Category Archives: Foodways

Sopapillas

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Santa Fe, NM
Performance Date: April 22, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the performer (KM) and I (ZM).

ZM: So, for Zozobra, is there food?

KM: Yes. There’s a lot of food.

ZM: Are there any like special dishes that are like…You bring these out FOR Zozobra?

KM: Well, there’s not… There’s like… You can get them at restaurants too, but it’s like specifically at Zozobra, you can get… Do you know what sopapillas are?

ZM: I’ve heard of them, but like… You would have to describe it again. Like I don’t…

KM: It’s like…It’s kind of like a puff pastry type thing that you fry and it’s like a really like pillowy, like…treat. And you put like honey on it.

ZM: But, there’s nothing inside?

KM: There’s nothing inside. It’s just like fluffy inside and then you pull it apart and like put honey in it. So, it’s kinda just like a fried tortilla… But, like better.

ZM: Oh wait, so, but you said it’s fluffy?

KM: But it’s… So, yeah so if it’s like… When it’s not cooked it’s like a tortilla, but then when you fry it, it like puffs up.

ZM: Like a biscuit or something?

KM: Yeah, kinda… I’ll show you a picture. (laughs)

ZM: Is it corn or wheat or…?

KM: I have no idea. That’s a good…great question. A lot of people… Like, I’ve never had a churro…

ZM: Really?

KM: Which is crazy. But, like sopapillas are kind of like our churros.

 

Context: This is from a conversation with KM about her New Mexican culture. Zozobra is a New Mexican festival composed of multiple fiestas.

 

Background: KM is a sophomore studying at the University of Southern California. KM was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

Analysis: From the description given by KM, sopapillas seem kind of like beignets, but also kind of like biscuits. Either way, they sound delicious.

 

Spanish Tortilla Recipe

Nationality: Spanish
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Madrid, Spain
Performance Date: 31 March 2018
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Transcription (translation below): “Corta las patatas y la cebolla en trozos pequeños y fríelos en aceite de oliva. Revuelve los huevos y mézclalos con las patatas y la cebolla. Aquí está la parte más difícil: revuelve la tortilla usando un plato encima de la sartén.”

One of the most traditional meals in Spanish culture is the tortilla. When most Americans hear the word “tortilla,” they think of the flour or corn tortillas of Latin and South America. However, a Spanish tortilla is made from potatoes, eggs, and onion (optional). The recipe is simple and passed on from grandmothers or mothers to the younger generation. I was taught to cook tortilla by my friend and have translated a more detailed version of the process below.

The ratio of the ingredients depends on the number of people eating the tortilla and the size of the frying pan used to cook it. For a medium size tortilla that serves two people, use two medium or one large tortilla, one medium yellow onion, and three eggs. Cut the potatoes and onion into small cubes, then place then in a frying pan. Fill the frying pan with enough olive oil that the onions and potatoes are completely covered. Fry the potatoes and onions on high heat until the potatoes are soft and break apart easily and the onions are tender. Move the fried potatoes and onions into a separate bowl. Transfer the excess oil into a separate jar. Scramble the eggs and mix them with the potatoes and onions. Place the mixture back in the frying pan and cook until slightly golden brown on one side. The most complicated part of the recipe involves placing a large plate on the top of the frying pan, then flipping the tortilla onto the plate. Once the tortilla is on the plate, add more olive oil to the frying pan and slide the tortilla onto the pan.

The closest approximation in America to a Spanish tortilla would be an omelet, but tortillas are eaten for lunch or dinner as opposed to breakfast. Tortillas are cooked throughout the year and eaten as a main entree or as a side dish. The most common way to eat tortilla is as a tapa, or small dish, with jamón (ham). Many of the Spanish houses that I have visited have a jar of tortilla oil next to the stove since tortillas are a staple to many Spaniards.

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Ravioli Ravioli

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Barrington, IL
Performance Date: 3/23/18
Primary Language: English

Collection: Family Holiday Tradition

A: “Do you have any family holiday traditions?”

B: “We will make ravioli from scratch when we get together because we are Italian. We are very Italian. Like my grandparents immigrated from Italy, and they used to own a pizzeria. My dad actually used to work in the pizzeria when he was in high school. Um…and so we have our own family recipes and sauce recipes.”

A: “Could I get one of the recipes?”

B: “I could, but the only way you could get it is if you married me.”

A/B: *laughter*

Context/Interpretation: The informant’s family tradition and recipe stems from a long line of Italian family members. I find the pizzeria anecdote slightly ironic because of the idea of “authenticity” in foreign restaurants. Does this collection make the recipe authentic? Who gives it the authenticity? Perhaps in this case, the tradition and recipe has vernacular authority through the large family.

 

Oscar Watch Party

Nationality: USA
Age: 24
Occupation: Talent Agent
Residence: Silver Lake, CA
Performance Date: 3/04/18
Primary Language: English

To provide context, the ‘awards season’ is a film industry term that refers to the months and awards shows leading up the final, and most historically prestigious show, the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars). Held at the end of each year to recognize various achievements in filmmaking, the awards given in this show are considered the highest achievement in the entertainment world.

 

Despite being centered on a relatively small industry, the place of movies is highly visible in the eyes of the American public, given that they are seen by millions of people. Therefore, it becomes a popular group activity to try and predict the winners of the Academy Awards, given its competitive nature, the widely familiar subject matter and the ability of anyone to play.

 

The following situation illustrates an ‘Oscar watch party’ with a number of guests at the house of a friend during the airing of the 90th Academy Awards. It should be noted this took place in Los Angeles, the seat of the film industry and the location of nearly all the awards shows, with the hosting friend a prominent producer in said industry:

 

Invited guests arrived at the host’s home in the hours preceding the show, with a dinner of pasta and salad being prepared at the same time. A number of appetizing foods were laid out for the meantime- chips, salsa, queso, guacamole, and bottled beers, with the television switched to the channel that the show would soon air on.

 

The awards show itself is preceded by a ‘red carpet’ program where nominees and their guests, naturally forming a sizable body of famous celebrities and movie stars in a single location. The stars are documented arriving to the venue of the awards show, showcasing elaborate dresses and participating in interviews.

 

The presence of this program allows a pleasant occupation of time before the actual show begins, alongside the appetizers and friendly conversation. During this time, the host additionally distributed ballots with a complete list of nominees in each category for guests to fill out and make their respective predictions.

 

As the show began, dinner was served alongside more alcohol-heavy tequila margaritas, ballots were handed in, and guests took their seats before the television.

 

Loud cheers, boos, praises, and surprises filled the room as each winner was announced over the course of the three hours making up the show. All the while, guests checked off their ballots to see whether they were correct or not in their predictions.

 

By the show’s end, the person with the greatest amount of correct marks earned a moment of pride, along with a physical prize of the last margarita.

 

On a further explanatory note regarding the Academy Awards and the fervor that comes to surround its airing, the months preceding the Academy Awards are peppered with smaller, less prominent awards shows (Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes, BAFTAs) most of whose voting members have great amounts of crossover with the voting body of the Academy. Altogether, the nominees and winners of these preceding awards illustrate candidates of favorability to eventually be nominated for an Academy Award. Once the nominees have actually been announced, the winners and nominees of the awards leading up to the final show helpfully contribute to an overall historical record of statistics that allow one to pinpoint the likely ultimate winners.

 

With so many factors and events that present an increasingly clearer picture of who might win an Oscar, competition can become understandably heated as to making accurate predictions. The most interesting contentions arise when viewers are attached to certain films, directors, actors, or other nominees and insist their likelihood to win despite statistics suggesting otherwise. Given that there have been plenty of surprises and snubs throughout its 90-year history, upsets are not out of the question.

 

Although bets are frequently placed on the winners, this was not the case in the matter of this watch party’s ballot. The non-necessity of betting likely suggests the reason why so many people participate in the guessing-game conversation regarding the Academy Awards, being that the only thing at stake for most participants is the pride lost from having made an incorrect prediction.

Mother’s Witty Toast

Nationality: USA
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: English

The following is a recollection of a slightly drunken toast given by a friend’s mother. I had seen a video clipping of his mother giving the toast on the social media application Snapchat, although I could not understand what was being said (although it was quite clear from the many empty glasses of wine beside her what libations had led into the toast itself).

 

When I next saw my friend, I asked him out of curiosity what the specifics of the toast were. He indicated that it is a witty one his mother frequently gives at particular family outings when all six of his siblings are present at the table.

 

This particular toast was aimed at the eldest brother, who had just welcomed a newborn son (his first child) with his wife.

 

My friend’s imparting of his mother’s toast went as follows:

 

Here’s to you, as good as you are. Here’s to me, as bad as I am. And as bad as I am, you’re as good as you are. And as good as you are, I’m as bad as I am.

 

A common trait seen in toasts is a subtle mixture of humor and seriousness. Being a proclamation of goodwill towards the subject (or subjects), the overall message usually bears a heartfelt sentimentality meant to outweigh any teasing or foolery that precedes it.

 

What is distinct of this toast, in particular, is a cheeky admission regarding each side’s tendency towards good and bad, with an exclusive insistence of ‘good’ on the side of the subject and an exclusive insistence of ‘bad’ on the side of the presenter.

 

Despite the presenter painting themselves as bad, the repetition that makes up the bulk of the toast indicates this in a manner more celebratory than derogatory and only made possible/acceptable by the good of the subject balancing out the bad of the other.

 

In this, both sides of good and bad are made necessary by their pairing together.