Nostalgia

Is it possible to have nostalgia for a place where you have never lived? I sometimes feel a generational pang for the homeland not of my father but my grandfather.

It seems real enough, like a calling back to somewhere I belong. But how can it be? It's impossible, isn't it?

Visions of Barga 2009

Just got back from the old homeland for too much grappa, vino and food. The weather was amazingly good for January. Not warm, mind you, but beautiful sunshine every day.

I may chronicle some of the eating and drinking at a later date. In the meantime, these lovely images will have to suffice.

A two for one grappa scenario

My traditional grappa bet with the owner of one of our regular haunts has just got better. We were on an even stake but he is so confident he has doubled his contribution. Now I get two bottles if I win.

If you remember the terms, I have Inter as my team to progress the furthest in the Champions League while he has Arsenal. The Nerazzurri have their work cut out against Man United but I am hopeful Roma can give the Gunners a hard time.

Anyway, Forza Inter e Roma...

The fatted pig!

Amazing, truly amazing. Our Thursday evening escapades have always had a medieval banquet feel to them but never quite so much as last week. Our host provided nothing less than a whole suckling pig for us to feast upon (vegetarians turn away now).

Basted in honey, the pig was essentially sliced into eight big chunks for us to dine on. All washed down, of course, with the grappa on the table. A fine time indeed...

All I want for Christmas

When you get to a certain age, Christmas is more about the kids than it is about you. Still, be honest, you'd like to get a few of your favourite things on 25 December. Strangely, mine have never really changed from about age 12.

What I would love to get for Christmas:

1) Ipod Touch
2) Play Station 3
3) Scalextric
4) Some kind of internet radio/wireless music system.

What I will actually get for Christmas:

1) A jumper
2) Nice shirt
3) Maybe after shave...

I dont want to seem ungrateful because I will like the jumper, shirt and maybe after shave. It is just I would get so much more excited by a gadget. Ah, we boys never grow up. I think it is an overrated pastime anyway.

Getting the festive feeling

A double-header, can I cope? Out on Thursday night with the boys then the following evening with work colleagues. That used to be water off a duck's back but, then, I used to be able to sleep in or snooze in the afternoon. Now I have two kids and those are not really options.

It's not so much that I can't still do the drinking, I just can't recover. I end up tired and grumpy for about three days after the event. Hardly an endearing combination. Still, we shall see how I get on. Strangely, going Chinese on both occasions which is unusual - although Friday night is more modern European meets Chinese.

I will keep you posted.

An evening with a hero

Adelmo Fornaciari - better known as Zucchero - stopped off in Glasgow last night. It was an event no Scottish Italian could miss. So, of course, I was there.

My first memory of hearing his music was when his hit "Con Le Mani" was used on some television advert in the late 1980s (I think). I was immediately hooked by its beat. It started me searching out his back catalogue and following his career. From the great Oro, Incenso e Birra (Gold Frankincense and Beer) and beyond.

Anyway, the Loch Lomond Suite in Glasgow's SECC was the intimate venue for his only Scottish date. And it was among the most pleasant couple of musical hours I have ever spent. His voice is holding up well despite the fact that he is now in his 50s. There were some good rocking numbers and a few more gentle-paced songs too. Personal highlights were "Diamante", "Per colpa di chi" and "Diavolo in Me".

The dialogue with the audience was minimal. "It's better to speak in good Italian than bad English," he explained. "Many British acts come to Italy and we don't understand them." That was the sum total of his chat for the night.

It was just a good, old-fashioned gig with high class musicians and a singer who knew how to get the best out of his songs. It was all over too soon but not before the voice of Luciano Pavarotti echoed through the hall on the haunting Miserere. An emotional and powerful package. Grazie mille, Zucchero.

Lidl goes Grappa!

A humble hunt for cut-price food - this is the credit-crunch you know - produced unexpected results this week. There, stacked among the 50% off veg and strange imported snacks, was a familiar-looking bottle. Could it really be?

Yes, that slightly gold liquid was well-known to me. On the shelves of supermarket chain Lidl there appeared a bottle of grappa! At an acceptable price of £12.99.

Now, I know what you are asking - did you go and buy it? Well, the answer is not yet. Somehow, I had some reservations about the quality of the brew. What has happened to me?

I feel bad even as I write this. Call myself a grappa man and I turned down the opportunity to purchase a bottle? Changed days, I fear, changed days...

Eating for Dumfries and Galloway

I have been trying this crazy experiment for a week, attempting to eat only food grown or produced in Dumfries and Galloway, the region where I live. It might have been easy for those who like meat and two veg for their evening meal every day. For a Scottish-Italian who loves his pasta it has been a bit of a nightmare.

The nice thing, however, has been going into little shops and farmers markets. Places where the conversation amounts to something more than "Would you like help with your packing?" followed by 59 beeps from a cash-register and then "Would you like cashback?".

The food DOES, by and large, taste better. Once you get over your fear of a big slab of meat or a fish tail or some such that doesn't come pre-packed in clingfilm it is actually quite nice. You feel a bit like a hunter-gatherer of old.

Still, be glad to get back to the pasta...

I grow old, I grow old. I shall wear my trousers rolled...

It is Thursday, therefore I shall go out. I sped back from a scriptwriting course just to meet my friends for a good meal. It was a Chinese. Should I, as an Italo-Scot feel ashamed? Should I shun the noodle and the fried rice?

Most importantly, can I admit my love of Chinese food is largely due to the woman pictured above? Ching He Huang has made the cuisine both fashionable AND sexy. Something which has largely failed most people. Except, perhaps, Nigella when she talked about Italian food and nipped down to the fridge for extra dessert in her dressing gown in the middle of the night.

Oh lord, I am an old fool...

PS. We had a platter of ribs, seaweed, spring rolls, chicken wings and satay skewers followed by sweet and sour chicken, crispy beef and duck in a chilli sauce. Heaven.

Hurrah! And then not hurrah!

I have been away from this blog too long. I realise it is one I can only turn to in my hour of need. Or, when I read a story like this...

Could it be that grappa comes full circle? Remember the old brew they used to offer you with a rag in the top and watch your face for a reaction when you drank it? Well, apparently they want to make it legal.

The mind, quite rightly, boggles.

I can picture it now - Acquavita dal bagno di Ginkers, Grappa Cucina di Martino or even Spirito di Cencio! Heck, any fool would be looking to brew their own. Now where are those grapes the kids just threw away...

Grappa goes legit?

I was sitting down with the wife the other night wondering what to watch on television. The kids were safely tucked up in bed, a nice meal consumed, it was time for some mild entertainment.

And what better than the tried and tested format of Mastermind? There were a couple of decent specialised subjects (The Godfather Trilogy and something else which I have forgotten). And you can always get a few general knowledge answers.

But there, in the grand final, the programme's crowning glory, what did I hear? A question about my favourite drink! "What do you call the Italian liqueur made up of all the old guff left over after wine-making?" asked the quiz meister. I nearly choked on my post-prandial espresso.

Ah, that it has come to this. What next - Oz Clarke and James May's Grappa Tour?

Go on, give the kids a treat

It is nearly Easter so why not look at a sweet treat for the kids? But this year, forgot all the chocolate eggs - give them doughnuts instead. I like to think I have found the perfect ones here!

Can you imagine the fun you could have with these little beauties? I bet you will never have such a peaceful Easter Sunday as the children snore away the afternoon...

That it should come to this!

The headline sent a chill down my spine...

"More bikies charged over grappa shooting!"

That the nights out with the boys should come to this!

http://news.theage.com.au/more-bikies-charged-over-grappa-shooting/20080208-1r2q.html

Co-author finds fame?

What is this I see before me? Under a thinly-veiled pen-name have I caught my co-author entering the world of novel writing?

Surely he would have used a less obvious nom-de-plume? And yet listen to the plot details and you will realise it has his fingerprints all over it.

"The book follows Poppy Shannon as she goes from a spoilt little rich girl to a lose it all poor girl.

"The subject is a familiar one, but the way Reilly deals with it is not.

"Her (His) dialogue is the funniest ever - I have read most of her (his) books now - still trying to get my hands on Is This Love though.

"The book starts as Poppy's husband informs her that his business partner has run off with the company profits.

"He tells her that they have to sell their huge house, downsize and move to suburbia.

"For Poppy, who has lived in the best places all her life, this is a major shock."

Talk about writing what you know!!! Lived in the best places? Sounds like Leith to me!

Honey Grappa!

Grappa Honey? Now there's two words I'd like to hear Monica Bellucci whispering in my ear at the end of a meal!

However someone in Italy has came up with a different way of combining them. The above was an unwanted Christmas present for someone at work and being a generous soul and knowing that I partake of a grappa or two every now and then, he decided to pass it over to me.

Grappa Al Miele does sound like a strange combination but as it is only a miniature bottle I have to admit I'm intrigued enough to have a wee taste. Well, what have I got to lose? Although I did notice that the manufacturer is La Benedettina. My Italian isn't that great but is this something to do with Benedictan Monks?

Is this Italy's answer to Buckfast!!??

The bottle's on the table

There are sweet words on a night out which are a pleasure to hear. Perhaps the whisper of your loved one telling you how they feel. Possibly one of your dining partners saying they don't really like langoustine and could you finish their portion. But, above all, your host saying: "There's the grappa, I'll leave it on the table".

It was one of those nights on Thursday. A table for 12, some good friends down from Glasgow and a lot of old pals round a table. A mix of stupid football talk, memories of nights gone by and crude humour. A perfect combination - I am sure you would agree.

When the bottle landed on the table, it knew it was being consigned to history. With a dozen grappa drinkers round about what did you expect? All credit to our host for sacrificing a bottle to us. Although work was a bit slow the following day...

A pleasant parcel

I have recently been lucky enough to receive - whisper it - a Grappa Handbook! I hardly believed such a thing existed but those wonderful people at Nardini have produced one and, trust me, it does justice to my favourite drink.

One of its aims is to help raise the profile of grappa and get it more recognition for the quality drink it is. Amen to that, I say.

Among the sections are some recipes with grappa and a list of grappa cocktails. Normally I would be against this kind of thing and yet, to tell the truth, they looked quite good. I may share some recipes in future. I am intrigued to find out just how many are drinkable and what quantity it might be possible to consume them in.

Diaries on tour (again)

No posts for a few days but, be warned, when I get back there will be plenty of grappa to talk about. Please feel free to post all suggestions as to what grappas to buy for Christmas in my absence!

If I knew you were coming, I would bake a cake

I've never really thought much of baking. It seemed too much like science and not enough fun. Cooking, I love. But baking? No thank you.

However, thanks to a suggestion on this blog my inventive juices started to flow. Maybe there is a place for baking in my repertoire after all. Imagine my interest at stumbling across this recipe for, yes you read it right, strawberry, grappa and mascarpone fairy cakes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2112324,00.html

Now, my old Nonno is probably pulling his baffi out from beyond the grave at the very thought. Bad enough to put fruit near grappa (A woman's drink, he might have said). But to add in mascarpone? And to call it a fairy cake?

You know what though, I might try to bake some. If I do, be sure you will see the results of my labour here. Remember not to feed them to the kids.