Tag: America

America Anno Zero: for the first time Vanity Fair US and Vanity Fair Italia together – Italian Cuisine

America Anno Zero: for the first time Vanity Fair US and Vanity Fair Italia together for an issue on the United States on the eve of the vote

On the eve of the presidential elections on November 3, to understand the complex phase that the United States is going through and try to imagine the future of this immense country (and the world), Vanity Fair Italia and Vanity Fair America collaborate together for a special issue.

«For the first time in the history of this magazine, with Radhika Jones and the US editorial staff we have created a severely clear portrait of the United States of today. A country struggling with historical changes and revolutions that question the foundations of its history, its democracy and even its dream, the American Dream. On the cover, we have chosen to put her, Jane Fonda, an icon, an activist rather than an actress. 82 years old, a force of nature, a woman who has never stopped fighting and who perfectly embodies the doubts, questions and actions of an entire nation ", explains Simone Marchetti, director of Vanity Fair Italia.

For its part, Radhika Jones, director of Vanity Fair America, writes: "When Simone Marchetti asked me and the Vanity Fair America team to help him curate an issue on America in 2020, we jumped at the opportunity. We are used to writing about politics, about celebrities, about the world of entertainment and technology. But the collaboration with Vanity Fair Italia, which this year did such an important and engaging job, helped us to better understand what America represents and where it is headed ".

The interview with Jane Fonda reveals the background of the actress's commitment, who has always put her "body" at the service of the causes she believes in, from rallies against the Vietnam War to ecological battles in front of the White House in her Fire Drill Fridays, inspired by Greta Thunberg. Fonda reflects on Biden and Trump and the challenges any President will face after the vote.

Radhika Jones He then paints a beautiful portrait for Vanity Fair Italia of his hometown, New York, at the time of the pandemic. A wounded metropolis but ready to rise again, which suffers but which does not stop looking up, a city that has made resilience its strong point.

The issues that have access to the election campaign, climate change and social conflict – the tones of which have been exacerbated even more by the pandemic – are addressed in an article by the writer Daniel Duane, which bends how and why the fires that are ravaging California arise and how scientists can fight them, and in an exciting essay by the intellectual and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, which addresses the social conflicts that gave birth to Black Lives Matter and the birth of an anti-racist majority intent on creating a more inclusive world.

Still on this theme, a series of portraits frames seven visionaries who help understand how a movement like Black Lives Matter is born, a new generation of artists and activists who laid the foundations for global protest in defense of social justice. You go to the director Ava Duvernay to the writer Colson Whitehead, and to the journalist Isabel Wilkerson.
A reflection on the role of Silicon Valley and on the risks and manipulations of digital platforms, recalling the scandals that followed the previous American elections, makes it Anthony Breznican, journalist, novelist and correspondent for Vanity Fair America who interviews Jeff Orlowski, the director of the documentary The Social Dilemma.

The expert Dave Cullen instead it tells the story of the activist Gabby Giffords, essential to understand why the issue of gun control entered the agendas of American politicians in 2020, and how we came to talk about it.
And there is also a reflection on the show, the raw material of Vanity Fair. Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair America's leading critic for everything related to film, TV and theater, wonders: if a former reality TV star managed to become President of the United States – read Donald Trump – what is the weight of Hollywood stars in the life of the country in the Covid-19 era? All the other colleagues of Vanity Fair America then point out which books, films, documentaries and TV series are the key to understanding their country today.

Vanity Fair Italia also asked overseas colleagues if the American dream still existed. The answer was yes, and it's called Canada. To explain why it is the journalist Sonia Saraiya, in a funny article that is also the story of her marriage.

Farewell to Sirio Maccioni, symbol of Italian cuisine in America – Italian Cuisine

He passed away at the age of 88 in his home in Montecatini Terme. After a long apprenticeship, he achieved success with the Le Cirque restaurant in New York

He was a sought after chef and a successful entrepreneur, one of the most famous and appreciated Italian restaurateurs worldwide. Sirio Maccioni he died at 88 years of age, 15 days old, in his home in Montecatini Terme, in the province of Pistoia.

His own story

Famous for his restaurant Le Cirque, in New York, he traveled one long mess tin before reaching fame. It began at the Grand Hotel La Pace in Montecatini, before moving abroad and working at the Plaza Athenee in Paris, at the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg and on large cruise ships, where he learned the secrets of high-level international catering. Which he has applied since, in 1974, he opened the Le Cirque restaurant in New York, first at the Mayfair Hotel, then at the Palace Hotel – under the Le Cirque 2000 banner -, and finally at the Bloomberg Tower.

A place that had an extraordinary success: it was attended by many presidents of the United States, from Nixon to Reagan, from Carter to Clinton, and from international celebrities. Maccioni took care of the high level of cuisine and the origin of the raw materials, which was brought directly from Italy. From Tuscany, for example, Colonnata lard was sent. "In the United States people want a simple kitchen. Everyone asks me for pasta ", he had told in an interview in 2012." In recent years, however, I have understood that Tuscan dishes are the ones you like best. For example, boiled meat, which nobody does as my wife does. " Henry Kissinger is said to have loved his special cod ravioli, and Woody Allen la crème brulée.

But, in addition to Le Cirque, Maccioni opened other successful restaurants all over the world: in Las Vegas (Hotel Bellagio), India, Abu Dhabi, Dominican Republic, with the help of his wife Egidiana and their children Mario, Marco and Mauro. A long and intense life, which he told in his autobiography Sirio: the Story of My Life and Le Cirque, who wrote together with the food critic Peter Elliot.

Even if he lived abroad for eleven months a year, Maccioni never forgot his Montecatini. "When I became mayor, I asked him for a foreword to the touring guide of Montecatini Terme, which I personally brought to him and which he kept in plain sight in Le Cirque," recalls the ex-mayor of Montecatini Beppe Bellandi. "Among other things, he wrote these words:" I love New York, my second home, the land of my success, but when I serve a Tuscan dish to my customers and friends, I also bring all my love for Montecatini to the table Terme, enclosed in its simple and genuine flavors .

French toast, from America with love – Italian Cuisine

The chips in the United States are called french fries. The point is not that they hurt or that – controdine! – do well. The point is? But are they French? No. Or at least they defend the Belgians. And the French Toast? Well … not even! Then it really was born in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, as – attention, attention! – the ice cream cone? No way! Already the word toast – which also indicates the homonymous, toasted sandwich – gives us a clue: it is not English at all, but comes from the Latin tostum, "Toasted", in fact. If we really have to give a passport to the French Toast, would be no less than that one Italian! Already because probably its first edition in history was the work of the ancient Romans …

His name, in fact, is multiple: ‘German toast’, ‘Spanish toast’, ‘nuns toast’, ‘poor Knights of Windsor’ … In France is called 'lost bread. Oppurand, honor to the merit, "bread alla Romana". But what is this? bread? Basically – not for nothing! – a mozzarella in a carriage, Italic pride, without mozzarella! It is true, however, that the French Toast we're talking about here is a gluttonous star and stripes… In the United States it spread via the United Kingdom, where it was undoubtedly appreciated since the sixteenth century.

They are the French cousins who indicate with us the 'lost bread' the conceptual origins of this timeless recipe: don't waste bread old. Dip it in something that makes it soft again and then season it. But in short, what do we do with this bread? Well, we pass it on eggs beaten with milk and a pinch of salt and fry it in butter! Simple, isn't it?

Number 1, therefore: the bread. Nowadays we use the loaf of bread (which is extra-large in the USA) but the choice of bread will determine the consistency. De gustibus: from the rustic farmer to the brioche, more or less soft, with or without crust, there is no limit to Providence. No.2: the milk. The more creamy it is, the greedier it is … You can try alternatives to the cow one: goat rather than coconut. No. 3: the eggs. Good ones. And then butter: this is not the time to skimp. IS the seasoning, sweet or salty? The advice is: both! First one, then the other and then maybe one more, in a different version!

The French Toast is thebreakfast icon American, especially those of the holidays, when you don't have to splash at work and you can take the time to enjoy this simple delight and experience it in every conceivable version. Yes, because if the classic of classics is it Maple syrup, a fanciful one honey rather than a platoon of jams – maybe homemade, see … – they will do good for us! And then dried fruit and Dried fruit butters . From peanut butter to toasted hazelnut cream … (&chocolate? Shame, just thinking! Well, be aware that US citizens sometimes accompany them with whipped Cream. And by default a sprinkling of icing sugar!

And then the savory versions: very large space to cheeses (in Italy we have goats that would be wonderful to us!). And the cold cuts? Oh yes, starting from bacon. Well, know that there is a stuffed version of the French Toast. That is. They take two French Toast, in the middle we put a filling and then put it in the oven for finishing. A great classic is the 'Montecristo', a sort of mozzarella in a Californian carriage in which in addition to cheese (not mozzarella, of course) there is a slice of pork or turkey ham, all sautéed in the egg and … fried!

With the French Toast us coddle and there fun: invent the strangest and most daring versions! For example, in the beat dyou can already add the eggs spices and flavors to your taste: from oregano to cinnamon, from pepper black to vanilla (or both together!). We can roll it up and use it as a cannolo or cannelloni – with maybe just ricotta inside, and candied fruit – or spinach! We can do one tower of French Toast. We can combine it with festive treats like the smoked salmon rather than a pistachio cream. Or taste it in all his luxurious simplicity, very warm, soft, crunchy and delicious!

Carola Traverso Saibante
December 2019

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