Italian for Beginners In order to eat Italian, you have to speak it. Here are some words to help you get started. Buona serra—(Bwon-ah-sair-ah)—good evening Grazie—(ga-rah-zee-ay)—thank you Trattoria—(traht-tor-ee-ah)—eating house, restaurant Pane—(pah-nay)—bread; Italians almost always eat chicken parm with thick, spongy, nicely crusted Italian bread Pollo—(poh-lo)—chicken; it’s chicken parmigiano and not parmigiana because pollo is a masculine word, ergo the o and not an a at the end of parmigiano. Formaggio—(for-mah-joe)—cheese Dolce—(dole-chay)—dessert
Pollo Perfetto; Other places to find the very good Chicken Parm • Dino’s Ristorante Italiano Worcester, MA • Piccolo’s Worcester, MA • Rovezzi’s Ristorante Sturbridge, MA
Chicken Reigns Supreme The chicken cutlet, or cottaletta in Italian, is arguably the most important part of the dish. Differing from a fillet, a cutlet should be rather thin and very tender. Tenderness is key. Overcooking or drying-out a cutlet can be very easy. It should be pounded somewhat thin, but not so much that you can read a newspaper through it. Personal preference may vary, but you’re looking for something about half the thickness of a New York sirloin. Telltale signs a chicken might be overdone: crunchy breading, hard breading, and burnt edges. Slow cooking is one way to prevent dry chicken, a tried and true method used by Chioda’s Trattoria. When these elements come together—the freshest sauce spiced slightly with oregano, a little extra mozzarella and a perfectly pounded, tender, breaded cutlet lightly spiced and fried only in pure, extra virgin olive oil—the result is a mouth-watering gastronomic symphony known as chicken parmigiano.
48
Foodies of New England