The Italian Cookbook Challenge

At a girls' night several weeks ago I introduced some of my friends to a gem of a 1950s cookbook, Maria Luisa Taglienti's The Italian Cookbook.  I had taken it as one of my keepsakes when my family cleaned out Poppy's house.  I'm calling it a gem because it has such choice sentences as "And, as with every recipe in this book, they have been carefully tested and have been set down in a form of measurement and direction that will be familiar to the American housewives and hostesses for whom this book is intended" (p. vi).  Oh 1950s, may your views on the home go the way of the Dodo.  The ladies did comment that it is a shame neither of my grandparents had written comments into the margins and maybe this is my opportunity to pull my own version of a Julie and Julia.

Truth be told, considering the fact that we found this cookbook in the bedroom not the kitchen, its rather pristine condition, and that generation of my family is straight from Italy makes me think possessing this book was actually a joke.  It's in my hands now though, so we are going to embark on a Brianne and Maria Luisa adventure.  This book is going to get the margin comments it deserves and I'll chronicle the exploits here as I have with everything else.  I won't go recipe by recipe, but I'll do my best to make all of them... there are a couple of recipes that use eel and I have no idea if I'll be able to find eel around here, but we'll see.  I'll also break it up with non Italian Cookbook recipes.  This may sound blasphemous, but even Italy will get old after awhile.  So buckle up my people, things are about to get interesting!

Adventure number one from The Italian Cookbook is Loin of Pork in Red Wine, Maiale al Vino Rosso.  After my initial read-through of the recipe, I have to say that this is not a book for beginners, contrary to what a few Amazon reviewers said.  [I did my due diligence on both this book and Maria Luisa and there really isn't much to say on either subject.  There are still a copy or two of either the first or second printings of this book, but they are way overpriced.  Maria Luisa is allegedly a member of a family that, at least at the time, was quite well connected both socially and politically.  She moved to the United States after World War II with her husband, an American soldier, she met during the war.  Internet searches will only produce results that are based on this one cookbook and one very random college blog post written by a grandchild discussing her.  None of this put me off from questioning her book's subtitle claiming she is an "Italian expert".  I may be an American, but I'm not about to move to another country and claim to be an expert on burgers and apple pie.  But I digress and you all can judge for yourselves.]

So, before my tangent we were discussing how not basic this cookbook is.  Maria Luisa reduced the cooking instructions to such a bare bones level, if you do not already know your way around the kitchen you might easily get lost.  In this recipe in particular she lists "1 clove garlic" as an ingredient and then instructs you to rub it on the pork loin.  Honestly, I have visions of 1950s housewives rubbing down a pork loin with a whole garlic clove then wondering what sort of voodoo flavor infusion is supposed to be occurring.  I think it's time we just straight to the recipe and I'll air my grievances as we go along.

Loin of Pork in Red Wine

Maiale al Vino Rosso

Ingredients:

5 lbs. pork loin
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 c. red wine (full bodied, Maria Luisa suggested Barolo)
1/2 c. tomato pasted diluted in 1 c. water
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Mince garlic onto the meat and rub in along with the salt and pepper.  Heat up a medium sauté pan over medium high heat.  Make sure it's heated before putting in the meat.  You are going to brown the pork in its own fat therefore you want to hear it sizzle as soon as it hits the pan.  Brown for about 3 minutes on each side.

 Reduce heat, add wine, cover, and simmer until the wine has evaporated - approximately 15 minutes.  You should notice a distinct change in smell; the hot wine scent at the start will have gone away.  Turn at least once during this time so that the meat is cooking evenly.

In case you were curious about what wine I chose, I went with a Toscana from Monte Antico.  It's a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from various Tuscan vineyards.

Add the diluted tomato paste and simmer pork for another hour, turning occasionally.  Before taking the meat off the stove, be sure to check its temperature with a meat thermometer.  You'll want it to be between 145F and 155F.

Now, at this point Maria Luisa says you can serve the pork with or without the sauce and that the sauce will be a treat when served with pasta.  No, just no.  The sauce is fine being served with the pork, but I do not think it's necessary and frankly, adds nothing to the enjoyment of the meal.  As for "being a treat," absolutely not.  The sauce, as a standalone item, tastes like you boiled a pork chop in tomato soup.  Why you would then wish to add that to your spaghetti is beyond me.  In my humble opinion [which, as we have all realized by now, is anything but humble] you do not need the tomato paste at all.  Add a little thyme and rosemary to the garlic, salt, and pepper rub and forgo the tomato paste all together.  If you are worried about the amount of liquid in the pan add a little bit of water, maybe some vegetable stock, or if you happen to be me, more wine.  The meat will come out beautifully and the gravy will be better for it.

The being said, I stuck to the cookbooks original recipe and am still quite pleased with the result.  The pork is very tender and juicy.  It was also a good meal to cook when temperatures are still on the high side since cooking on the stovetop does not usually spike the temperatures in the apartment the way roasting something in the oven will.

So, that is one recipe down and only 419 more to go!