la.foodblogging

The other night, I went to hear UCLA professor Luigi Ballerini give a talk about the famed Italian cookbook by Pellegrino Artusi with the title, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

The event was a scholarship fundraiser for the Westside Bruin Club. The annual program combines an ethnic dinner followed by a speaker from UCLA on a topic related to that ethnic group. Last year, we went to Darya, a Persian restaurant. For this year, with the Olympics in Torino going on right now, a lot of our minds (and dining appetites) were set on Italy!

Selecting a venue for such events has three requirements: (1) good food (2) not overly pricey and (3) the facility and staffing to handle a group greater than 20 people. Our club organizers are quite familiar with Westside dining and selected Bravo Cucina which performed wonderfully on all three criteria.

Bravo Cucina is located in the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica between Santa Monica and Arizona. Thus, parking is relatively easy as there are multi-level public lots nearby for $3.00 after 6 pm.

As you enter the first level you see about a dozen small tables for couples and small groups of friends. There is an open kitchen so you can see the cooks at work. There is an upper level which was set up for our group.

Our package menu was three courses.

The first course choice was organic mixed green salad or zuppa del giorno which was a non-dairy creamed broccoli. I think in our group more went for the salad than the soup but all seemed pleased with their choice. I had the organic mixed green salad. Delightfully fresh ingredients! The mixed greens were sprinkled on top with chopped marinated tomatoes and pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan cheese. All of it lightly mixed with a just right vinaigrette dressing.

The second course offerings were: capellini al pomodoro, spaghetti primavera or penne arrabiata with chicken.

Sticking with the vegetable theme, I went with the spaghetti primavera. Again, a terrific blend of veggies: zucchini, roasted bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes and roasted garlic sauteed in extra virgin olive oil.

Portions were moderate which most finished but I took about 1/3 of it home for leftovers … I’m watching my weight!

Around me, many guests opted for the penne which they enjoyed remarking it has a nice bit of zip in the tomato sauce

For desert, the choices were: Tiramisu or chocolate cake. I had the chocolate cake. Resistance was futile, I had about 2/3 of that.

After the meal, we then had the presentation by Prof. Ballerini.

The book was published in 1891 which was 30 years after the political unification of Italy in 1861. At the the time, French cooking was the dominant force in European cooking. Thus, Artusi’s cookbook proved to be more than just a collection of random recipes. Instead, it became part of the Italian cultural identity fostering both national pride and preserving the regional distinctiveness in cooking styles and recipes.

Artusi the person became the big name in cooking just as Casanova the person became descriptive of a certain type of lifestyle and Machiavelli the person became linked to political power playing.

Artusi was a very wealthy man and travelled to various parts of Italy collecting recipes. And if he couldn’t get the recipe, he would have his two cooks at home try to mimic the various dishes he tried until they got it to where he liked it. In his book, he claimed he worked out the recipes but other historical information suggests the two cooks were really behind them. However, Artusi did reward them handsomely in his will.

His book was the first cookbook to have a large circulation. Historians have found cookbooks as far back as the 15th century but they were only really recipe collections for the wealthy and were usually in Latin. Artusi’s cookbook became popular with the masses and became an heirloom passed down from mother to daughter and daughter-in-law.

In addition to the numerous recipes, Artusi wrote introductions for them that included historical anecdotes often in over-the-top narrative style.

For example, in the introduction to a recipe for minestrone, Artusi reported having some and then feeling sick a few days later! Intially, he blamed the chef who made the minestrone. But he later found out the village where he had the minestrone was hit by cholera and the chef who made the minestrone had died of cholera and his own discomfort was cholera! In another colorful story, the introduction to a macaroni recipe included Artusi’s description of a guest in the restaurant who spoke too loudly about his plans to carry out a terrorist bombing. He later found out that the talkative man was involved in a failed plot to assassinate Napoleon.

The book continues to have great popularity in Italy. In 1939, two different editions were published in English. The mass marketed edition was the poorer translation of the two. The edition worked on by Ballerini and others was an update on the less well known version.

Bravo Cucina
1319 Third St. Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Phone: 310.394.0374
Fax 310.394.3037
Hours: Mon - Thu 11 am to 10:30 pm
Fri- Sun 11 am to 11:30 pm

By Rene (see more of his posts). You can find more of Rene's writing at his own website Rene's Ramblings