Since last spring I've been tutoring an Italian girl living in Princeton. I use the term "tutoring" loosely though, because we don't really do any studying. When I first agreed to meet with her, I'd prepare lessons, but it quickly became obvious she was not looking for help with studying, just someone to talk to. She's not having the best experience in Princeton, and I can't say that I blame her. She moved here because her husband works for an Italian company that has a small branch in Princeton. I don't know why, but they do. She is not overly confident in her English. Her husband works all day. She doesn't know a lot of people. I think to myself what it would be like to move to a town of 7,000 people in the middle of Italy, not speaking Italian very well, having to leave my job, not knowing many people, etc. Actually, that sounds great. When can I sign up?
Anyway, she is clearly not thrilled to be here. She talks to me about how much better things are in Italy, how Americans are like Homer Simpson, and so on. I try to be understanding when she starts being negative, because it would be a very lonely year, and she hasn't had the best experience. I've never been to Italy, so I can't say that things are for sure better there. But she wants me to come and stay with her and her husband after they return home later this year. I guess if I have to...
She also told me that one of her neighbors is an American girl who married an Italian, and she hopes that I will do the same so that I can stay in her town forever.
One huge perk of this set up is that she gives me edible gifts her family sends from Italy. A few months ago she gave me a bottle of balsamic vinegar so thick it was like syrup. Two days ago, I sadly used the last few drops of it on a salad. A tear or two rolled down my cheek as I emptied the bottle. She also gave me a jar of jam that her aunt made. I have no idea what kind of jam it is. It's not as sweet as jam here, just fruity and delicious. For Christmas she gave me a massive brick of Parmesan.
She is always showing me recipes that she likes. I don't speak a lick of Italian, so the only words in these recipes that I understand are the ones that resemble their French counterparts. So a few weeks ago when I arrived at her apartment, she had a cookbook sitting out, and said she wanted to give me the best recipe for ragu sauce. If I had to go the rest of my life without eating macaroni and cheese, I'd be pretty sad. Otherwise, I'm indifferent towards pasta but I feigned excitement over the recipe anyway. We stumbled our way through translating the recipe anyway, including switching it from metric.
So the other night I decided what the heck, I'll make this ragu. Wow oh wow, it was life changing.
Ragu-4 servings
2 big spoons of olive oil
1/2 lb of ground beef or sausage (I used beef)
3 pieces of bacon (the recipe called for 2 ounces of pancetta, but the roads were not passable the other night, so I didn't want to venture out to find pancetta)
1/3 an onion
1/2 a carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf
4-5 oz of red wine (not sweet, but otherwise I think any works)
14.5 oz can of petite diced tomato, with the juice (the recipe called for 10 1/2 oz of fresh tomatoes, but again, we didn't have that in the house, and the canned worked fine)
1-2 spoons of tomato paste
salt
pepper
1 ladle of beef broth
Dice the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Heat olive oil in pan and add diced vegetables. Add the bacon and bay leaf, and saute. Add the hamburger and increase the heat. When the meat is brown, add the wine and stir constantly until the wine is gone. Add the tomato and tomato paste, stir. Then add the broth, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
When the sauce had about 30 minutes left to cook, I found a Parmesan rind in the fridge. I decided to throw it in as well. Waste not, want not. But it'd be fine without that.
I cooked some polenta to eat with it, but I'm sure if you like pasta it'd be just as excellent with that. And of course top it with loads of grated Parmesan.
Unrelated.
Dennis Rodman, you'd better check yourself. If I drink too much wine, then am asked about someone I don't like, I sound pretty much just like him. "Listen, she's just...dumb...you don't understand what she did...in this country...illegal...she's horrible...these people with me...they're my friends"
But really man, what gives? I know KJU is your "best friend" but he just had his own uncle killed. Stalin was supposedly really into poetry and I'm sure there were some people in his inner circle that thought he was pretty okay, but that doesn't mean Uncle Joe wasn't bat sh*t crazy and responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
Dennis Rodman's gone from eccentric in a slightly charming way to straight up insane.
Dennis Rodman, Amanda Bynes, or Lindsay Lohan-who would be your first choice to babysit your children?
Anyway, she is clearly not thrilled to be here. She talks to me about how much better things are in Italy, how Americans are like Homer Simpson, and so on. I try to be understanding when she starts being negative, because it would be a very lonely year, and she hasn't had the best experience. I've never been to Italy, so I can't say that things are for sure better there. But she wants me to come and stay with her and her husband after they return home later this year. I guess if I have to...
She also told me that one of her neighbors is an American girl who married an Italian, and she hopes that I will do the same so that I can stay in her town forever.
One huge perk of this set up is that she gives me edible gifts her family sends from Italy. A few months ago she gave me a bottle of balsamic vinegar so thick it was like syrup. Two days ago, I sadly used the last few drops of it on a salad. A tear or two rolled down my cheek as I emptied the bottle. She also gave me a jar of jam that her aunt made. I have no idea what kind of jam it is. It's not as sweet as jam here, just fruity and delicious. For Christmas she gave me a massive brick of Parmesan.
She is always showing me recipes that she likes. I don't speak a lick of Italian, so the only words in these recipes that I understand are the ones that resemble their French counterparts. So a few weeks ago when I arrived at her apartment, she had a cookbook sitting out, and said she wanted to give me the best recipe for ragu sauce. If I had to go the rest of my life without eating macaroni and cheese, I'd be pretty sad. Otherwise, I'm indifferent towards pasta but I feigned excitement over the recipe anyway. We stumbled our way through translating the recipe anyway, including switching it from metric.
So the other night I decided what the heck, I'll make this ragu. Wow oh wow, it was life changing.
Ragu-4 servings
2 big spoons of olive oil
1/2 lb of ground beef or sausage (I used beef)
3 pieces of bacon (the recipe called for 2 ounces of pancetta, but the roads were not passable the other night, so I didn't want to venture out to find pancetta)
1/3 an onion
1/2 a carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf
4-5 oz of red wine (not sweet, but otherwise I think any works)
14.5 oz can of petite diced tomato, with the juice (the recipe called for 10 1/2 oz of fresh tomatoes, but again, we didn't have that in the house, and the canned worked fine)
1-2 spoons of tomato paste
salt
pepper
1 ladle of beef broth
Dice the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Heat olive oil in pan and add diced vegetables. Add the bacon and bay leaf, and saute. Add the hamburger and increase the heat. When the meat is brown, add the wine and stir constantly until the wine is gone. Add the tomato and tomato paste, stir. Then add the broth, salt, and pepper. Cook slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
When the sauce had about 30 minutes left to cook, I found a Parmesan rind in the fridge. I decided to throw it in as well. Waste not, want not. But it'd be fine without that.
I cooked some polenta to eat with it, but I'm sure if you like pasta it'd be just as excellent with that. And of course top it with loads of grated Parmesan.
Unrelated.
Dennis Rodman, you'd better check yourself. If I drink too much wine, then am asked about someone I don't like, I sound pretty much just like him. "Listen, she's just...dumb...you don't understand what she did...in this country...illegal...she's horrible...these people with me...they're my friends"
But really man, what gives? I know KJU is your "best friend" but he just had his own uncle killed. Stalin was supposedly really into poetry and I'm sure there were some people in his inner circle that thought he was pretty okay, but that doesn't mean Uncle Joe wasn't bat sh*t crazy and responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
Dennis Rodman's gone from eccentric in a slightly charming way to straight up insane.
Dennis Rodman, Amanda Bynes, or Lindsay Lohan-who would be your first choice to babysit your children?
1 comment:
A: The guys behind Rodman look like they're thinking, "Dude. Seriously? I'll just be happy to be allowed to go home."
B. I would totally let Lohan baby-sit my kids before the other two.
C. I need to make that ragu. My grandma didn't really leave recipes like that for us. Some cookies and breads, but no sauces. Of course the Swedish side had to be the cooks. Bland bland (tasty sometimes but) bland.
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