Out of Thin Air: Italian Americans

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Italian Americans - and Cookies

This past Monday was the controversial holiday of Columbus Day. You may or may not celebrate this holiday any more, and I do understand why some people do not want to, but there have been many people with Italian heritage that have done good things for America. Here are just a few of them.

In 1914, a 16 year old boy named Ettore Boiardi came from his home town of Piacenza, Italy to join his brother, a waiter at New York’s Plaza Hotel. He later moved to Cleveland, where he had his own restaurant. By 1928, he realized that there was a market for Italian foods that people could make at home, so he opened a factory. He sold his packaged Italian foods under the name “Boy-Ar-Dee” so that Americans would correctly pronounce his last name.

Enrico Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on radioactivity and the discovery of new elements in 1938. Soon after, the physicist left his position at the University of Rome and defected to the U.S. to escape Benito Mussolini's regime. Fermi oversaw the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in December 1942, after which he became the associate director of the Manhattan Project. Fermi later argued against the creation of the hydrogen bomb on ethical grounds, but he remains one of the leading architects of the nuclear age.

Ralph Fasanella fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Later, the self-taught artist helped organize his fellow workers for higher wages and a better life.

Many of his paintings reflect a nation of working people who took collective action to improve life on and off the job. One of his most recognized paintings is of the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike.

A schoolteacher who then earned her law degree and became a criminal prosecutor and then a congresswoman, Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman and first Italian American to earn the vice-presidential nomination on a major party ticket, when she joined Democratic presidential hopeful Walter Mondale in 1984. Although she and Mondale were soundly defeated by incumbent Ronald Reagan, she inspired millions of American women to enter politics.

Italian Anise Toast

This may be easiest cookie to make, even if it does take two steps. It has no butter or shortening, so it's naturally low in fat, but the anise seeds pack such a flavor punch that you'd never realize it. These cookies are great for dunking into your favorite hot beverage. While coffee is probably the most traditional, I think here in October that spiced apple cider is a good choice! manga!

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon anise seed
1 cup flour

Heat oven to 375

Grease and flour a 9x5x3" loaf pan.

Beat eggs and sugar thoroughly. Add anise seed. Mix in flour.

Use a spatula to scrape batter into the greased and floured loaf pan. If the batter is too stiff, get the spatula wet to smooth it out. It won't look like much batter, but never fear. It's enough!

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean.

Turn the loaf pan over onto a cutting board. Slice the loaf into 12-16 slices. The thinner the slice, the crunchier the cookie. 12 slices will result in chewy cookies.

Place the slices on a baking sheet and return to oven for five minutes. Turn them over (use a spatula if they stick) and toast for another five minutes on the other side.

Cool completely on a rack before storing.

Want a little fancier cookie? Omit anise seed and add 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips, 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, and 1 tsp. finely grated orange peel to the batter before baking.