SAL DeTRAGLIA's VIRTUAL TAPAS BAR
Above average home cook, published humorist, endurance athlete, former ex-pat, recovering attorney, doting husband, dedicated dad, non-Italian speaking Italian-American, and endearingly lousy ukulele player. It’s all true. It’s all Sal. This website (www.saldetraglia.com) is my outlet to inform and entertain, on both the personal and professional fronts.
Hello, friends, family, and Uticans past and present. We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of my mother—Master Chef Frances Cecere Oliva. Hers was a long, giggly, gourmet life. Frances was born in Utica in 1919. For those of you who might be math-challenged, that was almost 100 years ago. Her parents, Angelo … Read more
After a giggly, gourmet, ninety-six-ish year journey, my grandmother (“Nonnie”) has taken a seat at that great macaroni house in the sky. When a family member dies, I’m usually asked to write a eulogy. It’s a task that, quite frankly, I’d be happy to do without. But in Nonnie’s case, the eulogy was easy. I’ve been … Read more
And now for another installment of our continuing series. This classic Nonnie recipe is for Fucazzo (pronounced, “foo-GOTS”)—an Italian onion and anchovy pie that, oddly enough, was one of my childhood favorites. Nonnie made her Fucazzo in the form of a calzone—spreading the ingredients over a layer of pizza dough, covering it with a top … Read more
And now for another installment of our continuing series… Here’s yet-another recipe from Nonnie that screams to be released into the public domain. This time it’s “Nonnie’s Mushroom Stew.” You know, Nonnie has only one goal in life: That everyone can eat as well as Fat Sal, yet still fit into his ruffley, pea green … Read more
Long time patrons of this VTB know that I have—from time to time—released prized family recipes into the public domain in order to assure their immortality. Most of those recipes have been Nonnie’s—including The Oliva Family’s Macaroni Sauce and the now-immortal pusties. In today’s installment, I am releasing another recipe. This is one that I … Read more
Our good friend and VTB-VIP, Culinary Fool, has been blogging lately about her grandmother’s Christmas cookie recipes. That got me thinking about my own Nonnie’s holiday specialty—pusties! I’m not sure if pusties (also known as “pasticcioti”) are an Italian or Italo-American invention…although I suspect the latter. And I’m not sure if they’re available in other … Read more
I was leafing through my electronic photo archive tonight and stumbled upon this photo. It’s of a fully-haired, tackily-dressed, 19 year old Sal hanging out in the kitchen with his grandmother (whom I shall refer to as “Nonnie”…because that’s what I’ve called her since 1967). I’ve mentioned Nonnie several times in the past (here and … Read more
My uncle vacationed in Italy a few years ago, and was disappointed with the food. He considered it bland compared to the “Italian” food to which he was accustomed in the US. I wasn’t surprised by his conclusion. In fact, I think that the reasons behind it are pretty simple. My uncle is Italian-American, and he was … Read more
If Tomate Pie is Utica, NY’s favorite entrée, then pusties are its superstar dessert. Pusties (aka, pasticciotti) are little pastry tarts filled with custard and baked in a unique fluted tin. It’s a culinary jewel that is maddeningly difficult to find outside of upstate New York. It’s also maddeningly difficult to make at home—which may … Read more
One of these days, I’ll tell you guys what I’ve been up to lately. I’ll tell you about my first taste of durian. I’ll tell you about my brush with the great Alton Brown. I’ll give you a recipe for Nonnie’s Mushroom Stew. Those are matters for a different day. As for today, however, I … Read more
