 | 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
2005-11-01 16:19:00
History of Italian cuisine - Part 2
ANSWER: Last month we covered the origins of Italian cooking up to the time of the Spice Trade after the Crusades. This month we will cover the introduction of imports by the explorers.The Culinary Discoveries of the Great Explorers - Among the many goods brought to Europe and Italy by the explorers there were some foods whose importance was understood only in time. First, there was maize, widespread in North Italy, which, at the time of the great famines of the 17th century, became the base for the most common dish: polenta (a sort of meal mush). Then there were potatoes, tomatoes, and beans. Rice from Asia was an instant success and joined pasta as the nation`s first course. Venetian merchants imported sugar from the Orient and this, initially very expensive, was used in medicine and only later in cooking. Last there was coffee, which was of Turkish origin and was first used as a medicine.Cuisine in the renaissance - The 15th and 16th centuries were a particularly fortunate time for Italian cuisine. With respect to the preceding period, there was a greater variety and richness in the preparation of foods: soups, grilled, roasted and boiled meats, meat pastries, fish, vegetables (also in oil) and refined salads, almond-based sweets, pine-nuts and candied fruits; cane sugar (then still expensive) began to replace honey. Renaissance court banquets were famous for their enormity and refinement, while the food of the common people remained rather simple: beans, lentils, chickpeas, buckwheat (used to prepare soups and porridges) as well as eggs, cheese and mutton.Culinary Art and Etiquette in the Renaissance - Italian cuisine reigned supreme from the end of the Middle Ages to the 17th century and had a notable influence abroad. In particular, Catherine de` Medici popularized Italian recipes (especially sweets and ice cream) in France on her marriage to the future King Henry II. It was also in this period that the first menus and rules for courses were printed and table manners were improving, albeit very slowly. Within this latter context, the Italians were the educators of Europe and the famous 'Galateo` by Monsignor Della Casa was quickly translated and distributed abroad. The principal innovation was the use of individual cutlery.Cuisine in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries - The upper classes of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries enjoyed a refined cuisine. Every official event became the pretext for sumptuous feasts where the courses were abundant and the servings enormous: charcuterie hors d`oeuvres and delicate French-style soups were followed by numerous meat and fish dishes, vegetable purees, intricate sweets and fruits, all presented with the utmost care, particularly in the rapidly spreading restaurants. However, the food of the common people remained frugal and monotonous, based on bread, vegetable soups, beans, cabbages and potatoes. Cheese and eggs were widespread as were polenta and pasta made from flour and eggs.Foreign Influences and the Spread of New Foods - From the 17th to the 19th century many new dishes arrived from France: consommés, crepes, purees, jellies, gravies and delicate, tasty sauces such as mayonnaise and béchamel. The presentation of the food was very important and was executed with great refinement. Even English cooking found its typical dishes becoming widespread abroad: roast beef, pudding and, above all, tea - which remained less popular than coffee or chocolate (from America). The most elegant places were never without coffee, which in fact became so popular as to give rise to locales where it was the most consumed drink: the coffee house or cafe.20th Century Cuisine - In the last few decades Italian cuisine has altered as a result of rapid and profound changes in lifestyle. The involvement of industry in the food sector and the subsequent improvements in preparation conservation and distribution have led to modifications of the old system and a raising of food standards but perhaps at the cost of a certain loss of flavor in meats and fresh vegetables. Italian cooking, with its adaptability in preparation, has remained resistant to this and has kept up with the pace of 21th-century life. Italy therefore remains a country with a noble culinary tradition and is renowned abroad as such.
