Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Jack Fasciano
Jack Fasciano is President and Owner of Angelo's, a Wichita tradition for 45 years. Angelo's was founded in 1959 by Angelo and Anna Fasciano in Derby, KS. Jack is their oldest son and began in the business as a youngster doing dishes, grinding garlic and making pizza sauce and sausage. At the age of 12, Jack was Derby's first pizza delivery person. He delivered pizzas and other Italian dishes to friends and neighbors in a little red wagon. In 1960, the Fascianos opened their first 'real' restaurant at the corner of Harry and Hillside in Wichita, at one time having four locations in Wichita and one in Hutchinson. Over the years Jack has worked along side his father, mother, aunts, uncles and cousins perfecting recipes and maintaining the family tradition of wonderful 'Southern Italian Comfort' food. Today, Jack keeps that tradition alive in a quiet neighborhood at 1930 S. Oliver. If the Italian aromas don't bring you in, you can't miss the sign with Lion on top. You can contact Jack at (316) 682-1473.
Food & Drink
2005-10-01 14:59:00
The history of Italian cooking
: I enjoy your many recipes you feature in the Times and have even tried a couple myself. Tell me, can you provide a history on Italian cooking and how it incorporates the ingredients?
ANSWER: Most of what I know was passed down to me from Mom and Dad, but as always, the Internet is  a great source.  Here is some information I found at ItalyLink.com that does a great job in answering your question.  I won't be able to get it all in this issue, but come back to get it all.The Origins of Italian Cuisine: Magna Grecia and the Etruscans - The history of Italian cooking begins with Magna Grecia, where the culture of the Greek colonies popularized the art.  The daily fare was simple and sober (pork, salted fish, chickpeas, lentils, lupins, olive pickles and dried figs), but at banquets the food was more varied and plentiful (soups, game in vinegar and honey sauces, sweets with almonds and walnuts), and also took on ritual and symbolic meanings.  The Etruscans too had a simple diet based on the cereals favored by the fertile region (present-day Tuscany). The richest Etruscans were particularly fond of excellence and the pleasures of the table: The ancient Romans tell of sumptuous feasts.Roman Cuisine in the Republican Era - Romans of the Republican Era were a sober people of frugal dietary habits: they usually had two meals a day, prandium and supper. The custom of a breakfast of cereal, honey, dried fruit and cheese was gradually introduced. For a long time the most widely consumed foods were boiled cereals (a kind of mush), legumes such as broad beans, lentils, chickpeas and lupins, vegetables of various types, bread and cake. The diet also included fish, game from the hunt (only eaten on festive days and there was no raising of livestock), milk, cheese and fruit.Roman Cuisine in the Imperial AgeThe Romans had two main daily meals, but they often added a breakfast of bread soaked in wine, grapes, olives, milk and eggs (that doesn't sound too good to me). The midday meal was a light affair of cold dishes. Dinner was the main meal: a feast of hors d'oeuvres (mixed seafood) followed by game, pork, veal, goat, fowl and, especially, fish... and finally sweets with a honey base, fresh and dried fruit. These courses were accompanied by sweet, scented wines, as well as often having interludes for entertainment. cuisine had thus become a refined pleasure and, for some, a show of wealth and originality, as in the famous banquets of Lucullu and Trimalchio.Cuisine in the Middle AgeThe cuisine of the Barbarians who invaded Italy from the 5th century A.D. was considerably different from that of the Romans and was based on plentiful roast meats, stuffed pastries and oven-baked pies.  However, for the Italian population reduced to poverty and servitude, food was rather poor and consisted of cereals, milk, cheese and vegetables. Gradually, culinary art began a revival (especially after 1000 A.D.) in the agricultural centers around the monasteries where the famished and terrorized population had taken refuge.  The general tendency was to make food healthier, more appetizing and digestible, eliminating elaborate preparation and introducing more fresh fruit and vegetables.Gastronomical Revival in the Feudal CourtsAround 1200 A.D. life in the courts became less difficult, commerce and social life resumed and the feudal lords frequently organized celebrations, feasts and tournaments.  At the most important meals, the courses were legion but cooked and served with no variety or cohesion.  There was an endless series of roast meats seasoned with a garlic sauce (garlic, herbs, sweetmeats and almonds). The meal was finished with cheese and fruit. There was little change from RoMan cuisine, but the spices of the East were beginning to arrive in greater quantity and their exotic aromas starting to scent the food - a prelude to coming refinements.The Spice TradeThere was already a spice trade in the Early Middle Ages, but this really intensified after the Crusades and demand was as much for cooking as for medicine. Alongside the fascination of rarity and high price, spices had other more practical and important qualities: the preserving of meat and fish for longer periods and the flavoring of otherwise bland foods. There was also an obligatory route for spices fixed, as with other prized merchandise, by customs and taxes.  For many years the last lap of the journey was the monopoly of the great Venetian merchants and bankers.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates