We hope you guys enjoy meeting our family and seeing a day in the life here! There's a food adventure around every corner 😋 What's a dish or meal that totally surprised you and changed your outlook on food?
I hated tomatoes growing up in the US. Then I studied in Italy in college. That’s when I had a Italian tomato for the first time. I was shocked at how good they could be. I’ve eaten tomatoes ever since. Except the ones in the US are still never as good as the ones in Italy.
The ragù lasagna in Casa Surace's lasagna video! Like this video, I never knew feeding 20 people could be as simple as throwing meat into a giagante pot!
@@ragazzotexano I know what you mean. My father used to grow tomatoes when he lived in Kula, way up on the side of Haleakala about 3,500 or 4,000 feet up on Maui. Best freaking tomatoes I've ever had by far. Volcanic soil, too, kinda like San Marzano growing condition I suppose.
This video makes me want to go there and spend time watching and learning the traditions and how much family means to each other. Thank you for sharing.
Cuts of meat I never had in my youth, for example pork trotters, beef tongue, and cheeks. Sweetbreads and brains as well. Steamed meat such as pork shoulder (Korean bossam). And mutton. Ate lamb often as a child, but never saw mutton in the shops and on the table. It's tastier than lamb. In the era of 30- to 60-minute meals, many dishes that require hours of cooking have fallen by the wayside.
As a Calabrian American this video brought a tear to my eyes. I loved that you took the ultimate lesson from the experience. There is no poverty where there is love😢
My maternal grandmother and grandfather came from Calabria. They had 13 living children. Three died. I was adopted by the youngest daughter. She was the second youngest of the 13 children. When I came into the family I was three days old and had an uncle in his later 70’s. I loved being in a big family. I learned to cook big from my mother. We had crowds at grandma’s house every weekend. I miss them so much. I was lucky to have them as my family. Thank You Jesus Christ.
I am a 70 year old African American, I live in Pittsburgh PA USA, however my parents are from Alabama, where whole hog cooking was very common. I would have been very happy with that meal.
That’s one of the things I loved about my German heritage. We have a similar tradition and the same thought about using every bit of an animal that has been sacrificed for our nourishment. NOTHING goes to waste. That’s soooo important!
I am a chef and traveled around Italy quite a bit last year and my number one observation was that their regional dishes start with humble beginnings but you wouldn’t hesitate to serve it to kings. Wonderful to see you and your family eating like kings!
^^ you wrote something that is historically true; the nobility had personal chefs but these, some famous such as the "Scalco" Cristoforo da Messisbugo of the Estense court; but above all they were used for important representatives. The cuisine of daily meals, even for nobles, had peasant roots (obviously with higher quality ingredients; see for example the history of Carabaccia, the ancestor of the French soup d'onions ^^
I am first born in the United States. My family comes from a small Sicilian village called Funari. I totally get what you are feeling when you experience these old Italian or Sicilian traditions. We used to get together at my Grandmothers house every Sunday without failure. Enjoy these moments to the fullest extent possible, because what I have discovered is that as the family ages, these moments begin to fade away. I wish I could go back in time. Thanks to people like Eva and others around the web, I have been able to reproduce some of what I grew up with. I make my own Italian sausage now, which I used to watch my Grandmother make in her kitchen. I make my own salami, which I used to see hanging by rope in the Italian Deli on the North Side of Syracuse, NY. I have learned to make my own Capocollo, and I have learned to can and ferment many foods. I have also cured my own olives. We still get together for the feast of the seven fishes when we can. And the family still makes the Cod Fish from Norway, which Eva could show me how to make. You know the one, Eva...it looks like a little baseball bat. We used to hit our heads on these as they hung from the ceiling in our basement as children. I have one hanging from my ceiling right now as I write this. I never could figure out how to pronounce it. It always sounded like Vicious Stalk when my mother said it. I never learned how to make this correctly. I also have struggled to make the kind of Italian bread I grew up with in NY, but because of Eva, I am close to making a great Ciabatta bread. Anyway, thanks Eva. And, thanks Harper for sharing such a lovely and generous woman with all of us...
The dried fish you are referring to is called ‘stoccofisso’ in Italian. It is an adaptation of ‘ stick fish’ into Italian. The air dried cod fish becomes so hard as to adopt wood like looks and properties. The preserved fish was widely used in Sicilian cooking in pre refrigeration days, as it kept indefinitely. The same fish (cod) air dried and exported by the Norwegians, was caught filleted and salted to preserve it by the Portuguese. This variety is called ‘baccala’ in Italian, and is prominent in Portuguese cuisine and southern Europe generally. You will find many recipes online by plugging in the key words ‘stoccofisso or baccala’.
@@orlando5849 Hi Orlando. Thanks for the reply. I have seen what you said, Stoccofisso and I have seen Pesce Stocco. I think my mother might have called it Pesce Stocco, which if it was said fast could have sounded like Vicious Stalk to me, but I can't be certain...
lovely memories..... my daughter moved to Syracuse 2 years ago..... and absolutely loves it there...... we aren't Italian (maybe the only Americans who aren't) so she has brought her NoCal cooking heritage there (and, so far she's a culinary hit with her friends!).... but she would really love to learn how to cook/prepare these authentic foods!
Okay, and when will you share these traditions with your own kids? You did not talk about kids in your novel comment. So I guess after you died, the traditions will fade away very soon. When will it be? In 20 years? In 40 years? Start a family!
Am I the only one who sees those loafs scraped out of the pot at the end as the start of an incredible pasta sauce? Chicharon style pasta? 1.) Heat up 2 cups of that pork in a skillet until the fat melts and the pork is crackling. Set pork aside to use as condiment for finished dish. 2.) Saute aromatics of your choice (onion, garlic, shallots) in the fat. Add chopped vegetables of your choice. I'd be thinking lots of mushrooms 🍄 3.) Once the veggies and aromatics have released their fluids, add tomato passata and probably wine. Cook low and slow. 4.) Serve with pasta that Eva would approve of (based on the texture of the sauce, no?). Garnish with pork crackling, fresh herbs and grated Italian dry cheese. What do you think? Would you try this?
I love that Eva's family also has the "kiddie table" where the younger generations sit together and the elders at another table. My Calabrian family does the same. 🇮🇹♥️
I’m so happy these traditions still exist. 1) it keeps the culture alive, 2) teaches new generations about the importance of frugality and how to reduce unnecessary waste to a minimum, 3) gives a reason/excuse for socializing and relationship buildings, and 4) allows you to enjoy the best of foods in the best of companies: simple, delicious food with family, friends and loved ones.
My family is sicilian. I grew up and live in southeast Louisiana. Down here the Cajuns and for that fact a lot of non Cajuns will throw family and community parties called cochon de lait (cooshawn duh lay). The phrase they use is, from the rooter to the tooter. They make something out of every single part of the pig and the atmosphere is raucous rollicking. Lots of singing and drinking. Love it
Hello neighbor!! I grew up in lafourche Parrish… in bayou blue! I miss those times with family and friends. Not many people now a days say they had a good childhood but I did. We were not rich by any means, in fact my dad worked several jobs at once to put food on the table, but with the love of family, friends and food…..that’s what I believe makes us rich. Good bless❤️
You beat this CAJUN with your comment I was about to post that Cajuns use every part of the cow , pig etc. hood on you to enjoy my area of Louisiana which is the heart of Acadiana .. Lafayette!!
This was a bittersweet video for me. It reminds me of all of the family Sunday dinners my extended family shared every Sunday at my grandmothers house. The adults had their table, and the kids would share their own. My grandma would make her delicious Sunday "gravy" with meatballs, sausage and beef. We'd eat fresh antipasti and Sicilian bread. For dessert, the adults would drink coffee and someone would break out the cannoli and Italian cookies from the local bakery. My siblings, cousins, and I would all play together while the adults socialized. My grandparents have long passed, and many of my extended family members moved away from the neighborhood, all the kids started families of their own, and only see each other all together at large family parties. I miss those dinners more than anything.
I live in senior housing in the footprint of Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, and we have a rooftop community room and kitchen adjacent to a rooftop patio with barbecue facilities. Many of us have few or no nearby family members, so we have started creating a coming-together event once a month where we all prepare something from our own family tradition, and combine it all ecclectically to create a new tradition. Yum!
Not everyone is fortunately to be Italian. I'm an FBI (Full Blooded Italian) first generation on both sides. This Sunday and holiday dinners were absolutely wonderful. We would sit down to eat lunch around 12:30 and talk the day away sitting at he table thru dinner and beyond. Great memories.
I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVED this video. It reminded me of what my visits to my beloved hometown of Licata would be like each summer when I was younger. It was wonderful seeing the bonding over family traditions, hearing the side conversations, the AMAZING and delicious Italian food, and especially how they changed your name completely to Peppe! Once you inherit an Italian name, you know you’re part of the family ❤
I just want to say I love the variety of video formats Pasta Grammar does. The videos focusing on a star ingredient, the videos focusing on a particular region or city, and these documentary style videos
All of your videos are great but this one is possibly the best. Gianni is the favourite Uncle we all remember... And he has a proper phone :) Every time you film live in Italy we get to see and appreciate more of their culture; meeting more of Ava's family is a definite bonus. Also, I've learnt more Italian language over the last two years due entirely to you two. Thank you.
Oh, my God! This looks like so much fun, Harper . . . I mean Peppe! You're so fortunate to have this family as your own! You've been blessed beyond measure ! ! !
This video alone would deserve a Golden Globe (when are they creating a YT category????). As an Italian descendant living in Brazil, I really want to thank you both, for allowing me such a deep dive into my Italian roots. Love you, guys. ❤ ❤❤❤❤❤
As I was growing up 50 or so years ago, my Franco-American mother would often make use of every leftover she could possibly find. Money was tight, and we couldn't waste anything. At that time, I almost resented having to eat 'poor' food. Little did I know that the 'rich' food I ate when visiting friends was just as much a treat to my friends as they were to me. Zip forward to the present...now, I find myself intentionally cooking those old, poor meals, and as I enjoy eating them, memories of some incredible moments with our very large family gathered around eating and socializing come forward, and I thank my now departed mother for being so patient with me. Those 'poor' meals with my family were, and still are, the best.
I'm a Calabrian American and I grew up eating a much scaled down version of this-we use various cuts of pork cooked for hours with cabbage, escarole, pepperoni (diced) and garnished with cubes of aged provolone. Definitely food for a crowd!
Your best video yet! Thank you! I am always trying and failing to explain to people (mainly Brits) how simple the best Italian food is. And how Italians delight in that simplicity. You totally nailed it here, especially in your closing words about it not being seen as a hardship but a celebration. In this one video you achieve what a thousand Italian cookery books have failed to do, which is not just show us real Italian food but to successfully convey the joy and sense of occasion that goes with it. Please keep doing this. You are more important than you know.
It's not a strange tradition.im an Aussie here in Australia.."Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie,oiyee,oiyee,oiyee !! & I grew up with my parents continuing the tradition here.i prefer to eat it cold,it tastes like a delicious pork roast ,& the fat & skin is tasty too.from the region my parents grew up the salimuri bits at the end are called " i ziringoli" .thank you for taking us along for your wonderful journey into the culture & food of Italy.
I have had the great fortune of spending a good amount of time in Italy, and this brought to mind an experience similar to yours. I was invited to have a Sunday meal at a coworker's home (I worked in the USA Division of an Italian manufacturer at the time) and was spending a week in the Veneto region where headquarters was located. The meal served was amazing in its simplicity yet showed what Italy truly does, and that is enjoy being together as humans. Even with my VERY rudimentary Italian, coupled with a very prominent southern drawl, communication was made over the love of food and togetherness. I will remember that forever.
Harper thank you for sharing this wonderful tradition,my late husband was calabrese we used to do the same thing here in Australia 🇦🇺,but since he’s been gone we haven’t done it anymore so thank you to you and Eva for reminding us of our traditions,that’s how wonderful memories are achieved during our lifetime,god bless from Australia 🇦🇺
In Italy we say “del maiale non si butta niente” even the blood is used to make ‘nduja. In northern Italy we make verzata with the bones,skin, sausages and cabbage at Christmas we make stuffed pig foot called zampone and many other delicious dishes
Harper, loved your take at the end. Thanks to you, Eva and your family for sharing this beautiful tradition. These traditions resonate with every human being, and is one reason why Italians and Italy are loved the world over.
Traditions are so important. As families move further apart these traditions are changed or worse lost. As an Italian American of some age once my grandparents passed these traditions were lost. Seeing your video brought back lots of memories ! Thanks !
Tradition is best when people are having fun doing so, tradition should be something to celebrate life and be happy, if it fails to do so then it becomes a tiresome chore, a sort of literal peer pressure from those who are long dead which should never be the case. If ever it fails to be something great to celebrate then one must make it into one that is worthy of becoming a true tradition or start one anew. If it otherwise fufils the happiness of celebration, with any and all sorts people able to enjoy it, then it is worth repeating for many generations to come with minor changes that may appear and occur over the coming ages.
Tom Nola - I lament that my father did not practice what he grew up with, and my siblings and I never got to experience all that food preparation and celebratory traditions. We heard about how his entire neighborhood would go to the house that was going to butcher a pig to help them do it & help make all the “things” (sausages, etc.). And how they had ways to use every bit of the pig, not letting anything go to waste. Sadly, we never heard too many details of how it was done. And sadly, he didn’t seem to feel the need to continue some of those practices. Maybe he would have if he had been encouraged. I imagine my mother would not have been down with it. He did get joy in picking up cooking once he was retired, and seemed to be pleased with attempts at what making things his mother cooked. Like he was reconnecting with something valuable and lost. Yes, moving and emigration is a big disturbance to tradition. 😔
I do believe this is my favorite video of your of all time! It exemplifies all the things so many lost souls don’t even know they’re missing: community; simplicity; economy of using everything... I could so go on! Now I am looking at ways to bring this sort of wonderfulness into my oblivious Bay Area world. The communal share will be so loved!
Here in "lower Calabria" we do it a bit differently. (Reggio di Calabria). Pigs heads, feet everything is added, and not so much meat. But.. that being said... yours looks delicious.. what a wonderful truly Calabrian share! Thank you!
In a country where people are constantly screaming “cultural appropriation” it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone like Eva and her family who so eagerly share their culture with us. I wish more people would watch and see what true Italian cuisine and culture is like because it’s been so Americanized for most of us. I feel like I have learned so much about Italy from y’all!
Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie, Oi, Oi, Oi, a salute!....From a girl with Italian parents, born and raised in Melbourne, Australia... thank you for including our chant Gianni. You are hereby an honorary Australian!
My Grandmother got half a pig each year from a Butcher (it was in the 60s and early 70s) and after she conserved all the "good" pieces into cans and glasses a feast was celebrated, using all the left overs of the pig in a giant cauldron. I loved this soup called "Metzelsuppe" which is from the germanword Metzeln (slaughtering) and Suppe (soup). Loved your video a lot.
BEST VIDEO EVER! This makes me realize why Milanese were not at all shocked by my huge pot of vegetarian chili cooked over a gas burner in a courtyard for art gallery openings served in paper bowls over polenta ! Delicious! Love you guys Sara
Thank you for sharing! It’s clear that we have a lot to learn from these old traditions. One of which is to enjoy every moment in simple ways with each other as they come.
in Austria they let the fat and drippings congeal which are left in the roasting pan after preparing a pork roast. it's called "bratlfett" ("the fat of the small-ish roast") and people fight over it. it has all the fat and crunchy and gelatinized bits, as well as roasted onion and garlic as well as the traditional carraway seeds. it used to be a sunday leftover food.
Thank you so much Harper and Eva for including us in your family traditions. Such a lovely video and truly enjoyed meeting all of your relatives. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!
I've seen something similar at a pork harvest. Rendering lard. You keep it at a temperature so it doesn't burn. Eventually the meat and skin are like pork rinds, called cracklings. Best in a peanut butter sandwich. No water, just fat when cooking. The point is to release the water to make the lard fat stable for storage.
As a very new sub here (thankfully so) I have to say that you make us almost feel like family. The production value is wonderful and I must say how beautiful of a couple the 2 of you make.
Harper you are so lucky to be exposed to all these wonderful Italian experiences through Ava and her family. I love all your videos but this is one of my favorites!!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Reminds me from many years past at my grandparents home all aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends having a big feasts on special occasions I MISS THOSE DAYS. THANKS PASTA GRAMMAR
I would never have thought to use lemon juice on simmered pork meat, but it makes sense there, since citrus fruit are in close proximity and very affordable there. I need to try that! In France, we make pork rillettes, which involves a similar process, but with spices that vary based on the area and are eaten cold, the fat mixing with the meat that has cooked so long, it falls apart. We typically serve rillettes on bread with cornichons, which are preserved in vinegar, so a similar combination to this Calabrian fatty meat and lemon juice. It's easy to make at home. In Québec, they have a similar dish called cretons which is served for breakfast on bread. And on the subject of Calabria, I bought Italian-made 'Nduja from a store in New York City, it arrived yesterday, can't wait to try it. The name 'Nduja derives from andouille, which was brought to southern Italy by the Angevins in the !3th century.
18:35 My husband is Calabrese. When we cure the belly for pancetta, We make this with the left overs but we call it ‘zzringoli. Same method, also spread on bread but we also add a little to Sunday sauce or lentils! YUM!
This video literally made me cry. Just tears if gratitude and admiration for the beauty of honoring food and tradition and family. Thanks for sharing your story! I’m new to your channel and have definitely enjoyed each video I’ve watched! Great content❤
I was about to say it reminded of Carnitas too. I wonder if my Nonna ever did this growing up. I’ll have to ask her (she’s from Moschetta, Calabria). As always thank you for showing these traditions and a bit of one of my motherlands. Eva and you are amazing! I may have to do one of your tours in the future. 💖
LatinChef1986 - I hope you make a big effort to get all the information and recipes from your Nonna that is possible. Too many of us regret not doing that while our grandparents and parents were alive. It’s unfortunate that we usually only start valuing those things when we’re older, after it’s too late, often.
It's funny how much I know about Italy, but how little I know about Italian food. Almost every immigrant Italian I know is from Sicily, and my part-time neighbors from NYC is where I learned to eat and cook Italian food. I always thought there was more seafood! Vito is now 87 yrs old and pretty much lives on cheese, olives, bread, and homemade wine. His wife Maria is a young 76 yrs old and showed me how to cook in trade for some raw cows milk for mozzarella, fresh pork and fresh eggs. When I would watch you guys and ask Maria if she knew how to make something I saw, her reply is always the same. " that's not something we make in Sicily" or "Our way is better" I love them both dearly, more when Vito breaks out the homemade wine
I am Slovenian and we make it in the fall, all the fat and offcuts are a spread of boiled pig fat till it becomes lard, then add garlic and salt for flavor. Another flavor is to add Smoked Paprika. Both are called Zabo. Slavic countries make this. Poland (Smalec), Germany.
What a fantastic video!!! I just love that nothing goes to waste. What a treat. Great job of story tell and camera work as well. I know how difficult that can be and y'all did it really well. Good Job!
Its fun watching how people in other countries interact with one another. The meals are always interesting. Somehow my family fell away from those traditions. I guess we all got older and lost our elders. They were the ones that kept the traditions alive. Recently its picked back up though. My brothers live close to me now and out families get together for holidays meals, and sometimes random get togethers. Here's to good neighbors, porches, talking over fences, and family. The only thing that really counts in the end.
Sicilian-Napolitan from New Jersey here! Sunday visits to Aunt Lucy who lived next to the Italian Modern Bakery in Lodi. Went to the Feast every fall. We would bring home food every visit, from the cardoon, the artichokes in her special pot, to the Sicilian pizza. My grandfather on my mother's side would have his Easter lamb's head and eat the brains. The cannoli and other pastries...My mom and I would make strufoli and uccidata and the fried dough in THE BIG POT! Great times! And, yes, the "kiddie" table! Finally succeeded in growing my own cardoon!!
Harper, I don't pretend to know anything about you outside of this channel but, I think you are blessed to be so accepted by Eva's family. That festa spread is what God feeds all of those that end up in heaven, EVERY DAY! Yummo Gianni's singing "aussie, aussie, aussie .... oi, oi oi," was actually the best tribute to we Australians that you could have ever done, and it made us (being an Aussie couple, both from Italian descent) laugh for ages. I'm off to find a large pot, a mountain of pork discards, many loaves of bread ....... and a bunch of friends to share it all with. Thank you, as always, for your excellent upload.
This was amazing to watch. I’m Italian but grew up in Florida. We had the big family dinners where we sat around for hours eating and talking. I loved it even as a child. I’ve wanted to go to Italy for so many years and this video shows how close the family and friends are and how special that is now a days because life always seems to get in the way. This was a beautiful sight to see. Harper and Eva thank you so much for sharing your family with us.
Speaking of eating together...could Eva include Bagna Cauda in one of her videos? I grew up with "feasts" of Bagna Cauda...have not had it in many years and remember it being such a social gathering. Love watching the two of you!! Is there a great cook book in your future? It would be amazing!! Thank you for sharing your travels with us!!
We absolutely love you both. My Mom's family came from Abruzzi and on Dad's side from Venice. So I am second generation and have never been to Italy. You kids make me want to go even though I am old now. In my neighborhood we had immigrants from all over Italy and I loved the food from the north, south, east and west. Deliciouso. Also love your parents. What memories your show brings back. Hugs to you both. Much love and blessings. Keep making me hungry.
What an amazing video!! Thank you so much for this history lesson! Believe it or not, the baked bread with that delicious fat looked like the best part!!
As a third generation Calabrian American (half French Canadian) who has never been…the phrase “Not every donut has a hole” brought my Grandmother Madeline Riccio (from Saracena) back to life and a tear to my eye! 😢. Thank you for this fabulous journey.
I Loved Every second of this video and my favorite part, was your takeaway....the respect of the Animal, the not waisiting a morsle as well as the Love & respect that is shared among family and friends while doing so! Brava! 🫶
I loved watching this. In Germany where I grew up we used to get sausage soup from neighbors after they cooked liver sausage in water. Some of the sausages burst while cooking and that made the most delicious soup. It kind of reminded me of your video. Btw, we alway ate lard with salt on crusty bread. Oh yeah, the good old days.
I remember my German grandparents giving us Schmaltz spread on fresh rye bread with salt on top as a snack! It’s essentially the same as the leftover pork fat with small bits of meat in it! Delicious!
@@marilyndoering2501 we call that "bratlfett" in Austria. it's the congealed fat left in the roasting pan, full of gelatin, roasted onions, garlic and spices. it's a spread as well and was the traditional sunday night treat (the pork roast used to be one of the classic sunday lunch meals).
Makes me laugh, before the Food Police got to us everybody ate meat fat on bread ! Bread and dripping (the fat from roast beef) was a staple of the English diet. Salted toast and dripping is wonderful ! Turkey dripping with the jelly at the bottom is the best bit of the thing. I still keep all the different meat fats,they all have uses. I thoroughly approve of this video !!
As a woman who has family from Naples and Rome this made me so happy. The italians are such good cooks...they cook with love and love fun as well.Thank you for sharing!!!!!I'm so proud to have grown up with so many traditions of my family.
Here I am on another Sunday morning watching a new Pasta Grammar video and eating Pesto Calabrese. Honestly, I don't plan that. I just eat a lot of Eva's recipes. Even for breakfast.
Ciao 'Peppe', firstly, let me say how much I enjoyed this video. I am retired having been born and raised in Scotland and now living in the north of Italy, (Lago Maggiore area) with my wife, however, my father was from Monte Cassino in Lazio region. I have watched several of the videos involving Eva's recipes which I enjoy re-creating and so many remind me of a time when I was 18 years old and, as a family, we holidayed in Italy and visited friends in Cassino. Our friends family included a young 14 year old daughter who taught my mother, ( who was of Irish descent) how to make a traditional lasagne of the region which my mother continued to make for the family on special occasions for the rest of her life. Great memories.
It is important to know where your ancestors came from and how they lived. Food is a huge part of traditions in the Italian culture. Food and family are so important in any Italian family.
I totally agree that it is the most fun to cook with family and friends and then enjoy a delicious meal together…especially in the long winter months. I get together with friends to make sausage, pierogis, lasagna and baking. We have a blast!
Thanks for mentioning my Mexican carnitas. Pork skins are cooked soft in Mexico, but unlike there, they don't add lemon juice, they are put in vinegar with onion and chili if you like it spicy. Since I'm lazy, I open a can of jalapeños with vinegar and put the skins all in a larger container and the miracle happens. Of course it makes for a great party, Italians don't eat a lot of meat. They USA a lot, but a lot of meat.
Such a lovely visit in Italy on my Sunday afternoon! Thank you! Actually, very much like my Grandma's recollections of using 100% of the slaughtered pig back on the farm in Poland. NEVER a fragment wasted!
Dasa’ reminds me of my dads little mountain town in Frosinone. The food, the customs, the traditions. Love your channel, but love it a little more when you’re in Bella Italia!
Omg I have shared this video with my family , I have to say that in the beginning I made a face and couldn’t imagine that I would ever try such a dish but by the end of the video I was wishing I was there to give it a try . Can’t even count how many times I have watched this finding something new each time, I’m a people watcher and I loved watching each and every one of the family and friends that took part in this wonderful gathering ! Thank you both for sharing and teaching us new and different recipes much appreciated I know there is a lot of hard work going into all these videos with such fun and wonderful content .
We do something somewhat similar in Abruzzo, it's called panonta. The day we slughter the porks we roast the fattest pieces of meat in big pots or pans and then toast the bread in the frying rendered pork's fat.
My Family came from Miglionico in Potenza over 120 years ago and even though its not the same area, -I can imagine its close enough?- I feel connected and learning so much even though I am a Chef by trade. Great Job!! Tell the Family love to all.
Harper I just have to tell you how fortunate you are to have these experiences, but I know you know. When I was younger I can remember such gatherings myself. However unless you start your own similar traditions in your life, they alas will only be fond memories. And regret not doing so. I love to see you being swept up into Eva's life and community you are blessed. Enjoy Harper.
As an adoptee, I was in my late 40's before I connected with my biological father. Turns out, he was Irish, his family immigrated to America in 1784. He told me my mother's family was located in the upper Northeast of America and that while she had anglicized her family name for reasons of her own, the Italian name was Capobianca. I have no idea when they came to America or which part of Italy they were from. But, having grown up next door to an Italian family and ending up marrying a full blooded Italian American girl (the first wife), I always feel the Italian blood in me warming up when watching anything Italian. This video makes my heart pound a bit harder and the blood flow a bit more freely. Oh, and of course, the gastric juices start to bubble! Thank you: new sub and a like.
We make a version of this too, called khash (which is the Armenian name) or kale pacha (the Persian name), link here: ken.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khash_(dish). Except with sheep. But other than that, it’s more or less the same: body parts boiled with a copious amount of salt and eaten with lemon, but we wash it down with vodka (or mulberry brandy). And we eat it for… wait for it… breakfast lol. And yes, it’s a “big gathering” dish
Varying meats and parts, most cultures have a version of it. Where I live is called puchero and it shares the boil meat and everything in a big pan method.
We hope you guys enjoy meeting our family and seeing a day in the life here! There's a food adventure around every corner 😋 What's a dish or meal that totally surprised you and changed your outlook on food?
I hated tomatoes growing up in the US. Then I studied in Italy in college. That’s when I had a Italian tomato for the first time. I was shocked at how good they could be. I’ve eaten tomatoes ever since. Except the ones in the US are still never as good as the ones in Italy.
The ragù lasagna in Casa Surace's lasagna video! Like this video, I never knew feeding 20 people could be as simple as throwing meat into a giagante pot!
@@ragazzotexano I know what you mean. My father used to grow tomatoes when he lived in Kula, way up on the side of Haleakala about 3,500 or 4,000 feet up on Maui. Best freaking tomatoes I've ever had by far. Volcanic soil, too, kinda like San Marzano growing condition I suppose.
This video makes me want to go there and spend time watching and learning the traditions and how much family means to each other. Thank you for sharing.
Cuts of meat I never had in my youth, for example pork trotters, beef tongue, and cheeks. Sweetbreads and brains as well. Steamed meat such as pork shoulder (Korean bossam). And mutton. Ate lamb often as a child, but never saw mutton in the shops and on the table. It's tastier than lamb.
In the era of 30- to 60-minute meals, many dishes that require hours of cooking have fallen by the wayside.
19:15 “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”
As a Calabrian American this video brought a tear to my eyes. I loved that you took the ultimate lesson from the experience. There is no poverty where there is love😢
So very true Dom! Couldn’t have said it any better.
I'm from Sicily, where we have similar customs. It brought memories back, especially the ones of my grandparents.
I also have Calabrian roots and found this episode so heartwarming and lovely. Keep up the great work, you two! ❤❤👍
#truth
My maternal grandmother and grandfather came from Calabria. They had 13 living children. Three died. I was adopted by the youngest daughter. She was the second youngest of the 13 children. When I came into the family I was three days old and had an uncle in his later 70’s. I loved being in a big family. I learned to cook big from my mother. We had crowds at grandma’s house every weekend. I miss them so much. I was lucky to have them as my family. Thank You Jesus Christ.
I am a 70 year old African American, I live in Pittsburgh PA USA, however my parents are from Alabama, where whole hog cooking was very common. I would have been very happy with that meal.
Everything used but the squeal!
That’s one of the things I loved about my German heritage. We have a similar tradition and the same thought about using every bit of an animal that has been sacrificed for our nourishment. NOTHING goes to waste. That’s soooo important!
I am a chef and traveled around Italy quite a bit last year and my number one observation was that their regional dishes start with humble beginnings but you wouldn’t hesitate to serve it to kings. Wonderful to see you and your family eating like kings!
^^ you wrote something that is historically true; the nobility had personal chefs but these, some famous such as the "Scalco" Cristoforo da Messisbugo of the Estense court; but above all they were used for important representatives. The cuisine of daily meals, even for nobles, had peasant roots (obviously with higher quality ingredients; see for example the history of Carabaccia, the ancestor of the French soup d'onions ^^
Top notch
I am first born in the United States. My family comes from a small Sicilian village called Funari. I totally get what you are feeling when you experience these old Italian or Sicilian traditions. We used to get together at my Grandmothers house every Sunday without failure. Enjoy these moments to the fullest extent possible, because what I have discovered is that as the family ages, these moments begin to fade away. I wish I could go back in time. Thanks to people like Eva and others around the web, I have been able to reproduce some of what I grew up with. I make my own Italian sausage now, which I used to watch my Grandmother make in her kitchen. I make my own salami, which I used to see hanging by rope in the Italian Deli on the North Side of Syracuse, NY. I have learned to make my own Capocollo, and I have learned to can and ferment many foods. I have also cured my own olives. We still get together for the feast of the seven fishes when we can. And the family still makes the Cod Fish from Norway, which Eva could show me how to make. You know the one, Eva...it looks like a little baseball bat. We used to hit our heads on these as they hung from the ceiling in our basement as children. I have one hanging from my ceiling right now as I write this. I never could figure out how to pronounce it. It always sounded like Vicious Stalk when my mother said it. I never learned how to make this correctly. I also have struggled to make the kind of Italian bread I grew up with in NY, but because of Eva, I am close to making a great Ciabatta bread. Anyway, thanks Eva. And, thanks Harper for sharing such a lovely and generous woman with all of us...
The dried fish you are referring to is called ‘stoccofisso’ in Italian. It is an adaptation of ‘ stick fish’ into Italian. The air dried cod fish becomes so hard as to adopt wood like looks and properties. The preserved fish was widely used in Sicilian cooking in pre refrigeration days, as it kept indefinitely. The same fish (cod) air dried and exported by the Norwegians, was caught filleted and salted to preserve it by the Portuguese. This variety is called ‘baccala’ in Italian, and is prominent in Portuguese cuisine and southern Europe generally. You will find many recipes online by plugging in the key words ‘stoccofisso or baccala’.
@@orlando5849 Hi Orlando. Thanks for the reply. I have seen what you said, Stoccofisso and I have seen Pesce Stocco. I think my mother might have called it Pesce Stocco, which if it was said fast could have sounded like Vicious Stalk to me, but I can't be certain...
lovely memories..... my daughter moved to Syracuse 2 years ago..... and absolutely loves it there...... we aren't Italian (maybe the only Americans who aren't) so she has brought her NoCal cooking heritage there (and, so far she's a culinary hit with her friends!).... but she would really love to learn how to cook/prepare these authentic foods!
Okay, and when will you share these traditions with your own kids? You did not talk about kids in your novel comment.
So I guess after you died, the traditions will fade away very soon. When will it be? In 20 years? In 40 years?
Start a family!
Am I the only one who sees those loafs scraped out of the pot at the end as the start of an incredible pasta sauce? Chicharon style pasta?
1.) Heat up 2 cups of that pork in a skillet until the fat melts and the pork is crackling. Set pork aside to use as condiment for finished dish.
2.) Saute aromatics of your choice (onion, garlic, shallots) in the fat. Add chopped vegetables of your choice. I'd be thinking lots of mushrooms 🍄
3.) Once the veggies and aromatics have released their fluids, add tomato passata and probably wine. Cook low and slow.
4.) Serve with pasta that Eva would approve of (based on the texture of the sauce, no?). Garnish with pork crackling, fresh herbs and grated Italian dry cheese.
What do you think? Would you try this?
Hear Hearrrr!!
I would try this :)
A sociology lesson and a cooking show all in one. I enjoyed every moment of it!
I love that Eva's family also has the "kiddie table" where the younger generations sit together and the elders at another table. My Calabrian family does the same. 🇮🇹♥️
In my small town, even in southern Italy, it is customary to do with children. The big kids (as we see here in the video) sit together with the other.
We all do it. It is what we do.......
Not just in the south of Italy but in every regions
@@miramare4854 yes
I hated sitting at the kids table!!
I’m so happy these traditions still exist. 1) it keeps the culture alive, 2) teaches new generations about the importance of frugality and how to reduce unnecessary waste to a minimum, 3) gives a reason/excuse for socializing and relationship buildings, and 4) allows you to enjoy the best of foods in the best of companies: simple, delicious food with family, friends and loved ones.
My family is sicilian. I grew up and live in southeast Louisiana. Down here the Cajuns and for that fact a lot of non Cajuns will throw family and community parties called cochon de lait (cooshawn duh lay). The phrase they use is, from the rooter to the tooter. They make something out of every single part of the pig and the atmosphere is raucous rollicking. Lots of singing and drinking. Love it
great atmosphere👏
I knew someone in the South would be going whole hog like this!
"The only part of the pig you can't eat is the squeal" 😂
Hello neighbor!! I grew up in lafourche Parrish… in bayou blue! I miss those times with family and friends. Not many people now a days say they had a good childhood but I did. We were not rich by any means, in fact my dad worked several jobs at once to put food on the table, but with the love of family, friends and food…..that’s what I believe makes us rich. Good bless❤️
You beat this CAJUN with your comment I was about to post that Cajuns use every part of the cow , pig etc. hood on you to enjoy my area of Louisiana which is the heart of Acadiana .. Lafayette!!
This was a bittersweet video for me. It reminds me of all of the family Sunday dinners my extended family shared every Sunday at my grandmothers house. The adults had their table, and the kids would share their own. My grandma would make her delicious Sunday "gravy" with meatballs, sausage and beef. We'd eat fresh antipasti and Sicilian bread. For dessert, the adults would drink coffee and someone would break out the cannoli and Italian cookies from the local bakery. My siblings, cousins, and I would all play together while the adults socialized. My grandparents have long passed, and many of my extended family members moved away from the neighborhood, all the kids started families of their own, and only see each other all together at large family parties. I miss those dinners more than anything.
I live in senior housing in the footprint of Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, and we have a rooftop community room and kitchen adjacent to a rooftop patio with barbecue facilities. Many of us have few or no nearby family members, so we have started creating a coming-together event once a month where we all prepare something from our own family tradition, and combine it all ecclectically to create a new tradition. Yum!
As Joni Mitchell said: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
Not everyone is fortunately to be Italian. I'm an FBI (Full Blooded Italian) first generation on both sides. This Sunday and holiday dinners were absolutely wonderful. We would sit down to eat lunch around 12:30 and talk the day away sitting at he table thru dinner and beyond. Great memories.
same, but no more. I am alone and only have a sister and cousin I see on special occasions.
@@robbymonaco3738 🙏🏻
I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVED this video. It reminded me of what my visits to my beloved hometown of Licata would be like each summer when I was younger. It was wonderful seeing the bonding over family traditions, hearing the side conversations, the AMAZING and delicious Italian food, and especially how they changed your name completely to Peppe! Once you inherit an Italian name, you know you’re part of the family ❤
In fact in putting a more familiar name on him, it makes Harper less American and more Calabrese, let's say more a person of home, of family.
I just want to say I love the variety of video formats Pasta Grammar does. The videos focusing on a star ingredient, the videos focusing on a particular region or city, and these documentary style videos
All of your videos are great but this one is possibly the best. Gianni is the favourite Uncle we all remember... And he has a proper phone :) Every time you film live in Italy we get to see and appreciate more of their culture; meeting more of Ava's family is a definite bonus. Also, I've learnt more Italian language over the last two years due entirely to you two. Thank you.
I'm so glad the family continues this tradition and that Peppe was on hand to capture it for posterity!
Oh, my God! This looks like so much fun, Harper . . . I mean Peppe! You're so fortunate to have this family as your own! You've been blessed beyond measure ! ! !
Love it. I am so jealous. Wish I was there with you. Sending big hugs
This video alone would deserve a Golden Globe (when are they creating a YT category????).
As an Italian descendant living in Brazil, I really want to thank you both, for allowing me such a deep dive into my Italian roots.
Love you, guys.
❤
❤❤❤❤❤
As I was growing up 50 or so years ago, my Franco-American mother would often make use of every leftover she could possibly find. Money was tight, and we couldn't waste anything. At that time, I almost resented having to eat 'poor' food. Little did I know that the 'rich' food I ate when visiting friends was just as much a treat to my friends as they were to me. Zip forward to the present...now, I find myself intentionally cooking those old, poor meals, and as I enjoy eating them, memories of some incredible moments with our very large family gathered around eating and socializing come forward, and I thank my now departed mother for being so patient with me. Those 'poor' meals with my family were, and still are, the best.
I'm a Calabrian American and I grew up eating a much scaled down version of this-we use various cuts of pork cooked for hours with cabbage, escarole, pepperoni (diced) and garnished with cubes of aged provolone. Definitely food for a crowd!
Enjoy your video. Growing up Sicilian in the US and speaking Sicilian before English I really enjoyed this video thank you very much
What a great storyteller you are Harper!
Another "gem". Thank you Harper and Eva. Cheers to all❣️ Gianni is priceless🥂
👏
Your best video yet! Thank you! I am always trying and failing to explain to people (mainly Brits) how simple the best Italian food is. And how Italians delight in that simplicity. You totally nailed it here, especially in your closing words about it not being seen as a hardship but a celebration. In this one video you achieve what a thousand Italian cookery books have failed to do, which is not just show us real Italian food but to successfully convey the joy and sense of occasion that goes with it. Please keep doing this. You are more important than you know.
It's not a strange tradition.im an Aussie here in Australia.."Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie,oiyee,oiyee,oiyee !! & I grew up with my parents continuing the tradition here.i prefer to eat it cold,it tastes like a delicious pork roast ,& the fat & skin is tasty too.from the region my parents grew up the salimuri bits at the end are called " i ziringoli" .thank you for taking us along for your wonderful journey into the culture & food of Italy.
I have had the great fortune of spending a good amount of time in Italy, and this brought to mind an experience similar to yours. I was invited to have a Sunday meal at a coworker's home (I worked in the USA Division of an Italian manufacturer at the time) and was spending a week in the Veneto region where headquarters was located. The meal served was amazing in its simplicity yet showed what Italy truly does, and that is enjoy being together as humans. Even with my VERY rudimentary Italian, coupled with a very prominent southern drawl, communication was made over the love of food and togetherness. I will remember that forever.
Harper thank you for sharing this wonderful tradition,my late husband was calabrese we used to do the same thing here in Australia 🇦🇺,but since he’s been gone we haven’t done it anymore so thank you to you and Eva for reminding us of our traditions,that’s how wonderful memories are achieved during our lifetime,god bless from Australia 🇦🇺
You mean..."Peppe".😅
In Italy we say “del maiale non si butta niente” even the blood is used to make ‘nduja. In northern Italy we make verzata with the bones,skin, sausages and cabbage at Christmas we make stuffed pig foot called zampone and many other delicious dishes
Harper, loved your take at the end. Thanks to you, Eva and your family for sharing this beautiful tradition. These traditions resonate with every human being, and is one reason why Italians and Italy are loved the world over.
This was BY FAR the best episode you have ever made!
Traditions are so important. As families move further apart these traditions are changed or worse lost. As an Italian American of some age once my grandparents passed these traditions were lost. Seeing your video brought back lots of memories ! Thanks !
It's never too late to reconnect
Tradition is best when people are having fun doing so, tradition should be something to celebrate life and be happy, if it fails to do so then it becomes a tiresome chore, a sort of literal peer pressure from those who are long dead which should never be the case. If ever it fails to be something great to celebrate then one must make it into one that is worthy of becoming a true tradition or start one anew. If it otherwise fufils the happiness of celebration, with any and all sorts people able to enjoy it, then it is worth repeating for many generations to come with minor changes that may appear and occur over the coming ages.
Tom Nola - I lament that my father did not practice what he grew up with, and my siblings and I never got to experience all that food preparation and celebratory traditions.
We heard about how his entire neighborhood would go to the house that was going to butcher a pig to help them do it & help make all the “things” (sausages, etc.). And how they had ways to use every bit of the pig, not letting anything go to waste.
Sadly, we never heard too many details of how it was done. And sadly, he didn’t seem to feel the need to continue some of those practices. Maybe he would have if he had been encouraged. I imagine my mother would not have been down with it.
He did get joy in picking up cooking once he was retired, and seemed to be pleased with attempts at what making things his mother cooked. Like he was reconnecting with something valuable and lost.
Yes, moving and emigration is a big disturbance to tradition. 😔
Hope your lively video inspires recapturing of traditions or the creation of new family centered ones. Thank you for sharing!
I do believe this is my favorite video of your of all time! It exemplifies all the things so many lost souls don’t even know they’re missing: community; simplicity; economy of using everything... I could so go on! Now I am looking at ways to bring this sort of wonderfulness into my oblivious Bay Area world. The communal share will be so loved!
Here in "lower Calabria" we do it a bit differently. (Reggio di Calabria). Pigs heads, feet everything is added, and not so much meat. But.. that being said... yours looks delicious.. what a wonderful truly Calabrian share! Thank you!
my dad was 16 when he came to america --in 1928 --from CIRELLA Di Plati ,ITALY Calabria--we never had much family --I feel like I missed a LOT !!
In a country where people are constantly screaming “cultural appropriation” it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone like Eva and her family who so eagerly share their culture with us. I wish more people would watch and see what true Italian cuisine and culture is like because it’s been so Americanized for most of us. I feel like I have learned so much about Italy from y’all!
I don’t think you understand what cultural appropriation is but the rest of your comment was nice
You don't know what Cultural Appropriation means?
Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie, Oi, Oi, Oi, a salute!....From a girl with Italian parents, born and raised in Melbourne, Australia... thank you for including our chant Gianni. You are hereby an honorary Australian!
My Grandmother got half a pig each year from a Butcher (it was in the 60s and early 70s) and after she conserved all the "good" pieces into cans and glasses a feast was celebrated, using all the left overs of the pig in a giant cauldron. I loved this soup called "Metzelsuppe" which is from the germanword Metzeln (slaughtering) and Suppe (soup). Loved your video a lot.
BEST VIDEO EVER! This makes me realize why Milanese were not at all shocked by my huge pot of vegetarian chili cooked over a gas burner in a courtyard for art gallery openings served in paper bowls over polenta ! Delicious! Love you guys Sara
Thank you for sharing! It’s clear that we have a lot to learn from these old traditions. One of which is to enjoy every moment in simple ways with each other as they come.
in Austria they let the fat and drippings congeal which are left in the roasting pan after preparing a pork roast. it's called "bratlfett" ("the fat of the small-ish roast") and people fight over it. it has all the fat and crunchy and gelatinized bits, as well as roasted onion and garlic as well as the traditional carraway seeds. it used to be a sunday leftover food.
Thank you so much Harper and Eva for including us in your family traditions. Such a lovely video and truly enjoyed meeting all of your relatives. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!
I would love to be adopted by this town. Cooking together and eating together... being together with stories and laughter. The best of life!
I've seen something similar at a pork harvest. Rendering lard. You keep it at a temperature so it doesn't burn. Eventually the meat and skin are like pork rinds, called cracklings. Best in a peanut butter sandwich. No water, just fat when cooking. The point is to release the water to make the lard fat stable for storage.
I love this video. This tradition is respectful of the animal and finding joy in life. It’s truly lovely.
As a very new sub here (thankfully so) I have to say that you make us almost feel like family. The production value is wonderful and I must say how beautiful of a couple the 2 of you make.
Harper you are so lucky to be exposed to all these wonderful Italian experiences through Ava and her family. I love all your videos but this is one of my favorites!!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Reminds me from many years past at my grandparents home all aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends having a big feasts on special occasions I MISS THOSE DAYS. THANKS PASTA GRAMMAR
I would never have thought to use lemon juice on simmered pork meat, but it makes sense there, since citrus fruit are in close proximity and very affordable there. I need to try that! In France, we make pork rillettes, which involves a similar process, but with spices that vary based on the area and are eaten cold, the fat mixing with the meat that has cooked so long, it falls apart. We typically serve rillettes on bread with cornichons, which are preserved in vinegar, so a similar combination to this Calabrian fatty meat and lemon juice. It's easy to make at home. In Québec, they have a similar dish called cretons which is served for breakfast on bread. And on the subject of Calabria, I bought Italian-made 'Nduja from a store in New York City, it arrived yesterday, can't wait to try it. The name 'Nduja derives from andouille, which was brought to southern Italy by the Angevins in the !3th century.
18:35 My husband is Calabrese. When we cure the belly for pancetta, We make this with the left overs but we call it ‘zzringoli. Same method, also spread on bread but we also add a little to Sunday sauce or lentils! YUM!
This video literally made me cry. Just tears if gratitude and admiration for the beauty of honoring food and tradition and family. Thanks for sharing your story!
I’m new to your channel and have definitely enjoyed each video I’ve watched! Great content❤
I was about to say it reminded of Carnitas too. I wonder if my Nonna ever did this growing up. I’ll have to ask her (she’s from Moschetta, Calabria). As always thank you for showing these traditions and a bit of one of my motherlands. Eva and you are amazing! I may have to do one of your tours in the future. 💖
LatinChef1986 - I hope you make a big effort to get all the information and recipes from your Nonna that is possible.
Too many of us regret not doing that while our grandparents and parents were alive. It’s unfortunate that we usually only start valuing those things when we’re older, after it’s too late, often.
Absolutely beautiful! Bringing families together to celebrate . So humane!! Enjoy!!
Thank you. In the midst of so much contention in the world, this piece was simply joyful.
It's funny how much I know about Italy, but how little I know about Italian food.
Almost every immigrant Italian I know is from Sicily, and my part-time neighbors from NYC is where I learned to eat and cook Italian food. I always thought there was more seafood!
Vito is now 87 yrs old and pretty much lives on cheese, olives, bread, and homemade wine.
His wife Maria is a young 76 yrs old and showed me how to cook in trade for some raw cows milk for mozzarella, fresh pork and fresh eggs.
When I would watch you guys and ask Maria if she knew how to make something I saw, her reply is always the same. " that's not something we make in Sicily" or "Our way is better"
I love them both dearly, more when Vito breaks out the homemade wine
It looks so hectic and so fun and so delicious. Keep the traditions alive!
I am Slovenian and we make it in the fall, all the fat and offcuts are a spread of boiled pig fat till it becomes lard, then add garlic and salt for flavor. Another flavor is to add Smoked Paprika. Both are called Zabo. Slavic countries make this. Poland (Smalec), Germany.
I LOVE this! Here in America we get so much talk about 'eating tail to nose' and so on. In Calabria, they live it.
What a fantastic video!!! I just love that nothing goes to waste. What a treat. Great job of story tell and camera work as well. I know how difficult that can be and y'all did it really well. Good Job!
This is the italian version of Dopp i grytan = dip in the potstew we have in Sweden at christmas.ham juice and bread
Yaaay! Another video with the family! Those are my favourites, I was missing mama Rosa and papa Turi
The humblest dishes are always the best. I drooled on my laptop with this one. God bless!
That is a very cool tradition. And I love the way you tell it. Thank you for sharing.
Its fun watching how people in other countries interact with one another. The meals are always interesting. Somehow my family fell away from those traditions. I guess we all got older and lost our elders. They were the ones that kept the traditions alive. Recently its picked back up though. My brothers live close to me now and out families get together for holidays meals, and sometimes random get togethers. Here's to good neighbors, porches, talking over fences, and family. The only thing that really counts in the end.
Sicilian-Napolitan from New Jersey here! Sunday visits to Aunt Lucy who lived next to the Italian Modern Bakery in Lodi. Went to the Feast every fall. We would bring home food every visit, from the cardoon, the artichokes in her special pot, to the Sicilian pizza. My grandfather on my mother's side would have his Easter lamb's head and eat the brains. The cannoli and other pastries...My mom and I would make strufoli and uccidata and the fried dough in THE BIG POT! Great times! And, yes, the "kiddie" table! Finally succeeded in growing my own cardoon!!
Loved this, nothing better than cooking with family and enjoying a meal together.
Harper, I don't pretend to know anything about you outside of this channel but, I think you are blessed to be so accepted by Eva's family.
That festa spread is what God feeds all of those that end up in heaven, EVERY DAY! Yummo
Gianni's singing "aussie, aussie, aussie .... oi, oi oi," was actually the best tribute to we Australians that you could have ever done, and it made us (being an Aussie couple, both from Italian descent) laugh for ages.
I'm off to find a large pot, a mountain of pork discards, many loaves of bread ....... and a bunch of friends to share it all with.
Thank you, as always, for your excellent upload.
Doing something like this in New Orleans with friends. We were raised this way!
Fred
Yeah, you right.
This was amazing to watch. I’m Italian but grew up in Florida. We had the big family dinners where we sat around for hours eating and talking. I loved it even as a child. I’ve wanted to go to Italy for so many years and this video shows how close the family and friends are and how special that is now a days because life always seems to get in the way. This was a beautiful sight to see. Harper and Eva thank you so much for sharing your family with us.
Speaking of eating together...could Eva include Bagna Cauda in one of her videos? I grew up with "feasts" of Bagna Cauda...have not had it in many years and remember it being such a social gathering. Love watching the two of you!! Is there a great cook book in your future? It would be amazing!! Thank you for sharing your travels with us!!
What a great feast! Thank you for sharing it! Bellissimo!
Love that you share all the Calabrian traditions ❤
We absolutely love you both. My Mom's family came from Abruzzi and on Dad's side from Venice. So I am second generation and have never been to Italy. You kids make me want to go even though I am old now. In my neighborhood we had immigrants from all over Italy and I loved the food from the north, south, east and west. Deliciouso. Also love your parents. What memories your show brings back. Hugs to you both. Much love and blessings. Keep making me hungry.
What an amazing video!! Thank you so much for this history lesson! Believe it or not, the baked bread with that delicious fat looked like the best part!!
As a third generation Calabrian American (half French Canadian) who has never been…the phrase “Not every donut has a hole” brought my Grandmother Madeline Riccio (from Saracena) back to life and a tear to my eye! 😢. Thank you for this fabulous journey.
I love this!!! Real people. Real food. Just beautiful. 🥰
I Loved Every second of this video and my favorite part, was your takeaway....the respect of the Animal, the not waisiting a morsle as well as the Love & respect that is shared among family and friends while doing so! Brava! 🫶
I loved watching this. In Germany where I grew up we used to get sausage soup from neighbors after they cooked liver sausage in water. Some of the sausages burst while cooking and that made the most delicious soup. It kind of reminded me of your video. Btw, we alway ate lard with salt on crusty bread. Oh yeah, the good old days.
I remember my German grandparents giving us Schmaltz spread on fresh rye bread with salt on top as a snack! It’s essentially the same as the leftover pork fat with small bits of meat in it! Delicious!
@@marilyndoering2501 we call that "bratlfett" in Austria. it's the congealed fat left in the roasting pan, full of gelatin, roasted onions, garlic and spices. it's a spread as well and was the traditional sunday night treat (the pork roast used to be one of the classic sunday lunch meals).
Makes me laugh, before the Food Police got to us everybody ate meat fat on bread ! Bread and dripping (the fat from roast beef) was a staple of the English diet. Salted toast and dripping is wonderful ! Turkey dripping with the jelly at the bottom is the best bit of the thing. I still keep all the different meat fats,they all have uses. I thoroughly approve of this video !!
As a woman who has family from Naples and Rome this made me so happy. The italians are such good cooks...they cook with love and love fun as well.Thank you for sharing!!!!!I'm so proud to have grown up with so many traditions of my family.
Here I am on another Sunday morning watching a new Pasta Grammar video and eating Pesto Calabrese. Honestly, I don't plan that. I just eat a lot of Eva's recipes. Even for breakfast.
Buon appetito!
Ciao 'Peppe', firstly, let me say how much I enjoyed this video. I am retired having been born and raised in Scotland and now living in the north of Italy, (Lago Maggiore area) with my wife, however, my father was from Monte Cassino in Lazio region. I have watched several of the videos involving Eva's recipes which I enjoy re-creating and so many remind me of a time when I was 18 years old and, as a family, we holidayed in Italy and visited friends in Cassino. Our friends family included a young 14 year old daughter who taught my mother, ( who was of Irish descent) how to make a traditional lasagne of the region which my mother continued to make for the family on special occasions for the rest of her life. Great memories.
It is important to know where your ancestors came from and how they lived. Food is a huge part of traditions in the Italian culture. Food and family are so important in any Italian family.
I totally agree that it is the most fun to cook with family and friends and then enjoy a delicious meal together…especially in the long winter months. I get together with friends to make sausage, pierogis, lasagna and baking. We have a blast!
Love these videos showing the Italian traditions and feast. So jealous of how tasty the food looks!!!
Thanks for mentioning my Mexican carnitas. Pork skins are cooked soft in Mexico, but unlike there, they don't add lemon juice, they are put in vinegar with onion and chili if you like it spicy. Since I'm lazy, I open a can of jalapeños with vinegar and put the skins all in a larger container and the miracle happens. Of course it makes for a great party, Italians don't eat a lot of meat. They USA a lot, but a lot of meat.
This is one of my favorite episodes! A story well told, and a story worth telling!
Such a lovely visit in Italy on my Sunday afternoon! Thank you! Actually, very much like my Grandma's recollections of using 100% of the slaughtered pig back on the farm in Poland. NEVER a fragment wasted!
Dasa’ reminds me of my dads little mountain town in Frosinone. The food, the customs, the traditions. Love your channel, but love it a little more when you’re in Bella Italia!
Omg I have shared this video with my family , I have to say that in the beginning I made a face and couldn’t imagine that I would ever try such a dish but by the end of the video I was wishing I was there to give it a try . Can’t even count how many times I have watched this finding something new each time, I’m a people watcher and I loved watching each and every one of the family and friends that took part in this wonderful gathering ! Thank you both for sharing and teaching us new and different recipes much appreciated I know there is a lot of hard work going into all these videos with such fun and wonderful content .
This has been my favorite video by far! What a bunch of characters!
Wow what an incredible video you took it out of the park Mr. Harper!
We do something somewhat similar in Abruzzo, it's called panonta.
The day we slughter the porks we roast the fattest pieces of meat in big pots or pans and then toast the bread in the frying rendered pork's fat.
I was thinking ‘ndocca’ ndocca.
My Family came from Miglionico in Potenza over 120 years ago and even though its not the same area, -I can imagine its close enough?- I feel connected and learning so much even though I am a Chef by trade. Great Job!! Tell the Family love to all.
This makes me really miss my childhood in Mexico and the big feasts with all the family! You both are so lucky to be able to still do that ❤️
Harper I just have to tell you how fortunate you are to have these experiences, but I know you know. When I was younger I can remember such gatherings myself. However unless you start your own similar traditions in your life, they alas will only be fond memories. And regret not doing so. I love to see you being swept up into Eva's life and community you are blessed. Enjoy Harper.
As an adoptee, I was in my late 40's before I connected with my biological father. Turns out, he was Irish, his family immigrated to America in 1784. He told me my mother's family was located in the upper Northeast of America and that while she had anglicized her family name for reasons of her own, the Italian name was Capobianca. I have no idea when they came to America or which part of Italy they were from. But, having grown up next door to an Italian family and ending up marrying a full blooded Italian American girl (the first wife), I always feel the Italian blood in me warming up when watching anything Italian.
This video makes my heart pound a bit harder and the blood flow a bit more freely. Oh, and of course, the gastric juices start to bubble!
Thank you: new sub and a like.
Really interesting and entertaining. Lovely group of genuine people
Love it. Thank you for sharing!!
We make a version of this too, called khash (which is the Armenian name) or kale pacha (the Persian name), link here: ken.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khash_(dish). Except with sheep. But other than that, it’s more or less the same: body parts boiled with a copious amount of salt and eaten with lemon, but we wash it down with vodka (or mulberry brandy). And we eat it for… wait for it… breakfast lol. And yes, it’s a “big gathering” dish
That sounds great! Now I need to find some mulberry brandy, that sounds amazing...
Varying meats and parts, most cultures have a version of it. Where I live is called puchero and it shares the boil meat and everything in a big pan method.
This is my favorite episode yet! It reminds me a lot of Georgian traditions in the Caucasus. I love the exuberance!