The Big Night

A Big Night Indeed

I was daydreaming at work today (something that my supervisors would probably get a bit touchy about...I suppose putting it on my blog for all to see is not too smart) about some of those pivotal experiences in my life that led me to develop my love of food and cooking. There are too many to tackle, and in reality the smaller less memorable experiences were probably the most influential, nevertheless one in particular came to my mind today. Years ago a movie came out called Big Night, if you're a foodie like me, you'll love this one. It features some of the most beautiful Italian food, furthermore, the acting (it stars Tony Shaloub, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rosselini, and Minnie Driver) and story are incredible. In any case, I was a young lad, but my parents made me watch it. I was almost as mesmerized as they were.

They were so mesmerized in fact that they decided to put on a "Big Night" party of their own, featuring their own interpretations of the recipes in the movie. This was quite an undertaking, planning and executing a 5-6 course meal for 25 of their friends. Some of these dishes are amongst the most complex in the entirety of Italian cuisine, requiring subtle attention to flavor and difficult techniques.

As you can probably infer, they were going to need some help, a young amateur Nick, who was the eldest son of a family friend (who is now an incredible professional chef) and I volunteered to be sou chefs. Nick and I had some experience cooking together, and even then, we exchanged recipes (he was a few years older than me and acted as a kind of informal mentor for a couple of years, now he can cook circles around me).

The menu included (but was not limited to), chicken made under a brick, three different kinds of risotto, toretellini in brodo, and the flagship dish, Il Timpano. Il Timpano is perhaps the greatest single dish ever created. Named for the drum (Timpani) it fancifully resembles, it is a pie crust wrapped around perhaps the “best of” in Italian food. It has ragu, meat balls, fresh pasta tubes, hard boiled eggs, cheese, and pretty much any other delicious item you have hanging around. It is indeed perfection in a dish-with a crumbly outer crust filled with such delectable goodies....you can see I get carried away just talking about it.

In any case, I was too young to take on such an immense undertaking as the timpano. Instead, it was my job to chop parsley, onion and garlic all day until I could barely hold the knife, and then, watch the stove and dish out the risotto, I also did my fair share of cleaning. It wasn’t glamourous work-and I was so overwhelmed by the risotto (both the cooking of it, and the massive amount I snuck into my mouth while dishing it out), I couldn’t eat it for years, but I learnt so much from that back breaking work. Quality of food is directly correlated to effort and care.

As I continue to post recipes and tell stories, learn from my experience-enter your kitchens with light hearts and plenty of energy. The key to being a true stovetop junkie is not in the technical aspects of cooking, but feeling the great joy and satisfaction from chopping parsley and onion all day long.

More recipes and stories to come!