I’m not dreaming of sugarplums but rather sfingi, struffoli and cheesecake! Oh yeah… CHEESECAKE! – Tony Giordano

Throughout the nation many families embrace the culinary spirit of their heritage. On Staten Island, many embrace the spirit of their Italian heritage. For me this connection reminds me of my childhood and of fantastic holiday celebrations.

My memories of Christmas’s past all revolve around family, food, wine and agita (Italian-American slang for upset stomach). Alka seltzer was served almost like an appetizer. My family’s holiday celebrations were monolithic. Someone not familiar might be intimidated by the mass of people and raucous celebration. All our family members would converge together and bring their contribution to the celebration. All the food was homemade and usually from a family recipe many generations old.

If you have been reading my all my posts you know that Italians view cooking as an art not a task and put a lot of heart and soul into the recipes. Dining was a true experience (especially at my family! Whew!). It’s a family affair with conversation and long hours basking in the kitchen and dinner table.

Christmas was a culinary festival. My childhood memories don’t revolve around sugarplums, Christmas hams or gingerbread. Nah, not me! It was more like homemade lasagna, stuffed calamari, cacciucco (a seafood boil), seafood fra diavolo,  sogliola alla Mugnaia (lemon-butter sole), sfingi (fried hole less doughnuts), struffoli/pingulatta (fried balls of dough covered in honey and almonds), biscotti, cheesecakes and Napoleon cake. Oh yeah, CHEESECAKE. My godmother makes the best cheesecake.

This Christmas embrace the spirit of the season and culinary delights of your heritage. I will share my family recipes for the holiday season and I hope you will submit your family treasures for the holidays. Just send me what culinary delights that reawaken those childhood memories.

You can submit any recipe anytime. Just go to my contact page or e-mail me at tgiordano@statenislandfoodandwine.com.

Thanks for reading.

The next post will be on Sfingi.

What is better than to sit at the end of the day and drink wine with friends, or substitutes for friends! – James Joyce

Pinot Grigio is one of the world’s most popular wines.  Unfortunately, its popularity has overshadowed other white Italian wines like Orvieto (which is a better white wine).

Italy is the main producer of Pinot Grigio. In fact, Italy is the main producer of wine in the world. All 20 regions of Italy are producers of wine. Italy regularly surpasses France in the sheer quantity of wine made. About half of the wine is exported, mainly to France.

The standard Pinot Grigio is a light bodied, high acid, delicate white wine. It should have an intense aroma, flavor and weight. It should not be rich and full bodied as a red wine. A Pinot Grigio pairs well with seafood, light pastas and cheese and cracker combinations.

With this in mind why does this 2008 Kris Pinot Grigio seem more like a chardonnay?

The 2008 Kris Pinot Grigio is from Italy and hails from the Veneto region. I purchased the bottle from Pete Milano’s Wine and Liquors at 1440 Forest Avenue. http://businessfinder.silive.com/2277526/Pete-Milanos-Discount-Wine-and-Liquor-Staten-Island-N

The price of the wine was about $14 for a 750 ml bottle.

At first sight the wine is a clear gold color. As you swirl the wine in your glass it appears to be oily and cling to sides. It does not have a lot of legs. One taster found it to have a brilliant clarity. Visually the wine was very appealing.

Unfortunately, the bouquet or nose of the 2008 Kris Pinot Grigio is not as appealing as it is visually. The scent of this wine is clean with no fruity aroma. Some of the tasters found the wine to have an overly powerful bouquet. I found the wine to have a noticeably oak scent.

The 2008 Kris Pinot Grigio is a dry white wine. The acidity was flat but one taster found it refreshing. One major flaw was that most tasters thought this was a chardonnay during the blind tasting. The rationale for this was the heavier than normal body for a Pinot Grigio. One taster said it was similar to a red wine tannins in overall mouth feel too. Tannins are not in white wines.

Overall the 2008 Kris Pinot Grigio is an acceptable wine but not well balanced. The major flaw was the unusual heavy body for a Pinot Grigio. It scored 13 out of 20 points from our tasters. As I find most white wines, especially Pinot Grigio’s, it was boring and uninteresting (I sound like a pompous ass.) Please try the wine and e-mail your opinion.

Thank you for reading.

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