To follow up on my blogpost earlier in the week, let's talk more about
the things of Summer.  On Sunday we talked about local Farmers' Markets...today, we are talking about the global phenom
known as a Street Festival.  Every country and culture has them.  Some, more than others.  Here in the NY Metropolitan
area, aptly called a melting pot, every race, culture, tradition is represented.  Certain groups have come in such numbers
that they were able to bring with them and perpetuate the festivals and tradtions of the countries they left.  One of these
groups were the Italians.  The coming together to remember a tradition from their town allowed the immigrant to feel
comfortable in this new world with a different language, different foods and religions, even the weather many times was
different.  A shared celebration (am I sounding like an anthropologist here??) erased all the fears and anxiety and gave
the immigrants the strength to persevere and eventually become accepted in the new land.  These feasts were run by
the local society made up of people from a particular town and the big celebration of the year would be the day on
which the Saint was commemorated by the Church of the town. 

     One of the most popular devotions of the Italian Immigrants, mainly from Southern Italy, was to Our Lady of Mount
Carmel.  She is the patron saint of many towns in the south of Italy, but she was usually the last saint to whom the
immigrants prayed to before they boarded the ships which took them from the Port of Naples to New York City.  A
large church next to the port was dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Madonna del Carmine and the
immigrants in large part would make a vow at the shrine to continue devotion to the Madonna in thanksgiving for a
safe voyage.  This explains way so many Catholic churches in Italian neighborhoods are named in Her honor. 
One way of showing this devotion was to have a traditional street festival with foods, music, and games and
fireworks.  This practice is still going on in many Italian or former Italian enclaves today.   On Staten Island where I
come from in NYC, a shrine was built in honor of Mt.Carmel by an immigrant named Vito Russo and he erected a
stone, pebble and concrete folk art shrine in the Rosebank section of the Island and subsequently started a
Society in honor of Mt.Carmel which still exists today.  The shrine is a labor of love, my dad knew Mr.Russo and he
collected bits and pieces of things that he thought would complement the shrine.  It is a hodge podge of small
religious statues all donated by the faithful and society members in memory of lost loved ones.
  As I'm writing this, the shrine is lit with feast lights, sausage and
peppers are grilling in stands, wine is being poured, zeppole are frying in large drums of bubbling oil, meatballs,
baked ziti, stuffed artichokes...you know...Italian feast food  along with live entertainment...all part of the 107th
celebration and feast, one of the oldest continuous Italian feasts in the country.  It's small in size, but large in
stature.  The Shrine itself was landmarked by NYC a few years ago.
This is the Our Lady of Mt.Carmel Feast
and Church in Montclair, NJ, also going on right now.  Concurrent feasts are happening in Williamsburg Brooklyn,
the Bronx, Manhattan, Hammonton NJ, New Haven Ct, Boston, Ma., Rhode Is, and pretty much everywhere there
is an Italian presence.  Feasts are happy occasions, like the Italian version of the town picnic or 4th of July
Parade.  The difference is in the food...not corn dogs or Arepas, but Stigliole (brasciole like innards grilled on
skewers), tripe, mozzarella and steak hero sandwiches, clams, both on the half shell and baked, shrimp scampi
and fried calamari, manicotti and ravioli, cannoli, pastries, fresh fruit in glasses of red and white wine...A statue
of the patronal saint is usually bedecked with a floral arch and ribbons streaming from the sides and bottom
where the devotees pin dollar bills.  They are the carried through the streets to the sounds of a brass band
playing traditional tunes. 

  These pictures were taken this morning at the Feast mass at
my own parish church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, in Asbury Park NJ, still a national Italian parish which was
founded by Southern Italian Immigrants from the town of Camposano near Naples.  Danny DeVito was a
former altar boy at this church.The surrounding area of the church is multi-cultural now, and there is no more
outdoor feast, just the mass on July 16 with coffee and cake in the church hall.  You can see in the pictures
the Southern Italian style.  Danny's Aunt Julia used to make the stuffed artichokes at a local Italian restaurant,
Jimmy's near the church.  It's a favorite restaurant of ours, my youngest daughter's Christening party was held
there...both my girls were baptized in the church.  See, I've brought the story full circle back to food.  Isn't that
my point in writing?  I intend to stick with that premise...It's all about the life experiences that make us who
we are and the memories and foods that we associate with them.   By the way, my hands are greasy..I'm
eating a zeppole right now...just sayin...

     No feast in the Italian-American world can go on without sausage...or in our vernacular, saseege...but I didn't
want to make Sausage and peppers for dinner.  Instead, I made homemade sausage meat with lots of
fennel and black pepper, sauteed that with olive oil, red wine, garlic, then added chopped broccoli, then
cooked orecchiette...let that get happy, then tossed pecorino into it and a little chile pepper flakes.
  This was three bone in fatty pork chops which I deboned, then
hand chopped finely and added salt, black pepper, red wine, and lots of fennel seeds.  I let it sit for 3 hours in the
fridge then sauteed it in a little olive oil.  You can also use 5 good Italian sausage links with fennel which you have
taken the casing off.  Ok, here comes my food lecture...find a reputable Italian Salumeria, Pork Store or Butcher
for your Italian sausage.  The supermarket varieties are full of additives, like sugar, water, preservatives, etc and
when you cook them they actually steam from the inside out.  Most Pork Stores or butchers are using good pork
mixed with good pork fat and the same seasonings I used to make their sausage.  It's better for you all around.
Did I just tell you that sausage is good for your health?  Don't quote me on that...  This post is taking me some
time because there is a fly buzzing around the screen that I keep hitting but it keeps coming back to life!!  I feel
like I'm trying to kill Jeff Goldblum in that movie!!  Ok, sorry for the distraction...Saute' the sausage meat in about 2 tbs
of Olive oil.  Put up a pot of water for 1 lb of pasta...I used orecchiette for this..why..I like it with sausage.  Also,
have 2 cups of chopped cooked broccoli on hand, you can do this ahead of time.  Sitr the sausage and cook
until all the pink is gone, should take a good 9 or 10 minutes.  Then add 2 sliced cloves of garlic.  When you
smell that wonderful aroma, add 1/8 cup red wine.  Then the broccoli.  Let this cook till the water has evaporated
and you hear the sizzle.  Now add the pasta.  Toss well for 5 minutes.  Turn off the flame.  Taste and check
for seasonings.  Add 1/8 cup grated pecorino and blend in well.  Let this sit for 10 minutes covered before
serving....This dish is my omage to Mt.Carmel day and all my Italian feast memories...
    Without leaving your kitchen, you have the
taste of a feast in your home..put on a traditional Italian or Sinatra CD, pour some wine, slice some good Italian
bread and you are done...Make every day a special feast in your home, by yourself, with your family, with your
friends...