Tell me...

[silverthorne]

Someone Please tell me that the people from California who have Italian ancestry (and supposedly Grandma's cookbook) don't seriously consider spicy chili pepper an appropriate seasoning for plain old marinara sauce.

Because if they do, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go and get all the old Sicilian family friends back in NJ and sic 'em on those poor fools.

Chili pepper. In the marinara sauce! And this guy claims to be an Italian. I'm a damned celt through and through and I know better, okay?

I'm coming to the conclusion I should never trust a guy claiming to be Italian who has the first name of 'Chip'. Seriously. We'll leave this sort of thing to National Lampoon, okay? Just...get off my food yard!

...At least the potato soup tastes like potato soup. With a lot of black pepper in it.

Comments

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

I'm used to marinara with a little chili pepper.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

...hmn.

Okay.

One thing though; is there enough in it that you're breathing fire with half a spoonful? I know there's chili in some recipies, but for the sake of adding a slight bite, not enough to burn the inside of your mouth lining.

Because that's what this 'professional' 'italian' chef did. To hospital food. Served not only to employees but visitors to the hospital. Like, you know, OLD FOLKS, including the lunch and learn group that came in today.

And no, they don't tell you they've done it, either. To this guy, that's 'normal' marinara, supposedly.

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

That's not marinara. Hmm.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think what bothers me most about it is that although I understand that (other than the fact that pro-trained or not, the guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing--and after nine years, including kitchen and prep time for me in food service, I feel confident in saying that) he's coming from a different regional area, he's also tried to pass himself off to me when we talked as someone tradtionally taught in italian cuisine. As in he supposedly knows how to make the same dishes I was used to eating back in Jersey when my family would get together with the neighborhood friends (who were, for the most part, Italian, including several first-generation Americans).

Add to that that my former boss here was also Italian (I sued her last name for Derek's 'real' surname, indentally...), and we'd both have the same reaction to the recipies...

I mean, when the actual italian eats the food and goes 'WTFBBQ?'...then you know something got fucked up, and it wasn't just an affort to spice up the food a little for the local populace (when that happens, it's jalapenos on everything time. :/).

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

I think you smell bullshit.