Don Giacomo

Don Giacomo e signora

Most people in and around Nongkhai know him as Jimmy the Shmear, but in the New Jersey and New York area he is known as Don Giacomo, a title of great deference and respect. The Don's late wife was a Siciliana and as a result of marriage he was, somewhat involuntarily, associated with all things Sicilian. We are told that he was a house painter (hence the nickname "the shmear") but that was only part of the truth because, together with his in-lawed Sicilian family, he was widely reputed to shmear various other things as well.

As was the custom for men of his status, the Don wore a ring but his Protestant upbringing precluded any kind of imitation of the Catholic practice of kissing the ring. Instead, he would tell supplicants simply to kiss his ass. Few people actually did, but the ATTITUDE  he used to make the suggestion was quite intimidating and inspired great fear which pleased the Don very much.

Now recently, Don Giacomo acquired a new villa here in Nongkhai and I called on him to pay my respects and to wish him bona fortuna in his new digs. He seemed happy to see me. After diplomatically declining to kiss his ass, I was received in his usual gracious manner and we munched on olives and prosciutto (i.e.cheddar cheese) and sipped grappa (i.e. beer Chang) whilst having our usual on-going discussions about philosophy and the meaning of life.

It was right about then that the Don suddenly said, "Brashule!"

I said "What?"

"Brashule," he repeated, but this time with the ATTITUDE. "It's a wonderful dish that La Siciliana used to make and that you should do at Milford's Corner."

Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about but knowing his fearsome reputation and concerned about being shmeared, I moved quickly and did a Google search. Neither of us knew how to spell it, so I searched phonetically and came up with braciole. "That's it!" said the Don to my great relief.

It turns out that braciole is the italian version of rouladen, a German dish mentioned in one of my previous posts. It is basically a piece of beef stuffed, rolled into a cylinder, braised in a tomato sauce and served over pasta. Some people refer to it as the food of the Godfather and Don Giacomo has now made an offer I cannot refuse. Friday, 19 August (after 5pm); be there.