International Antipasto Day

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This is International Antipasto Day. The word translates from the Italian as "before the repast," and that's just where you find it. Restaurants in Italy place it so far ahead of the main part of dinner that the antipasto is typically on a table just inside the front door. Here in New Orleans, most of us know antipasto as a plate of prosciutto, salami, cheeses, and olives, served ice-cold. While all of those items are commonly found on an antipasto spread, the good ones go far beyond to include a wealth of marinated and fresh vegetables: eggplant several ways, mushrooms, asparagus, escarole, carrots, green beans, and whatever else is fresh. Seafood is also common, particularly cephalopods like squid and octopus. The common thread running through most of this is olive oil, along with garlic and herbs. All of this is served at cool room temperature, releasing maximum flavor and aroma.When chefs with more recent ties to Italy began opening restaurants here, antipasto began diversifying. The two restaurants that offered the best versions were Andrea's and Cafe Giovanni. Too bad neither of these still exists. Other Italian restaurants are expanding their selections. And you can buy a fine assortment of antipasto at stores with good gourmet-to-go sections. It's a great first course, especially in these hot months.The Web says that today is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. The most famous hot fudge sundae routinely served around New Orleans is what the waiters call a Walgreen (but not officially) at Antoine's. It's a ring of meringue baked stiff, topped with vanilla ice cream, chopped nuts, and chocolate sauce.

Fishtown, Indiana is right on the west bank of the Ohio River, twenty-two miles downriver from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. (The river is the Indiana-Kentucky state line.) Fishtown is a distinct if small community, with a scattering of houses and barns in the surrounding woods, and some open fields right next to the river. Fishing is fairly good in the river, with smallmouth bass being the major player. If you don't fish, see if you can score a boat to get across the river to the Louisville suburb of Valley Station, where a vast array of fast food places and a cafe called Christi's are just on the other side.

lox, n.--Cured salmon, usually sliced and served cool, most commonly with toasted bagels and cream cheese. The standard lox--also known as "belly lox"--is not smoked. Although many deli customers say that only this is true lox, the smoked kind has become much more popular. The most common is called Nova lox, for Nova Scotia, which once dominated the smoked salmon supply in Northeast America. The word comes from the old German word for salmon, and is found with different spellings across Northern Europe. Nova lox usually is less salty than belly lox, from being cured a shorter time in a milder brine solution.

An Italian restaurant must have at least ten varieties of antipasto if it is to be taken seriously as cooking faithfully to the cuisine.

Today in 1805, former Vice-President Aaron Burr--killer of Alexander Hamilton and paragon of amorality--visited New Orleans with the idea of forming a new country out of the Louisiana Purchase territory. He would have made New Orleans its capital. I wonder what that would have been like. Founded by a complete rogue like Burr, such a thing held the promise of astounding intrigue. What a novel that would make! Hmm.

The Japanese food company Ajinomoto, which makes about a third of the world's monosodium glutamate (MSG), was organized today in 1908. One of its founders, Kikunae Ikeda, discovered that soup stocks made with the sea kelp konbu taste good because they contain MSG. He isolated the compound and patented it, thereby creating the basis for the company. MSG has a terrible reputation among consumers, even though no scientific tests have revealed that it causes any ill effects. Cooks have know of its flavor-enhancing properties for a long time. It is more widely used in Creole cooking than most people know.

Today is the feast day of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. His name translates as "Christ-bearer," and he's depicted as carrying the baby Jesus across the water. He likely was mythological. A restaurant in Slidell was once named for him: St. Christopher's Curve Inn, on US 11 at the point where it swerved away from the railroad tracks, was where everybody stopped for a (bad) bite to eat through the 1970s. Famous local restaurateurs named for the saint include Chris Kerageorgiou, the founder of La Provence; and Chris Matulich, who opened Chris Steak House (and later sold it to Ruth). Both have left us. So has Chris Vodanovich, who ran Bozo's for over fifty years.

This would be the 107th birthday of Joseph Fitzmorris, my father. He never went to restaurants, but he did have strong ideas about food. He pointed out how much better a poor boy sandwich becomes when the bread is warmed. He had a passion for pasta with brown sauces, which my mother never would make for him for some reason. He loved marrow bones. . . . Also having a birthday today is Clark Marter, The Gourmet Truck Driver. He found my radio show about twenty years ago when the station was left on by the previous driver of his eighteen-wheeler. He's listened ever since, frequently calls in, has come to a few Eat Club dinners, and will be joining us on the Caribbean cruise next February. Clark is the great-nephew of trumpet great Harry James.

Bob Dylan was booed off the stage at the Newport Jazz Festival today in 1965. He dared to appear with an electric, amplified guitar rather than his customary acoustic equipment. It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but I wish it were. Why do musicians feel the need to play so loudly? This is true in virtually every place where live music is played, but especially in restaurants. It's always too loud.

The movie about the racehorse Seabiscuit premiered today in 2003. . . Harold Peary, who portrayed The Great Gildersleeve on classic radio and in movies, was born today in 1908. He was a serious gourmet and quite a good singer, but he was best known for his mischievous laugh. . . Bob Lemon became the manager of the Yankees today in 1978. (Second consecutive day that Lemon turned up here.) . . .Relief pitcher Larry Sherry, the MVP of the 1959 World Series, relieved his mother today in 1959.

"Always serve too much hot fudge sauce on hot fudge sundaes. It makes people overjoyed, and puts them in your debt."--Judith Olney, American food writer.

"I rather like bad wine. One gets so bored with good wine."--Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of England in the late 1800s.