Ciao Italia family Classics, Interview and Giveaways!

"Abbondanza!" (Italian: NOUN - Abundance, richness) That is the spirit of the new book release, Ciao Italia Family Classics by Author/Chef/TV Host, Mary Ann Esposito of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito coming out late October just in time for Italian Heritage Month. Enjoy this culinary jewel complete with more than three generations of Mary Ann's family recipes.

"You cannot seperate food and family with an Italian family because the center of it is love."

-- Mary Ann Esposito
TV Host/Author/Chef

Listen here for an exclusive CiaoDC.com interview with Mary Ann Esposito.

DC's Festa Italiana 2011

The 13th Annual Festa Italiana promises to be all things Italian to Washingtonians and festa goers alike. Celebrating in the heart of -- what was once DC's Little Italy and is now trendy Penn Quarter -- 3rd and F Streets, NW will scream Italiana with red, white and green gelato popsicles by DC's own Dolci Gelati; pig-spitting porchetta by Toscana Cafe; homemade pizza and pasta; cannoli; and cup cakes?!; opera singing; stilt walking, oh my! Plus, CiaoDC's old time Marketing Partner and friend, Elio Scaccio will be Master of Ceremonies and will perform songs from his latest CD, Lettere D'Amore. Other entertainment on tap will include The Duke Ellington Opera Singers and Former Miss Ohio soprano, Andrea Beagel with her band, Ciao Bella. All this and more will come alive opposite Holy Rosary Italian Catholic Church and Casa Italiana. Kids activities, live entertainment and good eats are a sure bet this year. Come out and visit CiaoDC.com's canopy at Festa too. Free and open to the public. Festa Italiana 2011 will be held on Sunday, October 9, 2011, 11:30 - 5:30 p.m., 3rd & F Street, NW, Washington, DC. Judiciary Square Metro. CiaoDC.com is the proud media sponsor of Festa Italiana. Listen to interview with CiaoDC.com and Festa Italiana President, Joe Onofretti here.

Remembering the role of Italian Americans in the Labor Movement

As we embark upon the Labor Day weekend filled with cookouts, parties, weddings and trips out of town, it is easy to forget the reason for this Federal holiday.  This day that many of us have off from work, commemorates the hard work of the labor movement.  Everyone has their own opinion on labor, which has been caught in crossfires across the country this past year.  However, we should remember the benefits that we still enjoy today that were brought to us by the movement - the weekend, a 40 hour work week, and minimum wage, among others.

In addition, many Italians who immigrated to the U.S. during the height of the European immigration worked in cities across the United States in blue-collar jobs.  They contributed a lot to this country, along with laborers from all over the world.  Of course, many still do today as evidenced by Italian American Labor Councils in cities like Chicago and New York.  If you have some free time this weekend, here are a list of links from around the web where you can read about Italian American involvement in the labor movement.  Happy Labor Day!

NIAF: Milestones of the Italian American Experience

Journal of International Labor and Working Class History: The Lost World of Italian-American Radicalism: Labor, Politics and Culture

NYU: Guide to the Records of the Italian American Labor Council (1941-1996)

Cornell University: Photos at an Italian American Labor Council Concert in NYC (1942)

I-italy.org: The Fire that Changed America (Bonvicini)

Please leave your comments about these articles, leave suggestions of other articles, or just your memories on the movement.

"Tutti a tavola!" -- An Italian Cooking Lesson

Italian instructor Umberto and Chef Vincenzo have teamed up to put together a new, fun and taste-bud pleasing event. Join The Italian Language Meetup Group us for a cooking lesson and discover the art and traditions of Italian cuisine while practicing your Italian. Please bring your own wine or beer then sit down and taste these delicious creations together with your classmates.

• When: September 22, 2011
• Where: United Church Kitchen (basement level)
• Cost: $35.00. Prices in the future will vary depending on the menu.
• Maximum of 20 participants per class
• Minimum of 15 participants (if less than 15 participants, the course will be canceled and the fee returned)

How it works:

• RSVP for the event on the Meetup website (click here).
• Show up, meet our teachers, and enjoy a demonstration of traditional recipes.
• Learn how to prepare, cook and then taste the food with your classmates.
• The teachers are bilingual and all classes are held in Italian and English.
• Menu for September 22, 2011:
  • Pizzelle fritte.
  • Pasta fresca fatta in casa al "pesto genovese" e alla "sorrentina".
  • Panna cotta con salsa di mirtilli al balsamico.

• Bring your own favorite drink.
• Some recipes may contain allergens, please let us know if you have any food allergies.

Cineforum Italiano: Happy Family

HAPPY FAMILY

Academy award-winning veteran director Gabriele Salvatores (Mediterraneo) delivers a colorful tongue-in-cheek comedy about a writer holed up in his apartment in Milan one hot summer trying to punch out a story while the characters come to life around him offering their input on the direction they think the story should take.

Recently dumped screenwriter Ezio (Fabio De Luigi) is having trouble writing a story about two neurotic families whose paths cross when their teenage children, Filipo and Marta, decide to marry. The family members - Filipo's parents (played by scene-stealer Fabrizio Bentivoglio and the magnificent Margherita Buy) and Marta's parents (the remarkable Diego Abatantuono and Carla Sinoris) – arrange to have dinner to meet for the first time, with hilarious consequences. Ezio soon writes himself into his script, and into a love story, while the characters bother him about having bigger and better roles!

Gorgeously shot, playfully acted and energetically paced, Salvatores tips his hat to the film's origins on stage (co-scripter Alessandro Genovesi helped adapt his own successful play) with opening shots of a stage curtain, preparing the audience for the theatrical interplay to come.

The film is being screened by The Italian Language Meetup Group on August 14, 2011 at Letelier Theater in Georgetown. Tickets are $8.00 with advance purchase or $10.00 at the door. Click here for full details.

Director: Gabriele Salvatores

Italy | 2010 | 92'

Cast: Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Margherita Buy, Valeria Bilello, Fabio De Luigi

IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

Eataly in DC?

I am sure by now that you have all heard the plans announced last week by Eataly that they are planning to open stores in DC and and LA by the end of 2012.  The Italian food and drink behemoth chain is reminiscent of a collection of nation-states, each named for a famous Italian culinary tradition: La Pizza e Pasta, Le Vedure, La Pizza, Manzo, I Panini,  Pasticceria, Birreria, and of course, La Gelateria.

While this should be exciting news for a city with an ever-burgeoning population of Italophiles, DCist.com explains their "muted" response with evidence of Eataly's lackluster beer and wine menu.  While they are giving the benefit of the doubt to the abundance of specialty foods at Eataly, they also question its need, given the influx of superb restaurants like Fiola and Graffiato.

Although, the October 2010, New York Times' appraisal of the New York location applauded the wine selection at Manzo, Eataly's  only sit-down restaurant that takes reservations.  They also spoke highly of the food at Il Pesce and La Pasta.

One of the looming questions that will remain until its opening here in DC, will this location be the same sort of congested circus as its American flagship store in the Big Apple?  Let's hope not.

This Weekend: Italian Pavilion at the Summer Fancy Foods Show!

The Summer Fancy Foods Show at the Washington Convention Center begins this morning.  As enthusiasts of a country that is world-renowned for its culinary genius, we are most excited about the massive Italian Pavilion that will welcome more than 200 exhibitors of Italian food and drink!

The event will open in style at 10:45 am, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand salute from Italian Trade Commission representatives and Italian exhibitors hosting journalists and food enthusiasts with a prosecco toast!

 The Italian Trade Commission is celebrating its 30th year of welcoming guests to the largest pavilion at the show.  Once again, the pavilion will proffer a myriad of authentic and specialty food and wine.  Attendees of the Italian Pavilion will benefit from the wealth of product knowledge available from the exhibitors and the ability to see and taste Italy’s finest offerings of cheese, freshly pressed fruit juices, extra virgin olive oil, freshly-cooked pasta, wine, gelato and other desserts. 

There will also be an array of new items this year, including: frozen pizza and focaccia, individually quick-frozen and organic quick-frozen desserts and dairy products,  flavored vinegars and salts, artisanal beer,  ready to eat dishes, new extra virgin olive oils.  I am betting that one of the big draws for those with food allergies will be the addition of gluten free products.  

This year is the 57th annual Summer Fancy Food show.  What started out with just 40 exhibitors has grown to one of the biggest draws for retailers, restaurateurs, and distributors looking to discover the next up and coming trend in food and beverage.  The show will run through July 12th. You can find the Italian Pavilion at 1040-1765, Exhibit Hall A,B,C.  For the complete schedule and more information, visit the show's website.

Update: You can read i-Italy's write-up on the "The Response of the Italian Producers"  here.