating yet another cookbook of recipes. Can you explain? And why did you choose the recipes you did include?
A. The recipes in the book are illustrative of how I learned to cook and how other people can learn to cook. It’s more of ‘How to do it on your own’ rather than ‘Here are 6,000 recipes.’ I tried to keep people’s interest while illustrating great ways to cook and enjoy eating and share my stories and sense of humor. I’m actually explaining why something might work, why something might not work. I tried to give a good sense of variety. While there’s a list of sauces in the beginning you can use with any pasta, with individual pasta recipes, I included things people may have never seen before like using broccolini with linguine.
Q. What are some other “unexpected” recipes in the book?
The rotini with ’nduja — a spicy proscuitto paste that you just never saw in this country. At first I could only get it online, but now — as more ingredients are appearing everywhere — I found it in two stores in Massachusetts. People mostly put it on bread; I came up with this idea that you can cook with it. You put it in a pan; it melts down, and makes for a lovely, spicy sauce.
When I was studying different recipes, I learned that Cardoni’s original Caesar salad didn’t have anchovies. It also didn’t include lemons. In most South American countries, like Buenos Aires, limes are a scarcity. So. I put in lime and I add a little bit of fish sauce for that salty flavor. It’s simple and very creamy because you just put all the ingredients in a little jar and shake up, except the cheese, and when you’re ready to serve, just pour it over the lettuce.
CAESAR SALAD MY WAY
Serves 4 to 6
1/4 teaspoon each coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2 tablespoons good quality white wine vinegar (preferably aged Italian)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 large crushed and minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped widthwise into 1-inch ribbons, or leaves left whole
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
1 cup croutons
Mix all ingredients up to the lettuce in a jar and set aside. You may refrigerate the dressing briefly.
Place the romaine lettuce on a large platter and toss with Parmigiano. Top with croutons. Shake jar of dressing and toss it with the salad. Serve immediately, passing extra pepper and cheese if desired.
ROTINI WITH ’NDUJA AND CHERRY TOMATOES
Serves roughly 6 as a first course and 4 as a main course
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
3 ounces ’nduja (removed from casing, if any)*
1/4 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
Coarse or kosher salt to taste
1 pound rotini or other pasta of choice
Chopped parsley for serving
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and shallots and cook until golden, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ’nduja to mixture, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and stir until melted. Stir in tomatoes and salt and continue cooking until tomatoes begin to break down, about another 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, just to keep sauce heated while pasta cooks.
While the sauce is cooking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and reserve about 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta to sauce and stir, adding some reserved pasta water if mixture is too dry. Top with chopped parsley and serve.
*If not available locally, you can order online from Boccalone or Underground Food Collective of Wisconsin.
Recipes courtesy Rob Chirico, “Not My Mother’s Kitchen.”
“Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes” (Imagine! Publishing) is 24.95, hardcover.
Rob Chirico is an artist and the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails (Quirk Books/Random House October 2005), which is in its third printing and has sold over 25,000 copies, plus it has been translated into Polish. His novel, Onward Kitchen Soldiers, which is a humorous take on food media, publishing, and public relations, was published in April 2014 as an e-book with Untreed Reads. His novels Vermeer Tango and Art in the Blood are also available as eBooks on Amazon. He has also written two books on martinis and cigars (Martini Madness and Up in Smoke), and has published articles in the food journal Gastronomica. His non-fiction book, Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in America was published by Pitchstone Press in 2014. His cookbook/memoir Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes will be published later this year.
QUOTED: "Approachable recipes and fun facts make this an entertaining read."
Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes
263.27 (July 4, 2016): p58.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes
Rob Chirico. Imagine, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 978-1-62354-501-7
Chirico (Field Guide to Cocktails) delivers a title that is equal portions humorous memoir and cookbook, and totally entertaining. Comically referring to his mother as an assassin in the kitchen and to his quest to conquer the cuisine of his heritage as a measure of self-preservation, he shares his trials and tribulations from starting as a picky eater in a home where cooking didn't exist to becoming a passionate cook and food professional. His love of Italian food was ignited during a trip to Italy, where he discovered how the locals truly ate. Recipes include long-simmered summer tomato sauce; spring risotto with gorgonzola, ramps, and cherry tomatoes; and cacio e pepe. Along with these Italian favorites, there are some atypical recipes such as baked stuffed tomatoes and lamb ragu. Chirico also provides historical and informative details on ingredients and recipe lineage. Approachable recipes and fun facts make this an entertaining read. Illustrations. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes." Publishers Weekly, 4 July 2016, p. 58. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA457302936&it=r&asid=22aab3b04ac23ea4d28677a03ca8e9f2. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
QUOTED: "The major strength of the book is Chirico's voracious amassing of detail to support his discussion."
Gale Document Number: GALE|A457302936
Chirico, Rob. Damn!: a cultural history of swearing in modern America
E.L. Battistella
52.8 (Apr. 2015): p1308.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
Chirico, Rob. Damn!: a cultural history of swearing in modern America. Pitchstone Publishing, 2014. 183p Index afp ISBN 9781939578204 pbk, $14.95
52-4043
PE3724
CIP
In nine brief chapters and a lengthy introduction, Chirico surveys the so-called dirty words of English, with the aim of getting readers to recognize their complexity. The title word plays a relatively small role in the work; Chirico focuses mainly on the word sometimes minced as "fug," "fud," "flip," "feck," or "fudge," along with various other expletives and epithets. The author takes the reader from Lenny Bruce and George Carlin to recent FCC cases and back in history to Anthony Comstock, Gone with the Wind, and Lady Chatterley's Lover. The major strength of the book is Chirico's voracious amassing of detail to support his discussion--including popular culture (news, politics, film, and television), the military, music, journalism, literature, and children's language, among other topics. He also draws on relevant scholarship--from H. L. Mencken to Melissa Mohr--and both celebrates and interrogates the English cursing vocabulary. This reviewer's major frustration with the book is the exposition, which suffers from sudden changes of topic and the author's penchant for ending discussions with humorous asides rather than specific conclusions. This book is best suited to recreational reading. Summing Up: * Optional. General readers.--E. L. Battistella, Southern Oregon University
Battistella, E.L.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Battistella, E.L. "Chirico, Rob. Damn!: a cultural history of swearing in modern America." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Apr. 2015, p. 1308. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA416401825&it=r&asid=6487847fbd111a8d61d46e2d88f4a39c. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
QUOTED: "a compelling and informative read from beginning to end, and offers a wealth of culinary inspiration."
Gale Document Number: GALE|A416401825
Not My Mother's Kitchen
(Jan. 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Not My Mother's Kitchen
Rob Chirico
Imagine Publishing
c/o Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472
www.imaginebks.com
9781623545017, $24.95, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com
Rob Chirico is a freelance writer and artist whose work has appeared in the food journal Gastronomica. Rob first learned to cook as a defense against his Italian-American mother's awful meals. After discovering that there was more to real food than canned ravioli and frozen vegetables, he decided to try his hand in the kitchen. "Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes" is his personal memoir and presents recipes, cooking techniques, and tips that he has cultivated over the decades. Blendin expert kitchen-based experience with an engaging and humorous narrative on growing up with suspect meals, "Not My Mother's Kitchen" is a compelling and informative read from beginning to end, and offers a wealth of culinary inspiration for menu planning with dishes that range from Frittata with Grape Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Prosciutto; to Pears Stuffed with Gorgonzola; to Twice-Cooked Green Beans and Potatoes with Tomato Sauce; to Meatloaf with Wild Mushrooms, and so many more! Also available in a Kindle format ($11.99), "Not My Mother's Kitchen" will prove to be an enduringly popular and unusual addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Not My Mother's Kitchen." Internet Bookwatch, Jan. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479869374&it=r&asid=e4093308eca75ee2592d3591e893fe56. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
QUOTED: "a wealth of facts and tidbits about Italian food."
"This will appeal to readers who enjoy chef biographies."
Gale Document Number: GALE|A479869374
Chirico, Rob. Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes
Phillip Oliver
(June 10, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Chirico, Rob. Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes. Imagine! Charlesbridge. Sept. 2016. 240p. photos. index. ISBN 9781623545017. $24.95. COOKING
Award-winning chef Chirico's (Field Guide to Cocktails) humorous culinary memoir recounts his love of Italian food that developed as a reprisal against his mother's dreadful cooking. Growing up in an affectionate Italian family, Chirico's home life was filled with laughter and music, but his dinners often consisted of canned and frozen foods and perhaps some cold cuts from the local deli. His grandmother, however, was an accomplished cook, and as the author accompanied her to their local markets, he developed both an admiration for good cooking as well as the ability to discern the excellent vs. average characteristics of ingredients. Chirico shares more than 70 recipes, including soups, salads, pastas, meat dishes, and pizza. Each recipe is prefaced with an introduction that includes a family anecdote or compelling facts about a particular item. Most of the recipes are uncomplicated and include easy-to-find ingredients (for the occasional rare product, a mail-order source list is included). Appendixes feature the author's favorite kitchen utensils as well as cookbooks he deems influential.
Verdict Filled with nostalgic stories, delicious recipes, and a wealth of facts and tidbits about Italian food, this will appeal to readers who enjoy chef biographies.--Phillip Oliver, Vancouver Community Lib., WA
Oliver, Phillip
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Oliver, Phillip. "Chirico, Rob. Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes." Xpress Reviews, 10 June 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456480757&it=r&asid=0c4359129360b7c0e532cb16b81c4f91. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A456480757
QUOTED: "The recipes in Not My Mother’s Kitchen are a nice blend of nonni-style Italian cooking and the modern American take on Mediterranean rustic cuisine. The instructions are simple and clear and Chirico doesn’t overcomplicate his dishes with too many ingredients or finicky prep."
Review: Not My Mother’s Kitchen, a cookbook by Rob Chirico
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» Review: Not My Mother’s Kitchen, a cookbook by Rob Chirico
By Kristin Palpini
In the world of food, there is nothing more contentious than “traditional” Italian cooking — everyone with an ounce of olive oil in their veins thinks their family recipes are Old World classics.
This is, in part, because Italian nonni rarely write down how to prepare their dishes — as if it is assumed Italians are born with an innate ability to make a proper risotto.
There is no definitive way to make a particular Italian dish — or Italian-American dish — there’s just your family’s way. This is Rob Chirico’s refreshing approach to classical Italian cooking in his new memoir/cookbook Not My Mother’s Kitchen. Chirico, who lives in Western Mass, has been working in kitchens and perfecting his talents ever since he was a boy — and he needed a way to defend himself against his mother’s truly terrible cooking (his words, not mine). Chirico’s anecdotes about growing up in a diverse section of Queens and spending time in the kitchen with his nonna and the his friends’ mothers are a fun narrative that runs throughout the recipe guide, which also includes historical notes about food. He’s deft with descriptions and bringing the reader into his world: “I sometimes look back and wonder if my passion for good food was born out of self-defense: a defense against malformed, nearly cremated hamburgers; frozen and canned vegetables overcooked to the point that you could practically use straw to ingest them; and, of course, so-called Italian food that was about as authentic as UFOs and Elvis sightings. Cacio e Pepe and Raw Summer Puttanesca were a long way off.”
And how about those entrees that Chirico would spend years perfecting?
The recipes in Not My Mother’s Kitchen are a nice blend of nonni-style Italian cooking and the modern American take on Mediterranean rustic cuisine. The instructions are simple and clear and Chirico doesn’t overcomplicate his dishes with too many ingredients or finicky prep. There are many recipes in this book for people who want to cook Italian food on a weeknight. Have a napkin handy when you’re reading recipes for Gorgonzola Sauce, Spicy Raw Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Basil, Timpano, Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Fried Zucchini Slices, Raw Summer Puttanesca, and Carbonara — your mouth will water.
As someone who takes pride in her Italian heritage, I don’t agree with all of Chirico’s recipes. In his pasta dough, for example, Chirico uses only eggs and semolina. Most Italians will agree, or concede, that this is the traditional way to make pasta, but it’s not the best way. A blend of semolina and flour with a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and eggs produces the tastiest — and easiest to work with — dough.
Being able to disagree with recipes and debate their merit is, of course, a hallmark of any decent Italian cookbook. And Chirico’s Not My Mother’s Kitchen is sure to spark these conversations — and produce food that will satisfy even the most traditional Italian tastebuds.
— Kristin Palpini, editor@valleyadvocate.com
QUOTED: "This book could be a bit corny at times, but its in-depth look at various factors involved in swearing and its non/acceptance in our society is fascinating."
"Anyone with a mouth towards the vulgar will appreciate the comprehensiveness of Chirico's handling of the topic."
Bookshots: 'Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America' by Rob Chirico
Review by Brian McGackin December 2, 2014 2 comments
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Bookshots Etymology Non-Fiction Review Rob Chirico
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Bookshots: 'Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America' by Rob Chiri
Bookshots: Pumping new life into the corpse of the book review
Title:
Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America
Who wrote it?
Spoiler alert: there's really no difference between screaming "shoot" and "shit" when stubbing a toe, at least to your brain
Rob Chirico, artist and author of several books, including Field Guide to Cocktails.
Plot in a box:
Non-fiction works aiming to investigate the historical underpinnings of society's obsession with bad words thankfully don't come with plots.
Invent a new title for this book:
What the Shit? Why We Curse All the Fucking Time
Read this if you liked:
Coming up with creative ways to dump on your friends when you were younger; brooding in timeout after your hypocrite parents washed your mouth out with soap when you were younger; cursing: any time, anywhere.
Meet the book's lead(s):
Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.
Said lead(s) would be portrayed in a movie by:
George Carlin
Setting: Would you want to live there?
Oh, I've been living in this filthy world for years, believe me.
What was your favorite sentence?
Literally or figuratively, words cannot stand alone; they can only be fully understood in relation to the message they are meant to convey. In that respect the context in which language is spoken determines the comprehension and reaction of the listener. Is our choice of graphic expletives just a means of being descriptive, or is it an expression for establishing and possibly rationalizing our personal identities in the real world around us? On a more basic level, have we assimilated the F-bomb into our vocabulary just because it sounds so damned good?
The Verdict:
Everybody curses. Parents curse. Pastors curse. Presidents curses. Everyone expresses anger or frustration or joy or sorrow vocally, often using a few choice words to color their response. Damn! takes a look at why we all curse, how certain words became so prevalent in the English language, and the various ways that people curse even when they think they're being clean (spoiler alert: there's really no difference between screaming "shoot" and "shit" when stubbing a toe, at least to your brain).
This book could be a bit corny at times, but its in-depth look at various factors involved in swearing and its non/acceptance in our society is fascinating. Each chapter approaches the concept from a specific angle, from the psychological necessity of cursing in a war zone to the rebellious nature of the evolution of women's use of dirty language to the emotional relationship that swearing has to crying, one being more and more acceptable than the other as a person ages. It's a fairly straightforward read, so it isn't going to mightily impress someone who isn't already interested in learning about so-called "filthy language," but on the flip side, anyone with a mouth towards the vulgar will appreciate the comprehensiveness of Chirico's handling of the topic. There are humorous anecdotes and running jokes and dirty stories all thrown in with the bawdy history lesson. The word "fuck" is given special attention, looked at from as many angles as it has functions in today's world.
There really are no surprises here. If you clinked on the link to read this review, you're probably the exact type of person who would enjoy this book. What the fuck are you waiting for? It could also work as a great gift for some vulgar dickhead, shit stain, or bastard in your life.
QUOTED: "The book overgeneralizes a bit."
"Singular they and plural nouns would have helped avoid the objectionable generic he and the awkward likes of ‘to retain his or her individuality while having his or her say’. Some misspellings and grammatical lapses (fucking in ‘Stop fucking around’ is not a gerund) likewise distract."
"Minor missteps aside, Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America is a bloody entertaining contribution to the literature on swearing, and finishes nicely with a brief account of the birdie. It is likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys strong language (and Strong Language)."
Book review: ‘Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America’, by Rob Chirico
February 23, 2015Stan Carey
Swearing and the public have an intimate but uneasy relationship. Eric Partridge bowdlerised fuck with an asterisk in his landmark Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, but the book was still censured fiercely for the word’s inclusion. The explosive power of the F-bomb is encoded in that very term, which along with other euphemisms allows it to be discussed in public without tainting one’s hands or mouth.
Rob Chirico - Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America - Pitchstone Publishing book coverRob Chirico’s new book Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America casts a wry and probing eye on the colourful status of off-colour language in American culture over the last century or so, with a few forays further back and further afield. The US, he writes, is undergoing ‘a linguistic, and therefore cultural, shift that is passively opening up to an amplified inclusion of profanity’. This provides the backdrop for a lively examination of the terrain and our divergent attitudes towards swearing.
Fuck is given particular attention, treated with enthusiasm bordering on outright admiration for its remarkable versatility and variety of deployment: ‘Just the number of uses that are humorous indicates that we have attempted to throw all of our inherited guilt over the four-letter word to the four winds.’ Chirico wonders if we have ‘assimilated the F-bomb into our vocabulary just because it sounds so damned good?’ I know I have, though it’s not the only reason.
There are ample facts to engage the trivia-minded. The first fuck in mainstream American cinema (M*A*S*H, 1970) was preceded by Britain’s in 1967, spoken by Marianne Faithful in the lesser-known I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname (not What’s’name, as the book has it). The author examines swearing by Oscar winners, presidents, and other public figures, in each case describing the context and analysing the use. There are jokes too, such as the one about the twin boys who grew up ‘swearing like sailors’:
The language was once cute, but then it was obviously becoming quite exasperating. The mother mentioned this to the father, and the latter said that he would correct the problem. At dinner the first twin asked, “Hey, pop, please pass the fuckin’ potatoes.” With that, the father rose from his chair and walloped the kid. Turning to the other twin, he inquired, “And what do you want?” To this the boy nervously replied, “I don’t know what I want, but I know I don’t want those fuckin’ potatoes.”
Speaking of which, the reactionary think-of-the-children argument doesn’t square against what we know of kids’ awareness of ‘bad’ language. An anecdote from Chirico’s childhood, in which he hears his uncle release a sudden, shocking tirade in a road rage incident, neatly captures the self-censoring stalemate we impose on ourselves in shielding children from exposure to swearing: ‘just as we kids were holding our tongues in front of our elders, they were likewise holding their tongues in front of us’.
Newspapers are a perennial ground for this debate. Broadsheets need not liberally document gratuitous swears, but there’s a strong case for printing them matter-of-factly when they’re part of the news. Genteel substitutes can be obscure and make the publisher seem timid and out of date. They can also end up sounding ruder than the swear: when George W. Bush described someone as an ‘asshole’, the Washington Times called it ‘a vulgar euphemism for a rectal aperture’. Yikes. Damn! sides firmly with the free expression camp but supplies level-headed commentary on the conflict, as well as on the role and influence of assorted censors and activists.
Chirico is mindful of the three broad domains of swearing described by linguist Ruth Wajnryb: catharsis, aggression, and social connection, finding the act ‘a source of expedient release for a multitude of the most diverse emotions’. He teases out the differences between profanity, obscenity, blasphemy and vulgarity, and offers an illuminating chapter on swearing in wartime, including a note on the disconnect between the reality and its watered down depiction in TV and film, at least until relatively recently:
General George Patton was both famous and infamous for his swearing. The speech he made to his soldiers before they went into battle on D-Day was riddled with his unique style of profanity: “Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Someday I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, ‘Jesus Christ, it’s the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton.’” The George C. Scott film of 1970 retained some of the “shit” and “God-damns” in the speech that opened Patton, but the oration was clearly sanitized for public viewing.
The book overgeneralises a bit. Chirico rightly points out ‘the limitation of “cunt’s” flexibility’ but overreaches in saying it’s ‘used exclusively as a noun’, and in claiming women don’t use it except in extreme cases. His assertion that ‘Europeans would never swear at an inanimate object’ is, frankly, bollocks. [Edit: The foregoing complaint is in error, for which I apologise: the author’s point concerns the use of fuck in English compared to its analogues in other languages.] Singular they and plural nouns would have helped avoid the objectionable generic he and the awkward likes of ‘to retain his or her individuality while having his or her say’. Some misspellings and grammatical lapses (fucking in ‘Stop fucking around’ is not a gerund) likewise distract.
Minor missteps aside, Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America is a bloody entertaining contribution to the literature on swearing, and finishes nicely with a brief account of the birdie. It is likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys strong language (and Strong Language) and is available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon. There’s more information at Pitchstone Publishing, who kindly sent me a copy for review.
QUOTED: "he gives the impression that because his mother did not enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen, that he holds her in disdain. Chirico does not seem to be able to embrace the fact that we are all built differently, with different tastes, likes, dislikes and attitudes."
"He made his mother seem very one dimensional and left you feeling that he felt that, somehow, his mother should have shown her love for him through food regardless of the other ways she showed him her love and concern."
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Not my Mother's Kitchen: A Book Review with Recipe
Shortly after I moved into the new house, I received a package from Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. I opened the package and found the book Not my Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico. I sent Cam a private message asking if I had won this book from Foodies Read to which we both belong. Cam responded saying that when she had reviewed the book on Foodies Read, I had mentioned that it sounded interesting, so she sent it to me. That is just the kind of person Cam is and I was blessed to get to meet her in person last week when I was in California.
Image result for not my mother's kitchen
Cam gave the narrative of this book 1 star out of 5 while giving the recipes 4.5 stars out of 5. While I didn't dislike the narrative as much as Cam, I wouldn't rate it much higher. You can find Cam's complete review here. My main problem with Chirico's story is that he gives the impression that because his mother did not enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen, that he holds her in disdain. Chirico does not seem to be able to embrace the fact that we are all built differently, with different tastes, likes, dislikes and attitudes.
I could easily say, as Chirico did, that my mother was not much of a cook. But that would be only part of my mother's story. You see, by the time I came along, my mother had already been married for 21 years and had spent 17 of those years raising my brothers. Now, if you were to ask my brothers, they remember Mom as a wonderful cook and a woman who spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
I was born in 1958, during the advent of Campbell's soup casseroles and frozen dinners. My mother was working outside of the home and took great advantage of being released from the kitchen by using all the new, prepared foods that were available. Mom would still cook occasionally but for the most part we had quick meals made using all the modern convenience foods.
My sister was born 6 years after me. Her childhood food memories are mostly of eating out at restaurants. My parents financial situation was much more comfortable than before and they enjoyed going out and being served instead of serving.
All this as just some background as to why Chirico's story struck a nerve with me. He made his mother seem very one dimensional and left you feeling that he felt that, somehow, his mother should have shown her love for him through food regardless of the other ways she showed him her love and concern.
I had also just finished reading Stir by Jessica Fechtor, who in a complete 180 from Chirico, talked of how she felt the love and warmth of her grandmother through food even though she could never remember her grandmother cooking anything. Fechtor learned from her grandmother that buying and providing the very best that she could was how she showed her love and affection to her family.
In Not my Mother's Kitchen, Chirico states he had never had garden fresh vegetables while growing up. I was lucky enough that my parents had a garden and summers were filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. One thing that Chirico and I did have in common, however, was that certain vegetables were never even thought of or looked at in our house. The only greens I can remember as a child was spinach and that came from a can. My mom, like many of her generation served us canned veggies at every meal. The were mushy and flavorless and I thought that was what vegetables tasted like until I got out on my own, started cooking and experimenting and discovered that while I had thought I hated vegetables (except for tomatoes, cukes and peppers) I actually loved them....they just hadn't been cooked properly for my taste.
The recipe I chose to showcase from this book is Sauteed Tuscan Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts. One of the things with which I do agree with Chirico is that food is best simply prepared to allow it's natural goodness to shine. This was a perfect recipe to bring out the earthy, bright flavors of the kale.
As a gentle slap to Chirico I put in a clove of garlic minced instead of a measurement. This drives him crazy because garlic cloves come in all different sizes....I am of the mind that if you are cooking this dish, you know exactly how much garlic you like and will pick the size of clove accordingly.
Linking up with FoodiesRead2017
Sauteed Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts
slightly adapted from Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico
1 bunch Tuscan (flat leaf) Kale
3 T. pine nuts, toasted
2 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of crushed red pepper
drizzle of Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Stem the kale and wash the leaves shaking them to remove most but not all of the water clinging to the leaves. Cut the leaves into ribbons. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over med high heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper, cook and stir for a moment or two until fragrant and lightly browned. Add the kale and stir to coat with the olive oil mixture. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender. Uncover, raise heat to med high and allow any liquid to evaporate. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar while still on heat and toss to coat. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired and turn into a serving bowl topped with the toasted pine nuts. Print Recipe
QUOTED: "
Everyone would have been better served if Chirico ... withheld the personal anecdotes which were supposed to be humorous but often missed the mark."
Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico Amazon.com order for Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico
Order: USA Can
Charlesbridge, 2016 (2016)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * Reviewed by Bob Walch
The memoir part of this volume is passable at best. It provides the glue that holds the culinary parts together and provides a break between the seventy plus recipes that make up this Italian cookbook. Personally, I would have rather just had the recipes and skipped the anecdotes about the author's family and childhood.
Focusing on why most people might consider purchasing this book, there are sections on sauces and stock, soups, salads, sides and so forth, pasta, pizza, and meat dishes.
Some of the more interesting recipes that the adventurous cook may wish to try include Spaghetti con Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino; Meatloaf with Wild Mushrooms; Florentine Griller Steak; or a Griller Sausage and Pepper and Penne Salad.
Unlike so many Italian chefs, Rob Chirico grew up in a household where his mother was an assassin in the kitchen when it came to preparing ethnic meals. 'Enjoying Italian food at home was a rarity,' he explains in the book's introduction, but somehow he managed to learn to become an award winning chef. That's all well and good but not information we really need foisted on us in great detail throughout the book.
Everyone would have been better served if Chirico had just provided the recipes and withheld the personal anecdotes which were supposed to be humorous but often missed the mark!