Staycation, but make it Italy

May 7, 2020 10:38 AM

My partner and I had planned to spend the coming two weeks in Italy, but that trip's long since been canceled. Instead, we're doing a short staycation at home in NYC, and we want to make it as Italy as possible!

We're open to your ideas for anything two adults might enjoy at home that's at all Italy-themed/connected. That could be Italian music, movies, TV shows ... a card or board game from Italy ... anything of the sort.

We also love to cook. Of course the possibilities are endless, but if you know any recipes that just scream THIS IS ITALY at you, please fire away. We're also big into cocktails and have a large selection of Italian amari, so any Italianate cocktails you love would be delightful to hear about. Grazie mille!

posted by DavidNYC to Grab Bag (24 answers total)

* pulls up chair and sits down *

Have some classic movies. (Not all of these are happy, fair warning.)

* Ossessione was an Italian film based on the same source novel as the classic The Postman Always Rings Twice. It's now considered to be an early example of "Italian neo-Realism"; it's about a drifter who gets a job at a roadside tavern and gas station, and he and the wife of the owner start to fall for each other and they conspire to run off together; then change their minds and kill her husband instead, and take over the shop. The drifter can't quite reconcile himself to what they did, though, and problems ensue.

* Rome, Open City deals with Rome under fascist occupation during the Second World War.

* Paisan is an anthology film - six short segments dealing with the post-War fallout, as Allied soldiers fight their way north from Sicily to the Po river and liberate Italy.

* The Bicycle Thief - this is my highest recommendation, actually. A man scores a job in the post-war economy, but it's one that requires him to have a bike - and while he's on the job one day his bike gets stolen. He and his young son spend all of the following day searching through various second-hand stores and chop shops for his bike, hoping against hope that they can find it. There's a scene where they decide "hell with this, let's take a break" and go get pizza, and the look on the kid's face when his father asks if he wants pizza gets me every time.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:59 AM on May 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

If you're into old-school, occasionally leftist folk music that's just this side of cheesy, Gruppo Folk Italiano is worth a listen.

Given what my spouse and I enjoy, we'd probably just drink too many negronis and watch The Bicycle Thief again. But, we have very little actual connection to Italy. (It looks like the D'Artagnan online store is still shipping white truffles, if you feel like spending $200 US on luxury food ingredients at the moment.)
posted by eotvos at 11:02 AM on May 7, 2020

This company, Walks of Italy does superb walking tours and is now offering several Italy "tours from home." I would most definitely pour some wine and do one or more of these. I believe they are live with a guide who takes questions, it's not just a recording.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:05 AM on May 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Do you have the Criterion Channel? They have all kinds of great stuff like 8 1/2 and L’Avventura.
posted by less of course at 11:06 AM on May 7, 2020

I don't know enough about Italy to know how authentic it is, but try Eataly to see if they're doing takeout.
posted by 8603 at 11:17 AM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I know what you mean. I was going to meet up with friends in Portugal next week and then all go to Rome together. Alas!

Recent films that feel very italy:

La Grande Belleza

Pranzo di ferragosto

Negronis are my favorite cocktail. Serve with some slices of prosciutto and bits of Gorgonzola cheese for a nice stuzzichini

A fresh mozzarrella di bufala and tomato salad as a primi. The best primi pasta is agnolotti del plin
As a secondi, go with a tagliatelle or pappardelle with your favorite thick sauce, maybe one with wild boar. For wine, a bottle of Barolo.

for dessert, a tiramisu or panna cotta although my favorite is a zabaione

finally of course an espresso with a side of grappa
posted by vacapinta at 11:24 AM on May 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Could you GET more Italian than Puccini's Tosca at La Scala in Milan? There are plenty on YouTube in their entirety. I turned up this one which is maybe not ideal because it lacks English subtitles but it's recent enough it's something you might well have seen on a recent vacation and it has the greatest star of the opera world in the title role. There are tons of complete performances of Italian opera on youtube.
posted by less of course at 11:26 AM on May 7, 2020

Marcella Hazan is the very first person I think of when I think of Italian cooking, and her tomato sauce recipe is rightly famous. It's fantastic, and also super easy.
posted by holborne at 11:36 AM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Talk really loudly!

*Just kidding* If you've never made your own pasta, it's definitely worth it. Even if you don't have a pasta machine, you can get good results with a rolling pin and a knife (or pizza cutter). If you mix it by hand, be sure not to panic when your eggs start escaping from your flour wall! You can always use a Kitchen Aid, too. It takes a long time and you won't make it fresh every time, but it makes the dried stuff seem pretty low rent.
posted by Don_K at 11:52 AM on May 7, 2020

Well, you have to cook cacio e pepe and/or carbonara. Guanciale for the carbonara might be a bit harder to find, but since you're in NYC perhaps it won't give you too much trouble. You can always sub pancetta if necessary.

Take a passeggiata every evening, if you are comfortable going for walks.

Buy some very good bread and have it with every meal!

There are some Italian episodes of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations currently available on Hulu. We just watched the Emilia Romagna episode and it was great. There is also a Naples episode. If you're willing to pay for old episodes, there are Italian episodes of No Reservations and Parts Unknown on Amazon.

You could perhaps start each day doing some simple language study to get in the mood. Before I went to Rome last year, I listened to episodes of the podcast Coffee Break Italian. Each episode is about a half hour, so it could be something you do over breakfast.
posted by imalaowai at 11:53 AM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Watch Samin Nosrat’s Italian episode of Salt Fat Acid Head. (It’s the episode entitled “Fat.”) That episode inspired my trip to Italy last year.
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:05 PM on May 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Limoncello is my Italy madeleine. I'd get a bottle of limoncello to sip while chatting ... or make your own.
posted by barnowl at 12:14 PM on May 7, 2020

Make sure every meal lasts at least two hours, with copious bottles of wine and/or fizzy water.
posted by RedEmma at 12:25 PM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you love to cook, make fresh pasta and learn the regional sauces and typical dishes of where you would have been. I never appreciated browned butter sage sauce until visiting Chianti.
posted by advicepig at 12:30 PM on May 7, 2020

I really like Donna Leon's series of Brunetti novels set in Venice and I hear the TV show is good. I also loved the Fat episode.

You could order an antipasti set from Pastosa; their mozzarella is great.

If you would like to try Italian-inspired yet local amari, in case you don't already know about them, I heartily recommend St Agrestis Inferno Bitter, Arcane Fernet, and the new fernet and amaro from Faccia Brutto.
posted by ferret branca at 12:32 PM on May 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Gelato every day, if you can find it.
posted by gt2 at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I used to live in Carroll Gardens and loved Caputo's grocery, which makes fresh mozzarella often (every few hours?) and it's amazing, as is their other food. Near the church where Al Capone was married, and takeout from Frankie's. Your question made me think of the amazing parade in that neighborhood for the Feast of Maria SS. Addolorata, which isn't until September, but definitely the most Italian experience I've had outside Italy. Not sure when the Cloisters is reopening, and it's not Italian, but also reminds me a little of Italy.
posted by pinochiette at 12:41 PM on May 7, 2020

Start the day with a very good cappuccino made from Italian coffee, with much less milk than you are used to, and with it eat a delicious pastry with cream in it. That will already get the right smell in your home. I feel you can get everything in New York, but if you can't get the pastry, here's a video tutorial. Normally, this would be the time to take a walk and look at the sights. I was supposed to have been in Italy last week, and I found myself looking at documentaries online instead, I've rewatched the Bourdain shows and Rick Steves' shows, and I like this youtube channel, though they are too short for when you really long for Italy. This is also a nice series.
Then it is time to cook lunch. Maybe have the midday meal as the main meal, with 4-5 courses in the traditional style. Spend time researching the traditional cuisine of where you were planning to go. Maybe google restaurants in those places and look up the menus for inspiration. In my experience, food planning can take a lot of time. (Before, stock up with the relevant produce, pantry items and wine, so you can cook what you like). Like RedEmma says, make the meal last two hours. Maybe if you start eating at 2PM and finish at 4 - 4:30, you could be ready for a nap after cleaning up the kitchen. Also read Italian literature, like the Ferrante books. I read a book on medieval architecture. Or what about The Name of the Rose?
After napping, it is time to have an aperitivo and think about dinner. Maybe after the excesses of lunch, it will be nice with something light, like a Spritz. A Spritz doesn't have to be with Aperol, it can be any bitter + sparkling wine + sparkling water. Check out online which are the typical bar snacks in the area you are visiting.
A light but delicious dinner could just be a spread of regional antipasti, or you could spend time making a tasting menu as if you were at a fine dining restaurant. Or just a pizza and a beer.
Then go to the movies or an opera or just hang out at a "bar" with a good DJ (at home).
I agree with all the movie suggestions above and would like to add all the Fellini movies. I don't think he ever made a bad one. Also 1900 and Stromboli.

Happy holidays!
posted by mumimor at 12:43 PM on May 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

When I was in Italy, I took a pasta making class with this fantastic guy. He does live classes now for quarantine, so you could play along.
posted by xo at 2:41 PM on May 7, 2020

I’m reading “See You at the Piazza” by Frances Mayes with my book group now, and it has insights, recipes and more. She also has a Tuscan PBS special that brings Italy to you.
posted by childofTethys at 2:53 PM on May 7, 2020

Great answers in the food and movies departments. Other ideas are: do a virtual museum visit, dress like an Italian, learn some Italian slang, get some canvas and acrylic paint and paint some simple Italian landscapes or foods, see if you can take a distant learning class from an Italian, get a special lamp to mimic the sun.
posted by DixieBaby at 3:57 PM on May 7, 2020

Yes on gelato every day. It doesn't matter if it's raining or cold, just have some gelato. Straciatella, nocciola, and crema are pretty classic flavors.

Browse an Italian bookstore online and pretend you're stopping by one in person.

Online window shop for regional Italian gifts like Deruta pottery and Venetian glass.

Try making some regional dishes like polenta con pesto, spaghetti all'amatriciana, pizza napoletana, etc.

Stream some Italian pop through Radio Italia's website.

Look for DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) wine. It'll usually have a red and wine strip sticker up at the top of the bottle. Basically that means that it is actually from Italy. The Chianti section usually a good place to look for this.

Eat hazelnut flavored chocolate.

Get yourself a copy of the documentary The Last Victory and learn about the contrade of Siena and the Palio that has been held there for hundreds of years.

For breakfast, just have an espresso or cappuccino and a pastry.
posted by donut_princess at 8:05 PM on May 7, 2020

Cook cacio e pepe; make fried artichokes. Call everyone you know and ask about their lunch. Demand additional details (how was the sandwich prepared EXACTLY?). Give each other tiny gifts and spend a long time in loud voices cooing over the gifts' small detals. Talk about how your partner looks. Tell them they are beautiful. Listen to Caruso. Cook again. Talk about the food while you're eating it; get really granular; compare it to past meals. Admire each other's clothes. Read books about classical art. Read that crazy biography of Caravaggio and argue about it late into the night. Pluck your eyebrows. Crush some herbs. Dance to electronic music. Call your mother and have a really loud phone conversation with her. Talk using your hands. Obtain strange things like burrata and bitters. Say "MMMMM" when you first taste them; pass them around; offer people food from your own plate.
posted by hungrytiger at 1:39 AM on May 8, 2020 [3 favorites]

Get a deck of Italian/Napoletane/Modiano playing cards and learn games specific to those. Good stuff!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:44 PM on May 19, 2020