THE
ITALIAN TIMES Published by the Italian Community Center 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.ICCMilwaukee.com VOL. 34, NO. 9 MARCH 2013
NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID MILWAUKEE, WI Permit No. 5716
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Interested in Italian cooking? Come to the ICC’s ‘La Cucina’ classes starting Mar. 20 By Susie (DeSanctis) Christiansen La Cucina, a well-received series of cooking classes is returning to the Italian Community Center … with a twist.
The members of the ICC’s Membership and Avanti Committees welcome all to La Cucina, classes and demonstrations involving local restaurants and chefs, this time with a slightly different for-
mat, but with the same delicious subject – Italian food! You can register for each class separately, but we recommend you register for all three, at a lower price, since you won’t want to miss
ICC presents festive Carnevale for 34th time
one of these events. Read on and make your decision. Opening class The first evening, Wednesday, Mar. 20, will feature a competition among three talented chefs in what is being billed as “The Battle of the Festa Italiana Chefs.” Carlo Pedrone of Trattoria di Carlo, Peter Carini of Carini’s Conca d’Oro and Santo Alioto of Papa Luigi’s will no doubt impress all attendees with their cooking finesse. In the end, you be the judge. Second class The second class, on Wednesday, Apr. 17, will bring to the forefront the “Culinary Stars of the Future” from the highly reputable Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Culinary Program. Come enjoy this evening as several young and talented future chefs challenge each other and present to you their cooking and baking techniques. The future of food in Milwaukee awaits your discriminating palate.
Nearly 400 people were on hand as the Italian Community Center presented its 34th annual “Il Grande Carnevale” on Saturday, Feb. 9. The theme was “Memories of Carnevale.” To carry out the theme, some of the more memorable activities of past Carnevales were re-created. There was a slide presentation and photo display showing thousands of pic-
tures of past celebrations. This year, John Alioto and his wife, Mary Anne (Ceraso) Alioto were given the honor to serve as Re (King) and Regina (Queen). This picture was taken shortly after the couple received their crowns. Look for many more photos inside this edition of The Italian Times. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)
‘A Taste of Italy’ is on Sunday, Apr. 14; ready to indulge? Get yourself ready to enjoy the Italian Community Center’s 18th annual “A Taste of Italy” on Sunday, Apr. 14. There is free admission and fair parking for the entire event, which opens at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. There will be a wide variety of delicious Italian food available, all for an affordable price. Food and beverage tickets will be sold for $1.50 each or as a set of seven for $10. A new addition to the menu this year is Italian wedding soup. Guests can also enjoy pasta with red sauce, meatballs, Italian sausage, arancini (rice balls), manicotti, calamari (deep fried
squid), breaded pork tenderloin, olive salad, Italian lettuce salad, sfingi (sweetened fried bread dough), sub sandwiches, pizza, sfinciuni (Sicilian style pizza), lentil soup, chicken pastini soup and desserts including cannoli, Italian cookies, éclairs, spumoni, gelato and pizzelles. To wash it down, there will be espresso, coffee, beer, wine, soda and water. The entrée items, pizza, salads and sandwiches will be available in the Pompeii Grand Ballroom. Desserts will be sold in the Festa Ballroom. Look for beverages on sale in both rooms. There will be plenty of seating available Please turn to page 8
The finale And last but certainly not least, on Wednesday, May 15, you are invited to our home as Nonna & Nonno share their treasured recipes and cooking skills with you. You will be reminded of days gone by when all of Sunday was spent making sauce, slow cooking meat and hanging fresh pasta in preparation for Sunday night dinner. This is a class not to be missed. La Cucina Cooking Series will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will include food and wine tasting. Reservations are required. Three cooking demonstrations – cooking skills shared with you – Please turn to page 7
A message from Italian Community Center President Gina Spang My big message this month is a THANK YOU to all our members. I am writing this message the morning after Carnevale – what a great celebration of Italian culture and tradition. A big thank you to chairpersons Rosie DeRubertis, Joanne Czubek and their committee for planning and presenting such a wonderful event. Another big thank you to General Manager Patrick Morgan, the banquet managers and the ICC team for the dinner and wonderful service. Finally thank you to our members and guests who attended the event. With the combination of all these “ingredients,” the event was a huge success and enjoyed by all. I think the best part of Carnevale was seeing all the children who were having a good time. Please turn to page 13