Celebration of Harrisburg: For a night, forget the incinerator and re-live the city’s salad days.

June 18, 2012 | by Lawrance Binda

If you’ve lived a long life in Harrisburg, you probably remember Alsedek’s Restaurant. How about JH Troup and Co. music?

In the end, it wasn’t really about the records that were sold at Troup’s on Market Square or what was on the lunch menu at Alsedek’s located across the Broad Street Market.

For generations, these were places for people to meet up, socialize and be a part of their city. And that, said Anne Alsedek, is what made life in Harrisburg so meaningful.

“It’s a story of community, of family, of sharing, and the fact that people really have a need to come together,” said Alsedek, education director at Open Stage of Harrisburg.

They were places that gave texture to city life, that tied together the people, gave them common cause and interests.

In June, Open Stage will recall those days with “Stories from Home: Market2Market,” a play featuring snippets of life in Harrisburg over many years, focused on two places: Market Square downtown and the Broad Street Market area in Midtown.

Alsedek said the idea of a play about Harrisburg came about as a kind of counter-balance to the negative attention the city often receives.

Harrisburg has a long, colorful history, but one that isn’t really about monuments of the Capitol or even its many floods and misfortunes. It’s a story about relationships and neighborhoods, which often focused around city markets—Harrisburg once had seven.

“There was so much material that it was difficult narrowing our scope, so we focused on two market areas,” she said, adding that other neighborhoods will featured in future years.

You won’t get a lot of what Harrisburg is known for today—petty politics, in-fighting, debt.

Instead, the voices of ordinary people will be heard.

Alsedek interviewed the few people still around who remember the city’s golden years, before post-war deindustrialization, to capture stories of colorful characters, teenage life, crazy old ladies. Historical research yielded more stories, which stretch back to the 19^th century.

“The city needs a breather and a chance to pat itself on the back after a very difficult time,” said Alsedek, whose husband’s family owned the namesake restaurant. “So, we planned a little celebration.”

But it’s not just a story of what was, of what is lost. The play may leave many residents with a sense of what could be again, said Stuart Landon, Open Stage’s marketing manager.

Cities, after all, are designed so that people make connections and share experiences. Harrisburg, for all its problems, is no different in that regard.

“We’re re-living the past so that we can learn from it,” said Landon.

Wild Expression: Gerald Putt has built career as wildife artist.

June 17, 2012 | by Kermit G. Henning

Many of us could be described as being products of our environment – Gerald Putt sure is.

Putt grew up on the shores of Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs and grew to become an award-winning wildlife artist. Naturally, then, his studio is located right around the corner from the lake with all kinds of waterfowl – the ducks and geese which became the first subjects of his first drawings.

While this Cumberland County native’s first attempts at art were crude, he was learning more than just drawing. His attention to detail, anatomy and expression of his subjects became more and more apparent as he grew. He dabbled with the once-popular paint-by-number sets but wasn’t satisfied with the lack of detail. Once in high school, Putt’s talent was noticed by his art teacher and he was encouraged to enter a wildlife poster contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. He used a deer painting by his idol Ned Smith, reworked it during a study hall and took 6^th place statewide. He ended up on television and finally decided there may be something to this art thing after all.

Wanting to perfect his talent, he took a correspondence course but never finished. Drawing pirates and monkeys didn’t interest him, but the one thing he credits this course for was teaching him to see. Putt’s work today is full of incredible detail. His birds have the correct colors and proper number of feathers, the attitudes of his animals are true to life, backgrounds of habitat are correct from the plants to the landscapes. He has mastered the difficulty of painting water and has taught this facet of art to other artists.

After graduation from Boiling Springs High School, he went to work for the former Carlisle Tire & Rubber in Carlisle to earn a living but continued to paint. He had been working strictly in oils but started hearing about the new acrylic paints from other artists. The oils took too long to dry and he found he was always dragging his hand through wet paint. The acrylics dried much faster but were less easy to blend. By working faster with the paints he was able to achieve his desired results and he continues today with acrylics almost exclusively.

In 1979, Putt decided his art career would never go anywhere while working at Tire & Rubber, so he quit his job there and went full-time as an artist. The following spring, without a studio of his own, he started attending art shows to showcase his work, selling more and more pieces and attracting the eye of more and more followers. In 1980, while doing a show at the Capital City Mall in Camp Hill, he was approached by a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and invited to join. Here he met other full time artists, including Ned Smith, who encouraged him further.

Putt was chosen to paint the cover art for the Pennsylvania Game News magazine in September, 1981 – a peregrine falcon chasing a wood duck over a marsh. He has since done 35 additional covers, including a pair of mourning doves for the latest issue, May, 2012. He also illustrates two columns inside the magazine each month.

Perhaps Putt’s biggest credentials are his accomplishments in art contests. The list of awards goes on and on. Since 1981, Putt has won the prestigious Pennsylvania Duck Stamp Contest a remarkable nine times. No other artist ever won more than three. He has also won duck stamp contests in North Carolina (five times), Illinois (three), Nevada and Colorado. He is a two-time winner of the Game Commission’s Working Together for Wildlife program and the winner of the 2001 Pennsylvania Elk contest.

He’s won the Best Wildlife Award of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association an incredible nineteen times and the Best Published Art award seventeen times. He has been chosen as Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year four times; National Artist of the Year for the Ruffed Grouse Society twice; and his art has been included in the national banquet package for the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Putt is in his fifth decade of supporting conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, The Wildlands Conservancy and the National Wild Turkey Federation as well as many others. The sale of his art has raised many thousands of dollars for wildlife habitat improvement.

Putt’s studio is housed in a rustic log cabin at 4 Front St. in Boiling Springs. Contact him through his website at www.geralfputt.com or at 717 258-3775 for hours.

The “S” Wines: Sipping your way through syrah, shiraz, sirah.

June 17, 2012 | by Steve Juliana

In the world of wine, sometimes confusion reigns. There appears to be three wines with similar names: Syrah, Shiraz and Petite Sirah.

The first two are the same grape. Syrah is the mighty noble red which dominates the Rhone valley in France. In the north it is mostly bottled as a single wine possessing great finesse and the ability to age well. Cotes-du-rhone is from the south where syrah is blended with grenache and mourvedre to make wonderful blends for everyday drinking.

Shiraz is the Australian moniker for this fabulous grape. Named after the ancient Persian city, it gives a nod to one of the most famous wine poems in history, “ . . . a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou . . . .”

This red is bottled singly and is also blended with other grapes no matter what their origin. Because it is a New World country the varietals are listed on the label.

Old World wines are primarily named for regions or even villages. Bottles marked with GSM pay homage to the classic blend from the southern Rhone Valley. The mantra for Aussie wines is usually big fruit, big alcohol, big tannin. Anytime you push a wine to upwards of 15 percent alcohol something is going to suffer. There are plenty of down under quaffs with nice balance, if you shop around and don’t seek the ultimate fruit bomb.

The Syrahs from the northern Rhone Valley are some of my favorite wines with a blend of richness and complexity that is hard to beat. The blended wines from the southern part of the valley are a bargain and very food friendly.

The odd man out in this discussion is Petite Sirah. This grape was developed in France to hold up to powdery mildew. The downside was its susceptibility to rot developing in the fruit bunches. It does much better in California’s drier climate. Dark in the glass, the wine appears as though it belongs in a fountain pen. Tannic with some fruit and high acidity, it has yet to acquire a large following.

Syrah is a classic, as it has been for hundreds of years. There is nothing quite like it, with the ability to match the food of its native region, or enjoyed solo for the wonderful qualities it possesses.

Shiraz reflects the climate and culture of the world’s largest island nation. It has the personality of the rough and tumble Aussie culture, though some are a match for grilling meat, uncanny in the way the flavors blend.

Petite sirah was christened Durif in its native land and has not really taken off. Perhaps, in time, it could become the next big thing in the world of wine.

For those of you thinking that a blending grape could go on to bigger and better things, consider this: Carménèrewent to Chile to become a powerhouse. Malbec went to Argentine and became a superstar. But those are tales for another time.

Keep sipping, Steve.

Steve Juliana of Hummelstown is a wine adviser and a life-long lover of wines.

Reclaiming Your Work: Change to copyright law favors creators.

June 17, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

Before he died in 1970, Pottsville novelist John O’Hara, who featured Harrisburg in some of the books and short stories he wrote during a 40-year career, could not reclaim the copyrights to his work, whether he wanted to or not.

In fact, until the law changed six years after O’Hara’s death, authors and other artists essentially gave up their copyrights forever. The rights transferred back to their estate or a designated beneficiary only upon their death.

But starting Jan. 1, 2013, under revisions to the United States Copyright Act adopted in 1976, the creators of books, songs, plays, photographs, paintings, etc. can recapture the copyrights to their work after 35 years.

Publishers and recording companies are worried what it may mean for their bottom lines. It’s not clear what will happen once music groups and authors whose works were recorded or published in 1978 and thereafter begin to reclaim their rights.

One thing is certain, said Kelley Keller, a Carlisle attorney who specializes in copyright law: “It’s changing the bargaining power for artists.”

That could mean greater profit and artistic control. Musicians like Don Henley, founder of the Eagles, have long griped that the recording industry has always made far more money on their recordings than they have.

Artists have between two and ten years in which to notify their publishing house or recording company that they intend to reclaim their copyrights. This law only applies to the federal copyright law.

As the copyright recapture comes up next year, artists are concerned about what they should do, if anything. In most cases, Keller said, the artist may just want to re-negotiate their copyright contract.

Keller said the law particularly benefits young artists today who will be able to strike better deals because they know they can reclaim their copyrights in 35 years.

“Young artists have more bargaining power than they used to have,” she said.

John O’Hara never had such opportunity. His copyrights were inherited by his daughter, Wylie O’Hara Doughty, said Richard Carreño, a writer and corresponding secretary of the John O’Hara Society in Philadelphia.

In the 42 years since her father’s death, she has not granted those rights to publishers to re-issue or anthologize such works as O’Hara’s “Appointment in Samarra,” “Ten North Frederick” and “BUtterfield 8.”

That’s something fans and scholars of the writer regret, Carreño said. “It’s a pity that his books will not be known to new generations.”

Got a Problem? Don’t Call Us: You’re on your own in privatized America.

June 17, 2012 | by David Hoffman

Welcome to Nine-One-One Emergencies, a service of Privatization America, under contract with your government. Freed of burdensome federal regulations, and of labor contracts which hamper public agencies, we can give you better service at lower cost and still return a reasonable profit to our investors and pay our chief executive an appropriate salary with competitive bonuses and parachutes.

If you have a touch-tone phone, please listen carefully to the following options before making a selection, as our menu has changed. If you have a rotary phone, hang up, as no one will respond.

When you reach a customer care representative, speak slowly and distinctly and remember: at the wages we pay in our off-shore call center, we are not always able to employ persons who fully understand the English language.

If you wish to report a fire at a property which is on the tax rolls, press one,

If you are delinquent in paying your property taxes, please hang up now. Clear this up, get a receipt, and call us back. We want to help you, but unless your government has the money to pay for our services, you are up a tree.

If the fire is in a tax-exempt property, we can’t help you. This is a service to taxpayers, not freeloaders.

If you wish to request medical assistance and have medical insurance, press three.

If you have no medical insurance please press four for a list of area hospitals and physicians who will treat emergency patients who do not have insurance coverage. A neighbor can drive you to the most convenient facility.

If you wish to report a burglary, armed robbery, car-jacking, shooting, or other violent crime , press five. If you have a video recording device and can use it intelligently, you may be able to sell the resulting live action shot to a television station for a considerable sum if the disturbance is sufficiently violent. Alternatively, a lawyer may offer you a lot of money for it.

If you are a member of the National Rifle Association, press six to be connected directly with the NRA President. Tell him of the incident and the action you have taken. You should have been prepared to dispatch the perpetrator(s) yourself. You may be asked to explain your failure.

If you wish to request assistance in a domestic dispute, first obtain written permission from all parties to the dispute, and then press seven. This is for our protection; our staff cannot to be slapped with lawsuits for interfering with normal family activities.

If you are calling about an Act of God, consult a minister, priest, rabbi, imam, or other holy man of your selection. We do question God’s motives.

If your cat is in a tree and cannot be persuaded to come down, be assured that the cat does not consider this an emergency. Your cat is simply testing your patience. Do not tie up the telephone line.

If at any time after selecting the proper menu option you hear music, it means our customer care representatives are busy. Please stay on the line, as your call is important to us, and we will answer your call in the order in which it was received. If you hear an announcer soliciting your support for a public radio station, you may pledge if you wish, but our response to you does not depend on the level of your pledge.

If you wish to listen to this menu again, please press eight and listen more carefully to the menu options. You only get two chances.

Do not press zero expecting to get an operator. You will not get one.

You can also reach us on the internet. Our services menu appears between the 25th and 26th screens of advertisements. Be patient: some of the full-color ads take time to load. Please patronize our advertisers.

Remember, we want to help you.

David Hoffman lives in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg, Back on the Map: New approach to education helping to revive the city.

June 17, 2012 | by Mel Schiavelli

The announcement that Vector Resources, a high-tech company headquartered in California, opened an office in downtown Harrisburg completed another chapter in the economic transformation of the region, left for dead less than 20 years ago.

It’s not easy reviving an entire region, particularly when its lifeblood, manufacturing, fell victim to the post-industrial decline of the 1980s. However, thanks to the vision and prescience of Harrisburg’s corporate, government, and community leaders, our area was reinvented with an eye focused on the future and a commitment to staying ahead of the curve.

Traditional (translation: safe) ideas and strategies (translation: ask for money) were nixed; tried and true usually begets a short shelf life. And with the region’s future at stake, brave, if not risky and audacious, solutions were encouraged.

A “let’s roll this boulder uphill” mentality took hold 15 years ago among a 150-member task force charged with putting Harrisburg back on the map, and innovation paved the way for the unique business-education partnerships that have elevated higher education to new levels while catalyzing the economic growth of the Harrisburg region and attracting business to the area.

The reality of the 21^st century global marketplace—where companies’ abilities to succeed rely on a workforce that excels in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)—certainly hastened Harrisburg’s rebirth. And although the notion that studying these subjects advances students’ careers is not ground breaking, the method of instruction and the goals of a new learning institution required challenging the higher education status quo and developing a new educational paradigm to create the desired results.

The agents of this transformation are the faculty and staff who work at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. They are remaking the higher education model, integrating an interdisciplinary, competency-based academic format, courses designed and taught by corporate partners, and coaching students on life issues such as time management and work-life balance.

Championing STEM education and its vital role in maintaining a robust 21^st century economy in Central Pennsylvania, while serving as the springboard to critical careers in STEM fields, has been Harrisburg University’s vision and goal since opening its doors to students in 2005.

The close collaboration of business and education – the “Moneyball,” if you will, of an economic-development strategy for our region – goes against the grain and, perhaps, makes the purist’s view of how to reform higher education permanently “old school.”

In a hopeful sign, the White House’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, in a report released this month, singled out Harrisburg University as one of seven postsecondary institutions in the nation with effective programs to improve STEM education. The council, made up of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the president and the Executive Office of the president, recognized the university’s efforts to take students through the STEM subjects in four-year programs that leave them well-trained for the technological workforce that companies seek and prepared to fit seamlessly into the corporate culture.

The report also cited the substantial benefit to downtown Harrisburg, where $30 million in annual economic impact confirms the viability for thousands of companies across the nation looking for an area where there is workforce either trained in the STEM fields or that has access to institutions that can provide the education and training needed to thrive in today’s marketplace.

This endorsement cannot be understated. It is made by the very people who are seeking to recognize and support the economic engines of the innovation economy and corroborates the vision of those community leaders who courageously set HU on its course.

Naturally, this is great news for all who’ve been involved – supporters, faculty, staff, students, investors – but even more so, it places Harrisburg on the national map. From the time Harrisburg’s leaders recognized the urgency to link business with education, and establish an academic institution to focus strictly on the fields this century now demands – science, technology, engineering, and math – till now, the objective has been to spearhead new ways of catalyzing education so innovation and a dynamic economy naturally follow.

The model is working in Harrisburg, where students are entering the workforce not only skilled in their jobs but savvy in the corporate environment, and where Vector Resources and other high-tech companies are flocking to become part of and contribute to a thriving and growing economy.

Mel Schiavelli is professor of chemistry and president of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, the only STEM-focused comprehensive university between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

You’ve Got a PAL: Uptown headquarters for Police Athletic League.

June 17, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

May’s grand opening of the newly revived Harrisburg Police Athletic League’s headquarters brought out local officials, law enforcement, banks, corporations, a college, the National Guard, a state housing agency, a local union and charitable groups.

All of them contributing support, whether financially or in-kind, to PAL, a county-wide initiative that since it began offering programs at the Downey School in January has seen the number of youth participating increase from about 40 to 400.

“Welcome to another important step in crime prevention,” said Mayor Linda Thompson, touting one of her crime-fighting initiatives.

Thompson was joined by representatives of all those groups outside the headquarters at 2000 N. 6^th St., a building owned by Homeland Center, the personal care facility down the street that has provided the space to the city rent free since 1992.

Harrisburg’s last PAL was housed for many years in what’s now the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center on N. 3rd Street.

Just before the grand opening event with its balloons and T-shirts, a group of boys walking home from school stopped to ask what was going on. A few minutes later they were in T-shirts with the PAL logo, posing for pictures and getting information on PAL.

Thompson praised the success of the program, aimed at helping all children but in particular at-risk youth. She said PAL already has started to change the relationship the community’s youth has with the police force.

“Kids are running around here saying, ‘I want that cop thing,’” she said. “Now we have kids running to officers” instead of away from them.

Police Officer Jennie Jenkins, who the mayor assigned to coordinate PAL last year, said 30 officers volunteer at Downey, 1313 Monroe St., each week, serving as mentors and counselors, teaching kids to work together and respect each other.

“This is why I wanted to become a police officer,” Jenkins said. “I wanted to be a role model.”

Another 30 volunteers come from the community and local businesses. “I wanted to give back,” said Pat Erb, owner of the Caffeine Connection on 3^rd Street who makes baked goods for PAL events. “I help with the snacks and I help with the children.”

Harrisburg’s PAL started in 1940, but the program was abandoned 30 years ago because of a lack of funding and commitment, Thompson said. Yet, police officers almost uniformly credit the program with helping to build safe communities.

“All you need is love,” said Susquehanna Township Police Chief Robert Martin, a Beatles’ fan and 29-year veteran of law enforcement. “If we nurture PAL, great things are going to come out of it.”

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said police and youth will benefit from PAL, a program he believed had long-term, if not lifetime, benefits. “This will reduce the number of kids we see coming into the juvenile system,” he said.

The private sector shows strong support: Comcast Cable, PNC Bank, Penn National Insurance, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, The Junior League of Harrisburg, Der Harrisburg Maennerchor, AFSCME Local 521, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Jump Street and Harrisburg Area Community College students who developed PAL’s website: www.harrisburgpal.org.

The city’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Enrichment donated soccer equipment for PAL’s soccer program and the Pennsylvania National Guard has an officer helping mentor kids each week.

Thompson praised the support: “When the community responds to an initiative like Harrisburg PAL, we all benefit.” PAL’s roughly $175,000 budge is funded entirely through financial and in-kind contributions, said Kari Reagan-Bushey, board secretary.

Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick said government and the private sector had an opportunity and responsibility help youth with programs such as PAL. “We should be judged as a community by what we provide,” he said.

For more information about Harrisburg’s Police Athletic League, visit www.harrisburgpal.org.

You’ve Got a PAL: Uptown headquarters for Police Athletic League.

June 16, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

“Welcome to another important step in crime prevention,” said Mayor Linda Thompson, touting one of her crime-fighting initiatives.

Harrisburg’s last PAL was housed for many years in what’s now the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center on N. 3rd Street.

“Kids are running around here saying, ‘I want that cop thing,’” she said. “Now we have kids running to officers” instead of away from them.

“This is why I wanted to become a police officer,” Jenkins said. “I wanted to be a role model.”

The city’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Enrichment donated soccer equipment for PAL’s soccer program and the Pennsylvania National Guard has an officer helping mentor kids each week.

Dauphin County Commission George Hartwick said government and the private sector had an opportunity and responsibility help youth with programs such as PAL. “We should be judged as a community by what we provide,” he said.

For more information about Harrisburg’s Police Athletic League, visit www.harrisburgpal.org.

Changing Times: Harry’s Tavern gets new owner, direction.

June 16, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

Before it closed in 1993, Harry’s Tavern at the corner of 14^th and Vernon on South Allison Hill was known as one of the finest little restaurants for food and drink in Harrisburg, a hang out for journalists, mayors and state politicians.

The lonely, small brick building stood vacant for many years. When the owner, Harry Touloumes, died in 2009, neighbors wondered what would happen to the old tavern that Harry and his wife, Mary, opened in 1949.

In the same year Harry died, Victor Rivas moved into the neighborhood from New York and opened a grocery and deli just across the street from the tavern. He began to eye the two-story building with its boarded up windows and graffiti-marred walls.

But the family was reluctant to part with it; the tavern held cherished memories of a husband and father. Rivas convinced them to sell, making sure they claimed whatever mementos were inside. There were pictures, among other things.

One item of particular interest to the family was the tavern’s signature piece, the old wooden bar. “My son wanted it,” said Harry’s wife, Mary, of Camp Hill.

The 29-year-old Rivas has no intention of replacing Harry. “I don’t think so,” he said. “He has a long history here. Everybody talks about Harry.”

He said intends to provide a well-stocked grocery and deli, offering sandwiches from his deli counter as well as hot breakfast and lunch menus, Spanish dishes prepared by his mother, Lucila, whose cooking brings people from as far as downtown.

“She’s the best,” Rivas said. “That’s why everybody comes here to eat.”

Since last year, Rivas has been working on the tavern, installing new floors, doors and windows; putting in a new kitchen, an 18-foot refrigeration unit, and an air conditioning system. He left the three ceiling fans that were part of Harry’s.

Rivas has painted the exterior walls a bright yellow, replaced the crumbling sidewalk and installed a new wood stockade fence around the back and side.

Neighbors such as Rodney Schwartz welcome the re-opening on the building by Rivas. “It’s good for the neighborhood,” Schwartz said. “We’re excited about it.”

When Rivas appeared before the planning commission in the spring to present his plans to convert the tavern into Riva’s Grocery and Deli, commission members fondly remembered the place and wished him the same success as Harry.

He may not be Harry, but Rivas is a friendly, affable proprietor, quick to welcome newcomers into the grocery. He knows the regulars who stream in, happy to see him. He likes talking to them, catching up on neighborhood news.

“I enjoy that,” he said. “And they enjoy talking to me, too.”

One Angry Dish: Try a pasta recipe with a bad attitude.

June 16, 2012 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

Frankie’s was an old and popular seafood restaurant at 11^th and Tasker streets in South Philadelphia that was a favorite of ours when our sons were young. After a Sunday afternoon baseball game or maybe a visit to a museum, we would stop into Frankie’s for a late afternoon supper. The place was right out of a “Godfather” movie as was the clientele. The food was wonderful: Mostly all seafood and very old-world Italian.

It was at Frankie’s that I had one of my most memorable experiences in the hot food department. My son, James, and I seem to share a passion for hot spicy food. At Frankie’s, one of our favorite dishes to order was pasta and shrimp Fra Diavolo (“brother devil”). After one mouthful of perhaps the hottest food we had ever tasted, the forks went down. We had met our match.

The central and southern sections of Italy are fond of their hot and spicy food. In Abruzzi, a region of Italy along the Adriatic coast, the traditional small hot red chili pepper known elsewhere as the peperoncino, is called piccolo diavolo or “little devil.” I managed to eat one of these little peppers once as it lay hidden in an innocent green salad. It, too, was an unforgotten experience and quite unfair as I remember it.

I did a little research on the Abruzzians’ love for the “little devil.” Cooks add it to everything from meats and seafood, to eggs and vegetables. Octopus slowly stewed in olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, parsley and hot pepper flakes is known as “polpi in purgatorio.” Bottles of olio santo or “holy oil” are made by infusing olive oil with chopped piccolo diavolos and are placed on dining tables for drizzling on foods. Elderly women are said to spend hours stringing the thin red chilies into large clusters and then hanging them out to dry in the sun.

I keep my little jar of “crushed red pepper flakes” pretty close and add them to many dishes. They spice up quick marinara sauces and soups, stir-fried asparagus or zucchini, tuna and beans and pasta con vongole, or pasta with clams. One of my favorite pasta sauces is All’Arrabbiata, or “Angry Tomato Sauce.” I make it often or order it out whenever I can find it. You can add extra red chilies to the recipe to make a really fiery dish. As with so many other Italian specialties, there are numerous recipe variations for Arrabbiata. The one that follows is from Patissima, Pasta the Italian Way, another old-friend cookbook in my collection.

Penne All’Arrabbiata

Place the following in a large sauté pan with 1/3 cup olive oil: ¼ cup diced pancetta or bacon, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 finely chopped celery stalk, and 1 finely chopped medium onion.
Add 3 cups of crushed tomatoes, 6 mint leaves and 6 basil leaves torn, 3 tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley and ½ to 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (maybe more?). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until thickened.
Cook 1 pound of penne according to package directions, drain the pasta and place it in the skillet with the sauce. Toss together over high heat to incorporate the flavors and then transfer to a serving dish.
Top with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

If you can find whole red peperoncinos at a specialty store, give them a try. They will keep indefinitely in an airtight jar. You also might want to try making your own hot chili oil by warming chili flakes or whole chili peppers in olive oil and then pouring the mixture into in a jar for storage in the refrigerator. Drizzle it over everything! Your vegetable, even corn on the cob, will never again be boring or bland. Serve the Pasta Arrabbiata with good Italian bread, a crisp arugula salad and a cold white wine to cut the heat.

Frankie’s is gone from South Philly but I have happy memories of our outings there and the one day the “little devil” got the better of us.

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like