Certainly it is not I the most suitable person to speak of cooking. Fallo has an enviable tradition of cooks and they are certainly more qualified than I am to speak of culinary art. Personally, I can only limit myself to list food and drinks, which now come to mind, and which they have marked my life as a child in the village. It is not by chance that I have used the term MARKED; some of the dishes and drinks listed below have not represented, at least for me, the maximum excellence. To begin with for instance, I could mention the famous PANE CUOTTE. As I said before, I have tasted it when I was a child, and I was never enthusiastic about it, even because it was administered to me during periods of convalescence, when my stomach was not in its best condition to digest garlic. Maybe if I were to taste it now I could even like it. It must also be said that I was never crazy about cooked vegetable, but every now and then I crave them, even if only for the curiosity of tasting once more FOGLIE, PATATE E PIZZE DI GRANTINIE (greens, potatoes and corn bread). Of course the corn bread must be cooked in a wood oven. Of course, if I could choose, I would prefer something much more appetizing. Perhaps it is not what would be defined a light meal, but a dish of SAGNE (home made lasagna) or of STRANGULAPRÍEIETE 'NCHI LU SUCHE DI TURCINIELLE (gnocchi with "turcinielle" sauce) is certainly better than a portion of vegetable. Just as high in calories and a typical winter dish was (unfortunately we must use the past tense) the SFRITTE (fried pork fat, or fatty meat) cooked in the winter when "z'accideve lu puorche" (the pig was killed). The butchering of the pig was always an occasion for celebration (except, of course, for the poor animal). All the relatives got together to lend a hand, and all participated in the final banquet. The pig was killed by cutting its jugular vein, so that the blood could be gathered and later used to make LU SANGHINACCE. This was another delicacy (and I am not kidding this time) often spread by me on top of the PIZZELLE. Now on top of the pizzelle one can spread many substitutes more or less advertised, but the afternoon snack consisting of pizzelle and sanghinacce was completely something else. The drinks deserve a separate mention. Especially those passed as medicinal. I believe many remember LU VINE CALLE (red wine brought to a boil) drunk to cure the symptoms of a cold, but not many know that existed also LU VINE FIRRATE (red wine in which a red hot poker had been immersed), and LU DICOTTE DI PAPAMBRUNE (a decoction made with poppies to cure insomnia). The major contraindications for these medications were the doses: no one knew what the maximum dosage was. They used to mention many cases of colds degenerated into hepatic cirrhosis, and episodes of children who slept for three days and three nights straight. I don't know the name of the children, who in their times, endured the treatment of the poppy decoction, but I can assume that if they are still alive, they may be still using habitually narcotic substances. The list of the delicacies naturally doesn't end here, the cooks of Fallo know much more than I about this subject, and it is to them that I give the last word, and I ask them to excuse me for the probable inaccuracies in my description of the recipes. As of now our thanks go them and to as many others wish to take advantage of this space to allow us to savor more of our good cooking. (Back)