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I AM BOOKS
AN ITALIAN BOOKSTORE MADE IN AMERICA
Boston's Bookstore That Thrives on Italian Culture
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BY ANDREW COTTO Orichuia said. “But when
When legendary Italian I came to Boston, I didn’t American children’s writer find anything like that, and and illustrator Tomie de- I thought that was weird bePaola came to visit Boston’s cause Boston also has a large I AM Books in 2015, the metropolitan area, not as line to meet the beloved large as Chicago, but there’s author extended out the all these surrounding towns, door and down the block of and the Italian American the small storefront at 189 community is so present. So, North Street, circling the I said to myself, ‘I know what charming lanes of the his- I’m going to do.’” toric North End, the city’s Owner Nicola Orichuia outside the new storefront of I AM Bostoniano was launched Italian-American enclave. The Books at 124 Salem Street in Boston's North End. in 2012 after a fierce fundestimated turnout was 300 raising effort throughout the visitors. The next year and the year after that, the out- greater Boston area. The free monthly magazine was pouring, respectively, for Mr. dePaola was nearly twice the 52 pages with information, features and news across the original size. The massive numbers, three years running, spectrum of the Italian and Italian American community. were not only a boon for the owner of the boutique book The idea was to recognize the status of the Italian and store but a validation of his belief in identity-driven retail Italian American presence in Boston as well as the pride. with a cultural emphasis. In this case, the identity is that of a bookstore dedicated exclusively to Italian and Italian American literature, history, art, research and more (hence the name: I for Italian: AM for American). A few years after Mr. dePaola’s third and final visit, however, the Coronavirus pandemic shuttered the original I AM Books location and tested the resolve of its owner. “We were trying to highlight why it was great to be Italian and/or Italian American because a lot of times if you - being from this culture - are looking only at the mass media, you get all these stereotypes thrown at you and it’s hard to really understand the reasons to be proud, contemporarily and historically, and dig deeper than the typical projection,” Mr. Orichuia said. Nicola Orichuia was born and mostly raised in Rome. A professional Italian journalist by trade, he accompanied his surgeon wife to Chicago in 2008 for a medical residency. While furthering his own studies of journalism at a local college, Mr. Orichuia began working for Fra Noi, the Windy City’s publication dedicated to Italian and Italian American culture. He continued his relationship with the Chicago magazine after relocating with his wife to Boston where One of the ways the magazine worked to promote Italian culture was through the sharing of information on events. A problem with this in Boston was that the cultural centers, with a few exceptions, weren’t particularly active in hosting such gatherings. This sparked yet another idea in Mr. Orichuia, one borne from a serendipitous coffee with a friend who was closing a small retail space at 189 North Street. he expected to find a similar publication. Again, Mr. Orichuia knew what he had “It was nice to have this magazine in Chicago that the entire Italian American community could aggregate around,” Mr. Nicola Orichuia, owner of I AM Books. to do, though the concept of a cultural center alone struck him as a task dominated by fundraising in order to stay open. He thought, instead, to raise his own funds
through a retail operation that is culturally relevant and could also host related events. A bookstore seemed like an ideal way to appeal to the cultural identity of a community while providing relevance and affirmation through a combination of the materials sold and events hosted.
I AM Books quickly became an important part of the North End community in particular but the greater Italian and Italian American community at large in Massachusetts as well as up and down the eastern seaboard. “We’d have people come in from Philadelphia and Portland, Maine, places like that, and say they have heard of the store and wanted to support us while visiting Boston,” Mr. Orichuia said. “People come to our store, from around the corner or around the east coast, or through our online sales, because were narrowly focused on things Italian and Italian-American and we’re building that bridge between the two cultures and trying to make all the specific content that is out there readily available. For example, we have a section for Classics, but we only have Italian classics, not Greek. We’re strictly focused on only providing materials that are relevant for our customers.”
Of course, the majority of I AM Books’ customers are from the local community.
“I first discovered I AM Books in the summer of 2017, when I was fresh out of college. I had just obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Italian Studies and had no idea how I would be able to continue to pursue this precious passion of mine,” said Boston resident Sarah Netsky. “Thanks to this extraordinary cultural hub in the North End, I was able to keep immersing myself in the culture of Italy, whether through crossword puzzles, books, poetry, or cultural events.”
Like a lot of small businesses, I AM Books had to close its doors in 2020. After a last day fire sale, the operation, fully online, relocated to Mr. Orichuia’s basement in the home he shares with his wife, their eight-year-old son and twin toddlers. The business remained afloat thanks to mail orders from loyal customers around the country, but in 2021, on the dawn of what appeared to be the pandemic’s shift to endemic, the requests to return to a brick-andmortar presence from customers (and also from his wife) coincided with Mr. Orichuia’s own desire to conduct his passion project face to face. A much larger storefront, more than four times the original space, was leased and renovated at 124 Salem Street on one of the North End’s busiest commercial rows.
With its new storefront opened since the 2021 holiday season, I AM Books is thriving in its rebirth as a bigger, better version of its original self with more titles and more space for events. The doors are open seven days a week, every day of the year except for the four major holidays, so pay them a visit when in Boston or shop their site for things in print that not only validate the majesty of Italians and Italian Americans but also support one of our culture’s advocates as well.
I AM Books is located at 124 Salem Street in Boston’s North End neighborhood. Their website for browsing titles and/or ordering online is: www.iambooksboston. com. You can reach the store by phone at: 617-530-1106.
The spacious new interior of I AM Books allows for larger events and more materials related to Italian and Italian American identity.
BY MICHELE DI PIETRO
Summer is such an exciting time to get cooking . . .and eating! With fresh, seasonal produce, simple recipes and outdoor cooking on the grill, there are endless food possibilities to both satisfy and delight. Typical ingredients like zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and basil that are at their peak and in abbondanza during these steamy months are perfect for so many traditional Italian-American favorites. And, the simpler the recipes, the better! Often, not more than a little extra-virgin olive oil, fresh herbs, lemon juice, salt and a sprinkle of peperoncino is needed to highlight the natural goodness of fresh, summer ingredients. These three recipes were inspired by summer’s bounty and seasonal get-togethers. They are all crowd-pleasers, fairly straightforward and great as leftovers. These dishes also pair well with each other for a perfect, well-rounded menu. I like to serve the Stuffed Zucchini as a hearty antipasto, a small portion of the Bucatini with Ricotta and Slow-Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes as a primo piatto, and the Fried Peppers paired with Grilled Italian Sausage as the secondo. Together or a la carte, though, they will be a welcome addition to your summer menus. Please let us know if you give them a try!
Stuffed Zucchini
Stuffed Zucchini are quintessential summer fare, when the zucchini harvest abounds at farm stands and backyard gardens alike. Filled with a chunky mixture of savory ingredients, this recipe screams seasonal freshness. Read on for a simple and delicious, plant-based recipe:
5 zucchini (long or round) 2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1 heaping cup finely chopped yellow onion 2 Tbsp chopped or thinly sliced garlic 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes + their oil (about 8 tomatoes and 1 Tbsp oil) ½ cup chopped fresh basil ¼ cup breadcrumbs, plus more for sprinkling over stuffed zucchini Lemon zest from 1 lemon To taste salt and black pepper 1. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 F.
Lightly oil a small, parchment-lined baking dish large enough to snugly fit the zucchini. Set aside.
2. Prep all ingredients according to specifications above. If using long zucchini, trim the ends, then cut them in half lengthwise. With either a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, gently hollow out the zucchini halves by removing the soft inner flesh, making sure to leave the heartier zucchini base in place to be stuffed. This is best done by scraping the spoon towards you along the length of the zucchini while holding it vertically. If using round zucchini, cut off the top stem, then either cut the round bulb in half and scoop out the flesh as described above for the long zucchini, or leave the zucchini bulb whole and scoop out all flesh from above. Rough chop the flesh and set it and the hollowed out zucchini aside. 3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions have mostly softened, about 4-5 minutes. 4. Add the reserved zucchini flesh and continue to cook 4-5 minutes or until all residual liquid has evaporated. 5. Turn the heat off, then fold in the sun-dried tomatoes and basil, followed by the breadcrumbs and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. 6. Carefully fill each dug-out zucchini shell with the zucchini and onion mixture, then nestle the stuffed vegetables in the roasting pan. Top each zucchini with a light sprinkle of additional breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil.
7. Pour enough water in the roasting pan to fill it about ¼”. Cover the pan with foil, then place it on the middle rack in the oven. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the flesh of the zucchini base is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Then, uncover and roast an additional 5-10 more minutes to brown the Stuffed Zucchini, taking care to not burn them. (NOTE: If the zucchini are large, they may take longer to cook and require additional liquid in the pan. Add more water if necessary so that the baking dish does not dry up and the zucchini start to fry and burn.) 8. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter. The Stuffed Zucchini can be served either hot or at room temperature. Buon Appetito!
NOTES:
• The zucchini and onion mixture does not have to be 100% cooked as it will continue to cook during the roasting process. • The water is added to the roasting pan to help facilitate the cooking of the zucchini shells. Start with a small amount of water, as noted, and add more if needed for larger zucchini. The important thing to note is that the zucchini should not end up frying and burning in the baking dish! • If you have filling leftover after having stuffed all the zucchini shells, add it to scrambled eggs for a delicious and nutritious egg snack or some freshly grilled bruschetta bread for a savory, impromptu antipasti!
This dish has SICILY written all over it, but in a different way than usual. It’s basically a twist on what is, arguably, the most famous and ubiquitous of all Sicilian pasta dishes, Pasta alla Norma. It contains most of the same ingredients–just prepared and presented differently. Bucatini is combined with intensely flavored slow-roasted tomatoes and eggplants then tossed with creamy ricotta and sharp pecorino.
2 pounds eggplant, peeled, cut into 1” chunks 3 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in ½ lengthwise (2 ½ pounds) 1/3 cup olive oil 1 pound uncooked pasta (I used bucatini) + salt for pasta water 2 heaping Tbsp chopped or thinly sliced garlic 1 cup whole milk ricotta, at room temperature (8 ounces) ½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese Large handful fresh basil, stemmed and chopped or hand-torn Salt and black pepper 1. Preheat the oven to 275 F. Prep all vegetables according to specifications above. 2. Roast the vegetables: Arrange the cut eggplant and tomatoes in a single layer on separate parchment-lined sheet pans. Do not overcrowd the pans. (Use 2 pans for each vegetable, if necessary.) Toss the veggies lightly with some of the olive oil, then place on a middle oven rack for 2 hours at 275 F, stirring once about halfway through the cooking process. 3. Once the vegetables are finished, remove them from the oven and sprinkle them lightly with salt. Set aside. (NOTE: The vegetables can be done several hours or up to 1 day in advance. If doing so, hold the roasted vegetables in a sealed container under refrigeration until it is time to cook the pasta.) 4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add salt, then the pasta, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions, or about 2 minutes before you think it is al dente. (Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.) 5. Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, combine the garlic and about 3 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until just starting to brown, then add the roasted vegetables to the pan, just to heat through. 6. When the pasta is ready, transfer it to the skillet along with about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water (to start) and the ricotta. Stir well to fully combine all ingredients and let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce and absorb all of those wonderful flavors! Add the additional pasta water if more moisture is needed. 7. When the pasta is al dente, turn off the heat, then fold in the pecorino and basil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Finish with a healthy drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. 8. Serve warm with additional fresh basil. Buon Appetito!
NOTES:
• Whether you decide to go with large or small cuts on the vegetables to be roasted, the most important thing is to keep all pieces basically the same size, so that they all cook in the same amount of time. • Be sure to separate the eggplant and tomatoes onto different sheet pans, arrange the vegetables in a single-layer and do not overcrowd the pan. • Salt the tomatoes and eggplant after they are finished roasting, not before, to prevent the vegetables from steaming in the oven. • Combine the garlic and the oil in the pan at the same time, then slowly bring the temperature up. • The pasta water is key! Add it to the veggies along with the pasta and ricotta for the additional moisture needed to finish cooking the pasta. • Don’t forget to drizzle the finished dish with some high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for an additional hit of flavor and richness.
Fried Italian Sweet Peppers
Fried Italian Sweet Peppers are the perfect accompaniment to so many things–Italian sausage, scrambled eggs, bruschetta, pasta, or, quite honestly, any fork headed directly to my mouth. Seriously, though, it is not summer without them. If you see them at the market, buy them, fry them, enjoy them, repeat! Their beautiful colors are just the beginning! For this menu, consider pairing the fried peppers with grilled Italian sausage for a simple, yet satisfying, summer entrée. 1. Gather all ingredients. Rinse the whole peppers in cold water and completely dry them with a paper towel before frying. 2. Add enough oil to a large pan with high sides or a Dutch oven to about ¼” depth. Heat it over medium-high heat. 3. Place the whole peppers in a single layer on the bottom of the pan and let them brown before turning. Brown on multiple sides and until tender.
This will take about 15-20 minutes. Work in batches if necessary and do not overcrowd the pan! If you put too many peppers in the pan, the temperature of the oil will decrease and not allow moisture to dissipate, causing the peppers to steam, become extra-greasy, and/or not brown properly. 4. Transfer the fried peppers to a platter or bowl, then sprinkle them with coarse sea salt and (optional) fresh basil leaves. That’s it! Buon Appetito!
NOTES:
• Use an oil with a neutral taste and a high smoke point for this pan-frying technique. I used avocado oil. Canola oil, peanut oil and vegetable oil are also good options. Of course, olive oil is always wonderful, but may cause more smoke in your kitchen than you would like. If you use olive oil, I suggest using regular olive oil and not extra-virgin. • If you prefer, remove the stems and all seeds and thinly slice the peppers prior to frying. Rinse the peppers in cold water after de-seeding to remove any remaining seeds. Be sure to completely dry the peppers before adding them to the hot oil. • Do not overcrowd the pan! If you put too many peppers in the pan, the temperature of the oil will decrease and not allow moisture to dissipate, causing the peppers to steam, become extra-greasy, and/or not brown properly. Make the peppers in batches, if necessary. • The pepper skins may crack during the frying process and this is normal. In fact, many people prefer to peel off the skin before eating. • Leftover fried peppers should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge. They will keep for 3-5 days if stored properly.
Oil for frying, enough to cover bottom of pan + ¼” (See NOTE below.) 2 lbs whole frying peppers (See NOTE below.) Coarse sea salt Fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)
Michele Di Pietro is an entrepreneur, chef, cookbook author, blogger, culinary consultant, food writer, and creator of Mangia With Michele, the expression of her lifelong passion for Italian ingredients, foods, recipes, culture, and traditions. Throughout her busy professional culinary life, Michele has also always been an avid home cook with strong ties to her Italian roots. She is most happy and satisfied when cooking for, and breaking bread with, family and friends. It is these ties and sentiments, along with her passion for sharing both food and travel experiences with others, that led her to create Mangia With Michele. In 2020, Michele released her first cookbook: SOUPified: Soups Inspired by Your Favorite Dishes, a whimsical collection of soup recipes inspired by familiar entrees. Find her at www.MangiaWithMichele.com and follow her at @mangiawithmichele on social channels. www.instagram.com/MangiaWithMichele www.facebook.com/MangiaWithMichele
BY ANDREW COTTO
I’m the youngest of seven cousins on my mother’s side. My mother was the youngest of three daughters born to Carmelo and Phyllis Maccarrone. My Sicilian grandparents started their family in New York City in the 1930s and raised their daughters in Palisades Park, New Jersey in a three-family home on 8th Street. By the late 60s / early 70s, all three daughters had married and had families of their own in or around New York City. It didn’t matter where the families were settled, Sunday lunch on 8th Street was mandatory. There was no soccer game or birthday party or non-life threatening illness that kept any of us, each and every Sunday, from the home of my grandparents.
My grandfather was Nono. We called my grandmother Noni because her mother, Nonna, lived with them. Nonna was the gatekeeper upon arrival and departure for Sunday lunch. She sat in a metal chair in the corner of the kitchen, often peeling and eating raw garlic slivered with her stiletto that - as rumor had it - she smuggled from Sicily in her sock in order to find a man who had left her sister at the alter. More scary than the knife and its portent was the aroma that emanated from Nonna because of all the raw garlic she consumed. Each of her great grandchildren had the obligation to greet her with a kiss on her papery cheek upon arrival, to touch her hands that were rutted as the handle of her knife. This unpleasant experience was repeated when it was time to leave; the final effort, though, rewarded with a nickel from Nonna’s satchel.
In between the kisses from Nonna, on each and every Sunday of my childhood, was a sensory and familial pleasure that has remained among my most vivid and cherished memories. The smell upon entering the vestibule and dark hallway of the parlor floor was a thick perfume of savory delicacy, of tomato sauce stewing and chicken roasting in bread crumbs, of meatballs and “man-a-gaut” (manicotti). The floor-through apartment of six simple rooms would be full of life, with cousins running around, aunts and uncles joking around, and my grandmother in the kitchen doing all of the work by herself, cooking multiple courses simultaneously while also serving as the most charming hostess and fountain of gioia that defined our family.
The younger cousins were boys, and we would find something to do in the small backyard or in the adjacent alley or in the street out front where our oldest cousin usually worked on his car. Nono would be next door drinking beer from bottles and playing bocci on his neighbor’s backyard court. The girl cousins would go upstairs to Nonna’s apartment to practice music or theater routines to entertain us with later in the afternoon.
Lunch was served at 2:00. We gathered in the dining room that centered the apartment, around a long table. The 16 of us would hold hands as someone said grace. And then it was time to eat. While Noni brought the food to the table, a giant fiasco of red wine, made in the basement by Nono and Nonna, would be passed, with the children’s glasses cut by a quantity of 7-Up determined by age. The first courses featured meatballs and shanks of pork or lamb swimming in tomato sauce; the same glistening gravy would be ladled over the whipped ricotta within the handmade crepes. The aroma of pungent delicacy still lingers in my memory, as does the texture and depth of flavor of the manicotti. I can hear the harmony of multiple conversations at once, of serving utensils and silverware pinging plates, of my grandmother humming “Che sara sara…” as she makes her trips back and forth to the kitchen.
The next course was my favorite. Noni’s chicken was succulent thighs coated in her mixture of bread crumbs, grated cheese and herbs. The coating was adhered through
Phyllis Maccarrone, the author's grandmother, in her kitchen on 8th Street in Palisades Park, NJ.
egg-dipped pieces of chicken, tossed in a brown paper bag with the bread crumb mixture. My family used to claim that Noni invented “Shake & Bake” before it became a supermarket staple. This is a dish I still make today, and I do so every time with the wonder of the flavors exploding in my mouth as a child with each bite as I wonder as an adult how Noni made it taste so good. Another aspect of this course that I loved was watching my grandfather, especially on days when I would secure the seat next to his, devour his pieces of chicken and then suck the bones clean of any traces of flavor. After this, usually while the other plates were being cleared, he would use a long knife to remove and eat the marrow from within the bones. Once the bone was completely hollow, he would insert one of his cigarettes in an end and smoke it through the makeshift filter.
Slices of raw fennel would be brought to the table along with a zesty salad. After this course, bowls of fruits and nuts would appear. The smell of coffee would waft in from the kitchen and a bottle of anisette, to accompany the coffee, would be put on the table. All of this was prelude to the platter of pastries brought in from Corona, Queens, home to my mother’s oldest sister and her family. The dazzling array of cannolis, seven-layer cookies, eclairs, sfogliatelle, biscotti, zeppoli, etc., was almost too beautiful to eat.
After the pastries, my female cousins would perform the song or scene they had rehearsed. Then our parents would hold court around the table, telling stories and singing songs, until it was time for the women to carry in the plates to the kitchen and the men to wash the pots and pans. Music played in the kitchen, and the clean up effort would often be interrupted by impromptu breaks, when the right song came on the radio, of couples dancing around the linoleum floor. I could hear them laughing as I fell asleep watching TV on the carpet in the front room. “Come on, Pal,” my father would say as he gently roused me awake. “Let’s get your nickel and go home.”
Carmelo Maccarrone, the author's grandfather, with two of his granddaughters during a typical "Sunday Lunch."
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022 THE SONS OF ITALY FOUNDATION
The Foundation Focus
BY JOSEPH SCIAME, PRESIDENT
The Foundation Focus this issue will be dedicated to the evening of Wednesday, May 25, 2022 that will long be remembered by the Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) and the 200 guests who gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, for the 33rd Annual National Education Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala. It was an incredible evening, saluting the lives and achievements of four prominent Italian Americans: Hon. Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman of the United States; Lidia Bastianich, Chef, Author, TV Personality and Restaurateur; Angelo Vivolo, Entrepreneur and former President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation; and Laurie Serricchio Hollander, Founder and President of the Help Our Military Heroes (HOMH) foundation. Simultaneously honored was the theme from each recipient about the importance of La Famiglia!
Another validation of the evening’s theme was the comments of nineteen stellar recipient students, who competed among over 450 applicants for the 2022 national Sons of Italy Foundation Scholarships. It was acclaimed actor Joe Mantegna, MC of the evening for the 19th straight year and a former NELA honoree himself, who shared the words celebrating each recipient, inspiring faces of joy for the generations ahead.
SIF scholarships for 2022 approached an all-time high of $130,000, continuing the history of the tens of thousands of dollars that are awarded each year. These amounts are distinct from the funds from state and local lodges of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) that surpassed over $650,000 in 2021. It is estimated that since 1989 the SIF has awarded well over $2 million in scholarships.
The festive and elegant room of guests were entertained by The Sicilian Tenors, who also saluted the group of veterans attending the event. A check of $20,000 was presented to Ms. Hollander of HOMH for the purchase of the 7th in a series of vans for a paraplegic veteran. The applause roared during this presentation as additional pride was aroused in the attendees, especially the veterans.
The NELA Gala was created by the SIF Trustees in an effort to bring to the nation’s capital city a showcase event whereby Italian Americans and others might be recognized for their significant contributions to the world. In recognizing such high-level personages in recent years - among whom are: Hon. Condoleeza Rice, 66th Secretary of State; Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of State, USA; Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director, NIA&ID; Hon. Leon Panetta, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense; Gen. Colin Powell, 65th Secretary of State; Claudio Bozzo, President, MSC; President Bill Clinton and then VicePresident Joseph Biden; former Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi; Joe Mantegna, actor; Regis Philbin, television host; Mario Andretti, racing legend; Frank Sinatra, legendary entertainer; Hon. Antonin Scalia, and first honoree Lou Carnesecca in 1989 - it appears to me to be a litany of achievement all related in some way to our Italianita, even among those honored who were non-Italian.
The real story of the success of our 2022 NELA was, and will continue to be, the goodness and greatness of the Sons of Italy Foundation and the wider circle of the OSDIA members and friends in raising funds to help others through our combined charities, scholarships and disaster relief. We have much to be proud of from the early days of the OSDIA in 1905 and through the founding of the Sons of Italy Foundation in 1959. Most of all, though, we can have pride in knowing that we are working on great causes for humanity!
Finally, our hats are off to the staff in D.C., for without them our 2022 NELA success would not have been realized. Kudos to Justin, Shayla, Joana, Michael and Harrison – a TEAM!
