Seattle Italian Festival 2009

September 28, 2009 at 7:35 pm | Posted in cooking, Family Fun, Food, Italian food, My Dysfunctional family, my life, photography, Uncategorized | 12 Comments
Tags: Fortissimo, Guanciale, Italian, Italian American, Italian Festival, la familia, Nick Stellino, Salami, Salumi, Salumi's Artisan Meats, Seattle, Seattle Italian Festival 2009, Tony La Stella & the Goombas

Another year at the Italian Festival in Seattle!

There is something about a gathering of Italians–and “wanna-be ” Italians–that makes me look forward to fall in Seattle. Mother Nature was certainly smiling down upon us–the sun was shining and the weather was perfect!

spaceneedle

My two very favorite things about the festival are the celebrity chef and, of course, the music. I wait patiently to see our version of the Three Tenors–Fortissimo!

tenors

Above: Seattle’s Version of the Three Tenors!

My entire family loves Salumi’s Artisan Cured Meats –Mario Batali’s father owns the shop in Seattle, and his salumis are the best ever! I’ve never tasted anything like it! If you haven’t tried it, you really must.

Sean and I both picked up a nice chunk of Salumi’s Guanciale too.

familyall la familia

We are quite the mix here: Jewish (Sean’s fiancee), part Mexican (my husband) , Irish (step-dad), and of course the Italians (the people with good hair). On this day, we are all Italian, which means we are all beautiful! I tease– I am grateful for the diversity in my family. I can only wish to be as beautiful inside and out as the people you see in the photo above!

music2

Tony La Stella & The Goombas are a lot of fun, and the gorgeous little lady on the left can sing Mambo Italiano like nobody’s business!

They really livened up the day.

nickstellino Nick Stellino was always a hottie, but now he has hired a trainer! Look at this guy!

Check out that pasta!

He is such a kind hearted, funny, and very entertaining chef.

We scored and were able to taste his food…

nickpasta

You want to cook great Italian food? Buy Nick Stellino’s cookbooks. You won’t regret it.

mecannoli

I’m sorry to have to say this, and I won’t say which bakery makes them, but this is the worst cannoli I’ve ever tasted in my life. Too bad. I hope people who attend the festival don’t think this is how a cannoli tastes. It wasn’t only soggy–it was stale and it fell apart like wet cardboard. Look at me struggle to hold it together with my finger tips.

Ma calls them Gan-nolis. Nobody really knows why. The lady is 100% Sicilian. It’s sad really, but we love her to death.

Here she is with her GAN-noli. Please don’t ask her to say sandwich. We go round and round with that one. She calls them “sang-wiches”. Maybe her sandwiches sing to her? Again, we love you Ma!

seanbw_edited-1

My son, Sean.

Looking at this picture, it seems I chose the wrong name. He looks more like a “Vinnie”. I’m saying that with love Sean. I’m sure you can feel it through my writing. Mama loves you Vinnie!

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Is Nick giving me a thumbs up, or is he asking security to remove the lady who keeps cutting up front and shooting photos? Hard to tell.

singer1

There you have it! I look forward to the Italian Festival in 2010!

Now go sing a few lines of ‘O Sole Mio, pour yourself a glass of red wine, and make a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs!

Mangia! Mangia!

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I need to plan a trip to Seattle next year for the Italian festival. I’ve just added this to my Bucket List. Looks amazing!

Comment by Maven— September 29, 2009 #

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Oh, you would enjoy it! We can sit in the wine garden and watch the singers

Comment by angelnina— September 29, 2009 #

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lol yeah, they were not the same connolis as I remember them. They were definitly Gannolis. HaHa lol

Comment by weezy— September 29, 2009 #

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Well, Ma, I can’t argue with that!

Comment by angelnina— September 29, 2009 #

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OMG mole salumi??? Sounds FAB. And your mother…that look on her face is priceless. I must get a Stellino cookbook.

Comment by Kay— September 30, 2009 #

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Kay–You would LOVE that mole salami! Ma was not enjoying that gannoli!

Comment by angelnina— September 30, 2009 #

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Enjoyed the festival – very funny. I just did a travaloque on New York and I think the girls got tired of me saying, “Let me take a picture of that before you eat it”. It’s all about the food.

Comment by Penny— October 1, 2009 #

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LOL! My family is sick of me and my camera, so I know what you mean!

Comment by angelnina— October 1, 2009 #

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Wow! Congrats to Nick Stellino. He looks great! Oh and my dad says sangweech and he says one, two, tree, lol. Is your mom originally from Brooklyn? I always thought it was a Brooklyn thing.

Comment by Michele— October 29, 2009 #

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- OH my GOSH! I love it! No, my mother was raised in upstate New York, and her family calls them sangwich. My mother now tells me my grandmother (her mother) claims she is from northern Italy not Sicily. Hmmm, you never know with my grandmother-she can weave some tales I do know my grandfather came over on a ship from Sicily,and I’m in touch with those family members. Grandmother’s background has always been more mysterious. Her maiden name was Trippi–which I do believe is more northern Italian–I could be wrong.
  
  Comment by angelnina— October 29, 2009 #
  
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Gannoli’s!!! it’s a provincial thing… Many Sicilians say “Gannoli”

Comment by Michael Lococo— August 16, 2010 #

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Thanks Michael–I had no idea. Please tell me they also call hormones -harmones and that a sandwich is a “sangwich”. Ma has her own vocabulary

Comment by angelnina— November 21, 2010 #

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Angelnina’s Cottage