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I was at a loss when I learned that Trentino Alto Adige was the theme for our next newsletter because I've only been there once, traveling through with my friends, Susan and Teseo. Our vehicle was a Cinquecento. Fiat stopped making those adorable little cars for years, and has only just released a limited edition. Back then, they sure were great. They cost next to nothing, so almost every family had one. I remember that Susan paid 300.000 Lire for hers, about $500, brand new. Though I'm sure Cinquecentos weren't intended for mountain climbing, it was the only car we had, so we hopped in and headed for Austria, on our way to the Salzburg Festival of the Arts. Our friend G.B., short for Gian Battista, had been taking a painting course there.
I don't remember much about Alto Adige Trentino and the Dolomites; I had my eyes closed most of the time. Why? Because there's something about hanging off the edge of mountains that scares the hell out of me. We never stopped once until we had gone through the Brenner Pass and were on the Austrian side.
For the next three days, we did nothing except take in all the shows - and eat alarming quantities of wurstel, sausages and frankfurters. Today, I'd estimate it was about four million fat grams worth. More than ready to go home, we squished our much heavier bodies into that tiny Cinquecento. G.B. reminded us that he'd been eating sausages for a month. All he could think of was getting back to Italy to put a bowl of real spaghetti under his belt.
We tore at breakneck speed through the Brenner Pass. On the Italian side, we stopped at a tiny osteria in Vipiteno, the first town we came to. It was a lovely alpine village, but we utterly overlooked its charms in our rush to get to tavola. We were dying to mangiare! The proprietor, a sweet-looking old Italian, hurried over to tell us what was on the menu. "Velcome, velcome," he beamed, "today ve haf würstel und zauerkraut."
Our mouths simply fell open in disbelief. Good thing I kept a tight grip on G.B.'s hands, or I'm sure he would have throttled that poor old man.
Well, G.B. did eventually get his bowl of spaghetti. And don't get me wrong, the food of Trentino Alto Adige is excellent; it's just that the people of that region have kept their Austrian heritage alive through the years, most certainly in their cuisine.
Though I passed on the "würstel und zauerkraut" that day, I did order the meatloaf dinner, and it was dee-licious. Back in Rome, I managed to duplicate it exactly and I still serve it to this day, except that I use 1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey instead of beef. To the meat I add two moistened and crumbled slices of stale rye bread, an egg, a small can of drained sauerkraut, a tablespoon of caraway seeds, salt and pepper and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. I mix it all together and bake at 350 degrees until it's done. Buon appetito - or should I say Güten apetit?
Rosemary Torigian, Los Angeles
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