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Zooming into the holidays Dec. 20

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(see DON’T, page 3)

When our newsletter editor,Ken Kane, asked me towrite something for thisissue with the Holidays inmind, my first reaction wasHow will that be possible?I thought: this has been a terrible year in somany ways. How can I be positive?

Then, with a little bit of thought, I discoveredthere have been many reasons for optimism inthis past year and for the years to come. Myfamily is alive and well, despite bouts with theinfection, and we are growing, a great-grandchild born in April and another due inFebruary.

Being in a lockdown situation has not been asbad as originally thought. We can still do ourcharitable and volunteer work when conditionsallow. It is surprising how much can be doneon the telephone and online. I encourage

We’re taking our annual holiday party virtual on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3:30pm. Tuscan Club members havebeen emailed the link to the Zoom. We’ll toast the new year(it has to be better than 2020, right?) and engage inconversation. Jimmie Moglia, Audrey Perino and Ken Kanewill sing some holiday classics (and at least one non-classic); then we’ll all sing some carols. After that, thosewho want to will stay on for a group cookie bake (see page3 for details). It should be fun.If it’s been a while since you’ve Zoomed, brush up on yourskills before the gathering please. Know where your videoand audio (mute) controls are, and where your view optionsare located. In that way, the group doesn’t have to wait foryou to connect or come up to speed. If you need Zoomhelp, contact Ken at 503.246.6462 on or before Saturday.

Italian Portland seeks to bring clubs together …………..………… 2………………..…………………………………..….……..……………… 2

Turn on your virtual oven …………….…………………..…………………………… 3For your listening enjoyment …………………………………………..………….. 4

The prez sez…by George LaFrazia

A Christmas I will never forget! by Carlo Ilio MannocciChristmas 1945 in Italy. The war has been over for eightmonths. My little village of Gallicano was still halfdestroyed, and accumulations of rubble were scattered allover the place. It was Christmas Eve – La Vigilia di Natale– very cold, stars were shining on a clear sky, bells wereringing inviting people to the traditional midnight Mass.And after the Mass people were exchanging greetings andwishes now that the terrible war was over; the majority ofthem converging toward the main square, trying to keepwarm with Vin Brulee (Italian mulled wine).

(see PROCESSION, page 2)

Next Zoom:Sunday, Dec. 20,

3:30 pm

Come join us forsome holiday fun!

Gallicano, Tuscanyc. 1945

Italian Portland makes itself over as it copes with COVIDFive years into its existence, the Westside ItalianCulture group has a new name and an expandedmission. In November, the group officially became anonprofit charitable organization, calling itselfItalian Portland.

Italian Portland’s mission is to “Raise awareness ofItalian culture and its influence in the world, throughcultural events, education, and service,” according towww.ItalianPortland.com, and the group’s president,Tonya Russo Hamilton.

Italian Portland is putting together monthlyprograms, often involving guest speakers in Italy inreal time. It also maintains a calendar of events thatall Portland-area Italian clubs can use to publicizetheir happenings. Russo Hamilton, treasurerChristina Cavallaro Edick, and the club board areworking to establish the group within the localItalian community – no small task given theobstacles the Coronavirus has presented.

“Our biggest challenge has been figuring out how tokeep virtually connected to our members, the ItalianCommunity, and especially the people who are nottechnically savvy,” said Russo Hamilton.

“We decided to do our best to present programs that areinteresting and consistent with our message andoutreach.”

On Jan. 5 at 8:00pm, Italian Portland is presentingexecutive coach, author and blogger Susan Pohl, anexpatriate American who has lived in Umbria for thepast seven years. During this free Zoom conversationshe will discuss how she made the leap across theAtlantic and how others can, too. You can register forthe event here.

On Feb. 2 at 8:00pm, former Portlander and Internetchef Grazia Solazzi will demonstrate her recipe fortiramisu, live from her home near the Cinque Terre. Toregister for this free event, click here.

Future Italian Portland virtual sessions include a tour ofan Italian archaeological museum, a session onNeapolitan food and a refresher on the Italian language.

“Tapping the Italian community here in Portland, otherparts of the U.S., as well as Italy has been instrumentalin our efforts to present interesting speakers andprograms to our growing audience,” said RussoHamilton. It’s clear they are trying their best to do so.

Un altro Natale con unvoltafaccia completo dato che itradizionali convivi saranno ridotti alminimo o addirittura vietati.Purtroppo la pandemia ha quasitotalmente sconvolto quelle usanzeche si tramandano da secoli, Natale

festa dell'amore e della famiglia che sara' ridottaad una festa ...virtuale!

In Italia restrizioni sugli spostamenti, ristorantichiusi sia a Natale che a Capodanno ed altrenorme di protezione per evitare un ulteriorepropagazione del virus gia' a livelli alti.

Rassegnamoci a celebrare in spirito ricordandole persone che ci sono care e augurandoci che il 2021 ci porti la normalita'.

Auguri natalizi a tutti voi!

Procession brings a tear, 75 years later(continued from page 1)Suddenly from the road to the north of the village asoft sound of drums was heard and a group of peoplewith rudimentary torches appeared. A few men werecarrying the torches, with a young woman with childriding a horse, followed by adrummer. It was asurprising, unexpectedscene: an impromptu,unplanned and simplerevival of the Nativity.

They were indeed poor,simple local farmers whoseonly riches was the horse.Yet these people decided togive the town a sign of hopeand peace, improvising thescene.

I was then 14 years old … now I am 89 and everyChristmas I do shed a tear remembering that scene onDecember 25, 1945.

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Gallicano, c. 1945

https://www.italianportland.com/calendarhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUZa4-okrkP-IsYU9ksskyV1Adb741nhS57TJoLDF_5IuY0Q/viewformhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJTP9KrcofM-ifro8YlcAtzDAo_ee-lsTlTnaD2R7Dr4FY6A/viewform

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Let’s bake up some holiday cheer on Dec. 20of coffee or tea for dipping in order to avoid potentialdental disasters. For the sake of my teeth, and in hermemory, that recipe made the cut.

But all biscotti and nothing else makes Ken a dullcook, so I kept thinking … and visions of pizzelledanced in my head. Those light, embossed wafers,dusted with powdered sugar were just the thing. Heck,I could almost taste them!

But could I make them? First, I’d need a pizzelle iron,so, much to my economist’s distain(“Another kitchen gadget? Really?”)I ordered one from Bed, Bath &

Beyond. But then, a few days later, I vaguelyremembered a sandwich press which I hadn’tseen in years. Could it have pizzelle plates?

After turning the kitchen cupboards upsidedown, my senior moment was complete: Ifound the old appliance in a back cornerof a shelf. And wouldn’t you know that,wrapped in a few pages of a 2003

newspaper, was a second set of pristinecast-iron plates … pizzelle plates!

I can just hear my dearest economist once she finds outI ordered something that I already had … which shouldbe any moment now, just as soon as she reads this![Editor’s note to self: check on Bed, Bath & Beyond’sreturn policy!]

OK, so I’ve got a pizzelle iron. Now what? That’swhere you could come in. After the singing andchatting at our Dec. 20 meeting, once the non-cookshave “left the building,” let’s do a bake-in. Maybeyou’ve got a special baking tradition you can share forthe holidays. Or you just like cranking out cookies atthis time of year. Or maybe you can show me the tricksof my new/old pizzelle iron!

Bring a recipe, a glass of wine, and some Christmaskitchen memories. We’ll conclude the Zoom bymaking some goodies and swapping some stories.

It might save time to assemble your ingredients beforethe Zoom starts. If there’s interest, we’ll share therecipes among the chefs after the fact. A late afternoon,late in this infamous year, when it’ll be nice to turn ourattention from COVID to cookies, if only for a while.

by Ken KaneIt’s said that the road to hell is paved with goodintentions. Maybe it’s paved with cookie dough as well.

My idea seemed innocent enough: let’s bake someholiday cookies. Since I’m the only cook, “let’s” is asingle pronoun in our kitchen. Our division of labor isquite precise: Audrey, with two economics degrees,handles the checkbook. Ken, who once took a cookingclass in college, handles the spatula.

The Oregonian ran a special section on cookies lastweek, which I rescued from the recycle bin. Ithumbed through the recipe for SwedishButter Thumbprints. I considered theChristmas Cut-outs and pondered thePeppermint Bark Shortbread Bites. Butnone of them spoke to me.

So, I let my Italian-by-marriageimagination run wild. Hmmmmmm …biscotti. That’s more like it! But the recipe inthe paper was pretty pedestrian.

So, I checked my files and, sure enough, I found onefrom OregonTuscan Dorrie Palandrani. EverythingDorrie makes is great, so that made my “to-bake” list.And I got to thinking about a friend, now sadlydeparted, who used to make a yummy biscotti with justa tad of “give” to it. That meant you didn’t need a cup

Don’t forget to check up on your neighbors(continued from page 1)everyone to reach out to those people who are isolatedat home or in retirement centers and provide somesocial contact for them.

Then again, we must not despair, but remember thatevent of 20 centuries ago that so changed our world.We still can have hope that all this pain will pass andlife will return to the normal that we so much desire,and the human condition will achieve its greatestpotential.

So, here we are at the end of a difficult year. We arestill the Tuscan Association of Oregon. We have hadour meetings on social media and maintained ourcontacts with the other Italian clubs. This New Yearwill be better and bring many new delights andchallenges for us. BUON NATALE E FELICE ANNO!

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continues its series of virtual monthly programsAs Festa Italiana workstoward its 30th anniversaryevent next June, itcontinues to host monthlygatherings online. OnDec. 12 it joined forceswith the Portland Opera ina program featuring ariasperformed by up-and-coming singers. TheChristmas in Italy programis still available forviewing on YouTube, viathis link:https://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQ.

On Jan. 15 at 7:00pm, Festa Italiana’s next program looks at the history of Italian music. The host for thisvirtual exploration will be Andrea Scasso, the host of The Italian Hour on KBOO radio. Additionalinformation on the program will soon appear at https://www.festa-italiana.org/.

Check out theseThree teen tenors!It’s tough to beat LucianoPavarotti’s rendition ofO Solo Mio, but try thisyouthful version as seenon Italian TV.

An online series you canbinge … that comes with 12strings attachedIt’s often said you can findanything on the Internet.Maybe more than anything.There’s an eight-partYouTube documentary, Italyof a Thousand Mandolins,that will surely teach yousomething about the 12-stringed instrument. (Atleast the episodes are short!)

https://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQhttps://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQhttps://www.festa-italiana.org/https://www.wimp.com/tenor-singing-voices/https://www.wimp.com/tenor-singing-voices/https://www.youtube.com/c/CarloAonzohttps://www.youtube.com/c/CarloAonzo