Other stuff

The cheese saga begins

November 29, 2007 By Carl Leave a Comment

This pecorino has a past.

In the late ’60s, Uncle Al, hoping that he could tame the odor, wrapped and rewrapped several round slabs Poppy had requested and stuffed them in a bag. The cheese went through Customs safely. His clothes that shared the bag, however, had to be thrown out. No matter how many times they were washed, the smell wouldn’t go away.

But to some, the pain is worth the gain. In 2000, Uncle Bruno and JoAnn devoured the portion of the thick cheese pie Poppy gave them as a gift from his last visit to Sant’Andrea. The cheese, which is made by a goat herder, or pecoraro, near Sant’Andrea, was shared equally between Uncle Bru, Aunt Vera and Dad.

“The cheese was gone in two days,” recalled Uncle Bruno, who tried to hide his infatuation with the formaggio by sneaking some upstairs to munch on. But the smell of the cheese, of uncleaned feet, gave him away, and JoAnn caught him in the act.

We had no choice but to bring at least one pie back to Poppy from this trip. And by the second day, he called three times to remind us.

So we Uncle Bru set up a visit for the next day with Nino, Nanny’s second cousin from her mother’s side. Nino was supposed to have the cheese ready.

We thought it would be easy. It turned out to be an adventure.

Filed Under: Sant'Andrea Trip, The Cheese Saga Tagged With: Chee, Nino, Other stuff, Uncle Bruno

On the road to Serra San Bruno

November 24, 2007 By Carl Leave a Comment

The last time Uncle Bruno visited Sant’Andrea, the trip up the mountains to the old monastery in Serra San Bruno took more than 3 hours. There was no paved road — only a bumpy dirt path better suited for dune buggies than toy cars. Must have been lots of fun with Poppy in the car.

Nowadays, the trip takes about 25 minutes — if you don’t get lost like we did. One wrong turn and you could wind up far away real fast. We stopped an old lady who was scrunched in her hatchback to avoid the large tree branches see was carrying to a mountaintop village. Surprisingly (kidding here), she wore a black dress and black scarf. The branches reached from her dashboard to several feet out the back of her open trunk. Lumberjacks in the area leave leftovers on the side of the road as fuel for locals to fire up their chimneys.

Uncle Albert regularly visits the this area of the mountains to forage for wild mushrooms. (For the record, I tasted several. I didn’t know the pasta was going to be filled with them, and I couldn’t turn them down. I think it’s testament to Uncle Al’s cooking skills or the land’s special cultivating ability, or both, that I kept them down. Don’t anyone get any ideas!)

Filed Under: Sant'Andrea Trip Tagged With: Other stuff, Serra San Bruno, Uncle Al, Uncle Bruno

They thought we were crazy

November 22, 2007 By Carl 1 Comment

We didn’t see why everyone made such a fuss, but Uncle Bruno and I thought the 70-degree weather was perfect for a dip in the sea. In Sant’andrea, going into the water in November is pure lunacy.

Nino, who took us to the marina after a 3-hour excursion in hunt for the cheese, called us “sick.” Or at least that’s what I think that’s what he said.

I’ve been called worse.

Filed Under: Sant'Andrea Trip Tagged With: Ionian Sea, Marina, Other stuff, Sant'Andrea, Uncle Bruno

A mix of pix

November 21, 2007 By Carl Leave a Comment

From vistas to local stuff.

Filed Under: Sant'Andrea Trip Tagged With: Ionian Sea, Marina, Other stuff, Sant'Andrea, Uncle Al, Uncle Bruno

We made it to Rome!

November 20, 2007 By Carl 1 Comment

We’re in a hotel about 2 blocks away from Rome — we got in at around 11 last night after about 10 hours on the road [again]. Sant’Andrea was simply amazing. I put virtually all of the pictures from the town on the lap top I borrowed from Jackie, so here are a few I took yesterday.

MIA CUGINA: Daniela, Zia Nuzza and Zio Al were phemonenally gracious hosts for 5 days in Sant’Andrea. Daniela essentially runs the town using her quick wit and infectious sense of humor.

PECORINO DEGLI PECORARI: This guy, it turns out, was the most important person we met in Calabria. He’s Mimo Pirritano, the goat herder, whose family has been making cheese for more than 200 years. Everything we did this week revolved around when we could get the cheese for my grandfather. MUCH more on this later.

Nino Lijoi, a cousin of my grandfather, took us on a couple of, um, interesting adventures. He took us just about everywhere in the Sant’Andrea area, whether we wanted him to or not.
Nino, who built a huge house in Isca, a neighboring town, all by himself, has a thick Andreolesi accent. Thank God Uncle Bruno knew what he was saying. All I understood was “Frine, veini qua!” That’s when he called for his dog.