Aunt Fettina Comes to Trivia Night

Alex Trebek: The actor that created the Italian Stallion diet

*cue Jeopardy music*.... Time is up. Answer please? 

FoodieWife: Who is Sylvester Stallone? 

Ding Ding Ding! Correct. 

I love Trivia and I love Family Trivia Night even more. Sure, we are all competitive and some people resort to cheating/aiding and abetting but in the end, it's all in good fun. In an effort to create our own traditions, hungry husband and I hosted our first Family Trivia Night in our new home. To keep with the spirit of famiglia, I decided on an Italian meal. [I may have had an alterior motives here. Carb intake = sleepy and slow players]. 

The menu was set and I got to work. Let me just tell you a quick story. Picture it, 1997. I was going through a period of self-identity and found Italian culture to be completely in tune with me. Opera, Pasta, Roma! Every thing sounded, tasted and looked good. Almost all of my friends were Italian-Canadian (and still are) and I was part of their families. I watched their parents make tomato sauce, ate the BEST home-made meals. I drank their home-made vino's... and I heard their families speak in Italian dialect. There was one time, I remember distinctly when my friend was going on and on about Fettina. Fettina this and Fettina that. I guess I was too shy to ask, "Who is Fettina?" and just assumed Fettina was an aunt or a cousin. The next time her name came up, I couldn't understand the conversation. She was being dipped in egg, then bread crumbs and she was going to be fried! What? Aunt Fettina? So it turned out that Fettina was Italian for breaded veal cutlets. Can you imagine? I chuckle every time I hear that F-word or walk by the veal section of the supermarket. Back to Trivia Night. Fettina with plain spaghetti sounded like the perfect meal before the questions started flying around. 

The key to good fettina (in my humble opinion) is milk-fed veal. Yes, grain fed is good but I find milk-fed to be softer and less chewier. You have to create a factory line with three bowls. First one with flour. Second one with milk and a beaten egg. Third one with bread crumbs. I add Parmesan cheese and dry herbs to the bread crumbs for added taste. You follow the order for each piece and pile them up on a sheet. Giving them some time to relax. The next step is pan-frying them. Yes, this is the *worst* part. It's all about getting the temperature of the oil right.  

When they are fried, I place them on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil (this is as "good" as we can be to our waistline with this recipe). I recommend you fry the fettina right before you serve or keep warm in the oven until ready (just don't dry them). 

I love the look on people's faces when you bring a big big bowl of pasta topped with breaded veal cutlets and tomato sauce. It is truly magical. It's not that they haven't eaten for months. It's not that it's the last meal they'll ever eat. 

Rather, the meal reminds them of something. Whether it was a funny moment with friends, drinking vino and laughing or working late and ordering in, eating alone. A feeling surfaces. That's how I feel at least. 

The food was a big hit. If I have to criticize one thing, it'd be that the pasta wasn't Al Dente enough and I blame the late arrival of a few players. 

I couldn't end trivia night without dessert so I made Alec-Baldwin-inspired, Schwetty Snow Balls. I did say "inspired." I didn't have much time to make them pretty but the balls ignited a laugh-storm when we recalled that classic skit on Saturday Night Live. 

Hungry husband, my cousin and my brother made it to the elimination round but only one man was left standing. My brother was crowned as the Master of Movie Trivia.

Hungry husband was so excited that there would be tons of leftovers but unfortunately, all that was left were a few Schwetty Snow Balls and half a plate of pasta. I may not have won at trivia but I'm glad my family gave the food the "Molto Bene" award. I prefer that win anyway!

Enjoy!

Foodie Wife