Food & Drink

Austin transplant gives lessons in her kind of Italian

By Joel Weickgenant
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Elsa Gramola says Americans tend to have an outdated view of her native country.

"Italy now is different," Gramola says shortly before Italian food fans arrive for one of her evening cooking classes. "The music is different. It's not 'O Sole Mio' or Eros Ramazzotti."

As a cook, language instructor and Italy tour guide who lives in Austin, Gramola tries to bridge the gap between the then and now — as in forget the smooth pop of Ramazzotti and check out the Italian rapper Jovanotti. But one aspect of Italian culture, she says, hasn't changed all that much for generations: the kitchen.

"I think that the Italian cuisine never changes," she says. "We pass from grandma to granddaughter and so on all the family recipes, and they last forever."

Gramola, 37, who is from the Sicilian city of Catania, is dealing with homesickness the best possible way: She has made a business of bringing Italy to Austin.

From cappuccino and wine tastings to cooking classes and festivals at Wooldridge Square Park to tours of Italy she leads, Gramola's company, A Taste of Italy In Austin, aims to bring together people and businesses with a shared love for Italian culture.

Her living room table in Northwest Austin is covered in a vast array of made-in-Italy products, from coffee cups and cookies, to photographs Gramola took while traveling through Italy.

When she first arrived in Austin in September 2000, Gramola was expecting her second child.

"I was a full-time mom until my kids went to school," she says. "And then, I started to be homesick."

She missed a cohesive Italian community. "I am trying to get one together, but it is very hard," she says, noting that there is not a large presence of Italian immigrants in the area.

According to the 2000 census, 21,083 inhabitants of Travis County are of Italian descent. Only 762 are foreign born. The census lists 7,003 Italian Americans in Williamson County with 112 foreign born, and in Hays County, 18 of the 2,240 people who claim Italian ancestry were born in Italy.

But many Austinites are Italian at heart, Gramola says, and she seeks them out. At first she offered language lessons — mostly at coffee houses for an informal vibe — and soon she was sharing the secrets of her own kitchen.

"My students said, 'We are looking for a good Italian restaurant here.' There's not necessarily one, but when I cook it's real Italian. So it was 'OK, why don't you teach us?' "

When pressed, Gramola admits there is a vibrant restaurant scene run by Italian Americans in Austin. Her favorite Italian entrees in town are Johnny Carino's chicken Marsala and the ravioli at Uno's. She also ranks high the pizza at Lucy's Boatyard Grill on Lake Austin (where a pizza maker from Italy came over to teach the craft to the staff) and the cappuccino at Dolce Vita in Hyde Park.

She says old-world Italian dishes are still hard to find here.

As the students arrived at Gramola's condo on Far West Boulevard for a cooking class in October, Gramola opened a bottle of wine and the students talked, in English and in cheerful smatterings of Italian, about recent travels.

"I lived overseas for a while. This gives us a chance to connect with the people that have a mutual interest," says Sherry Perrin. "I just love Italy. I'd like to say some of my ancestors were from Italy, but they're not. Not in this life."

"I travel a lot," Tom Buckle says. Buckle started taking Italian lessons from Gramola when he began thinking about a trip to Italy. Now, he is a regular at her food classes.

"He hasn't missed one cooking class," Gramola says.

The lessons on the menu this particular night include linguine with pesto alla Catanese, chicken Marsala and tiramisu.

"Everybody knows (tiramisu) means pick me up, right?" Gramola says as the lesson gets under way.

"Tira means pull, doesn't it?" answers Maximilian Ekesi, sparking off a round of debate about the dessert's name, while other students focus on chopping mushrooms and garlic for funghetti in carrozza.

Gramola says the biggest misconception she runs across is the idea that Italian dishes should be slathered in buttery, garlic-heavy sauces. She teaches her students to use an olive oil and rosemary wine sauce, Tuscan style.

If the cooking classes, which cost $45 each, are small enough, students meet at her house. For larger groups, she recruits a host from the people who sign up.

On Dec. 2, about 20 students gathered at Mike and Gaby Cook's house off South MoPac Boulevard.

"This is a great way to meet some international people," Gaby Cook says, adding that Gramola's recipes are easy to follow. "She makes it real fun. Each dish is really not that complicated."

Gramola's classes are a celebration of cooking and culture. As some students enjoy the salametto and parmigiano from the antipasto misto (mixed appetizer) she had prepared, others grate ricotta and slice eggplant for the rigatoni alla norma, the main course.

Bellowing instructions and encouragement in Italian, Gramola sometimes translates her own words into English. Under the pots and pans of the cooking island in the Cooks' kitchen, key ingredients of Italian cuisine are at her disposal: sea salt, virgin olive oil and five packages of Barilla rigatoni.

"You want to put the eggplants in water to get the bitter out. Then put the salt in the water," she tells one student, before explaining to those gathered why simple tomato sauce — canned Hunt's brand, in this case — is best for pasta.

The dish Gramola loves most to teach is panettone, the light, conical, fruit-filled cake that makes its way to tables all over Italy every winter, usually leaving behind a mess of powdered sugar. "Always after my Italian Christmas cooking class, I receive at least 20 phone calls saying thank you for the wonderful and tasty recipe," she says.

In September, Gramola organized her third Italian festival at Wooldridge Square. "I go to the Italian restaurants in Austin, and I invite them" to participate in the festivals, she says. "I want to promote local businesses." Six businesses set up a booth in the square near the Travis County Courthouse for the first festival. This year's festival featured 25 businesses and 700 people attended, she says.

Gramola has been in the United States since 1998, when she moved to Florida with her husband, who met her in Catania when he was stationed with the U.S. Navy. Now, she wants to help descendants of Italian immigrants retrace their roots. She recently helped one local person find family members living in the southern region of Basilicata, she says, and she wants to guide Americans interested in dual citizenship.

"She is doing a great job of bringing Italian culture into Austin," says Alyce J. Richardson, a substitute teacher in Austin who takes Italian lessons from Gramola and recently acquired dual citizenship. The last name on her Italian passport is Villanova.

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Take a class

Elsa Gramola's next cooking lesson is a special 'Valentine's Cooking Class and Mediterranean Belly Dance' at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10. Location to be determined. Contact Gramola at elsa@atasteofitalyinaustin. com or call 345-8941.

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Funghetti in carrozza
1 lb. mushrooms
Two cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. Italian parsley
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Eight slices of mozzarella cheese

Slice or dice mushrooms and garlic. In a large skillet, simmer the mushrooms, garlic and parsley for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Add salt and reduce heat. Next, add the olive oil and simmer for two minutes. Take ingredients out of pan and let them cool. When warm, spread on mozzarella slices and roll up to serve.

Tiramisu
One 7 oz. package of Savoiardi (thick ladyfingers)
2 Tbsp. of sugar
1 cup brewed espresso
8 oz. mascarpone
1 Tbsp. dark rum
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 cups whipping cream
1 Tbsp. Kahlua
1 cup egg substitute OR four egg yolks

For syrup, combine in a small bowl sugar, espresso and rum. For filling, stir together in a medium bowl the mascarpone, vanilla, eggs, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and Kahlua.

To assemble: Place a layer of ladyfingers on bottom of serving platter. Pour syrup on top of ladyfingers. Top with one layer of the mascarpone mixture. Spread whipping cream over top and sprinkle with the remaining half tablespoon of cocoa powder.