Article Contributed by Mike Rocha
I love Italian cooking because of it’s simplicity. I learned of it’s simplicity from my best friend Carmine. He is a native Italian. I met him back in 1999 when he began working at the same company with me. He would bring his lunch with him on many days. I could smell the aroma of his food after he heated it up and, I must say, it always made my mouth water. As we became better friends, he invited me over to his house for dinner one weekend. That was when my eyes were opened to the true simplicity and beauty of Italian cooking.
Since that time, I spent many an hour at work and in his home discussing Italian food, learning different recipes, and enjoying meals with his family. Many times our discussions focus on the value of the traditions passed down from generation to generation. We often times note how glad we feel to have learned these traditions from our parents and grandparents. During one such discussion, Carmine showed me a web site done by one of the youths from his home town. He says it’s about an event called “Suttan apert” … or Seller’s open.
Carmine pointed out to me that “Suttan apert” is part of the local dialect spoken in his home town of Campobasso, Italy. Apparently, all over Italy there are many dialects. If he were to go to Rome and tell a local there about “Sutan apert’ they wouldn’t know what he was talking about. He says, “This is the way it is all over Italy. The local communities are very closely knit. Everyone knows everyone else. They speak their own Italian.”
Anyway, from what I saw on the web site, it seems that the local youth of Campbasso also know the value of carrying on their family traditions. To demonstrate their knowledge, they got together and organized the “Seller’s open” in which they celebrate the tradition of their local cuisine. On a warm summer’s night, the whole community comes out to eat. They open their houses and the young people offer the delicacies of their families to their friends and neighbors. It is a wonderful event, one that someday I wish to attend. You can see the pictures from last year’s event at http://www.monacilioni.net/Foto/ESTATE08/suttan/suttan08.htm.
Carmine's family home - home of the Seller's Open
In this picture, you can see Carmine’s family home. The doorway behind the man in the picture leads to the cellar of the house. The light brown door at the left of the photo is the front door to the home. You can see a little boy there with his foot on the door step. During the Seller’s open, the young people set up their cooking facilities in the cellars. It is cool down there and that is where they keep the wine, olive oil, etc.
Youth sellers at Carmine's Cellar
Here on the right you can see one of the youth sellers. This is Carmine’s cellar. On the right you can see the young people serving up the dish they prepared. In this case, it’s a red sauce with chicken, basil, and garlic. Carmine described to me the juxtaposition of the scene. The youths employ modern small appliances to make the cooking easier. However, they also take olive oil from the huge stone vessels (on the left, covered with white cloth, behind the man pouring some wine). Those vessels are hundreds of years old and weigh 750 pounds. They also take water from the well in the cellar. You can’t see it in this picture. It’s behind the man pouring wine. Carmine says the well has been there for hundreds of years. Look at the stone arches. Those are the arches untouched from the time the house was built. Some other homes have their basements modernized. Not my buddy Carmine. He says he’ll never do that.
So what’s the take away from this story? For me, I take away a sense of connection with these young people. Even though they live on the other side of the world and speak a language different from mine, they speak the same language of family love, community, and traditions that stand the test of time. Perhaps that is why I like Liz’s web site SimpleItalianCooking.com so much. I see in her writing the desire to learn the traditions of her family. I can see her making her own traditions, too. Which, I think, is the way it’s been done for centuries. Way to go Liz!
Author bio:
As a recently new single dad, Mike Rocha began an online business to help make ends meet. As publisher of SmallApplianceDepot.com, he loves to cook. His dad had a saying, “Some people eat to live, our family lives to eat!” 
So publishing articles about various new recipes, and how to use small kitchen appliances in their preparation, fits right in. Mike lives in beautiful sunny south Florida with his son who helps him with food shopping, cooking, and … yes … even cleanup, too. LOL. Mike has a dream to visit Italy and learn how to make Prosciutto ham. Please visit his website, SmallApplianceDepot.com to see some reviews like the one for a Cuisinart slow cooker.
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