The other night, my husband and I were talking to my father about food. My father was telling me he “just doesn’t like onions”. In his Italian style temperament, he was quite emphatic when he expressed his true feelings towards this vegetable. It was the first time I had ever heard him say this, but I guess it had been brewing silently for quite some time inside. I then stopped short of telling him about a new dish I saw on Lidia’s Italy, an Italian cooking show, which involved about 4 sliced onions, and sliced celery as the 2 main ingredients – I knew he would rule it out right away.
Now, if you are Italian or if you live with Italians, you know we never ask people if they want this or that. Wait… let me clarify. When an Italian offers you a dish, it is not an option for you to say no. It really is not a question, we are not asking to find out if you want some or not, because if you say no, we will ask again and again- until you say yes. Fast forward a few days when we made my parents chicken cacciatore for dinner, and I decided to make Lidia’s onion and celery recipe for a side dish. Instead of doing the “Would You Like to Try This” dance, I just put some of onion/celery recipe on his plate right next to the chicken and potatoes, and never said a word as to what it was. He ate every bit of it, said the dinner was excellent and it was then I chose not to tell him about the onions. I just said it was easy to make and I was glad he liked it. There was nothing to prove, our now empty plates said it all.
As a cook, it is more important to me that everyone likes the meal as they see fit to define it – even if that means not disclosing all the ingredients. Perhaps it is the same with feeding kids or other family members- not to tell them all the good stuff inside. Act confident and serve it without debate – you will have won more than half the battle!
Liz
www.simpleitaliancooking.com
Easy Italian Chicken Recipes
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