Gnocca fritta & occhi ricci con il mio agnello e mia futura suocera

While my Italian is fairly decent, occasionally I do make an error or two...to the complete and utter amusement of my Italian friends.

Here are a few recent examples:

#1. Agnello vs. anello. I slept over a friend's house the other week and left my very favorite ring at his place. Was in a bit of a rush and sent him the following text: "penso che abbia dimenticato il mio agnello a casa tua," which translates to "I think that I forgot my lamb at your house." Agnello = lamb. Anello = ring.

Of course this set off a very entertaining exchange of text messages...including, "Spero che il mio agnello non ti abbia dato fastidio ieri sera." (I hope my lamb did not annoy you last night). And of course I had to end all my texts with "bahhhhhh."

That lovely little "g" provided Chiara and I with hours of amusement...and my texts may have caused my friend to consider deleting me from his contact list and de-friending me on Facebook.

#2. Suocera vs. soccia. Went to dinner during the Vinitaly wine fair with a wine producer from Piedmont and a group of his friends. We ate at this fantastic restaurant in Valpolicella called Bottega de Corgnan (www.bottegaitaliana.net). This particular producer and I had just met the day before...and I am not one to toot my own horn, but he seemed to have taken quite a liking to yours truly.

At one point during the evening, one of the other dinner guests asked me the following question: "Dove abita la tua soccia?" Soccia = partner. So, he was asking me where my business partner lives.

And yes. I now have a business partner. More on this recent development a little bit later.

I misunderstood and thought he said "suocera," not "soccia." Suocera = mother-in-law. My smitten Barbaresco producer jumped on this right away, pulled out his cell and said, "Sto parlando con la sua futura suocera!!!" ("I am talking to her future mother-in-law right now!")...meaning his mother.

Everyone at the table busted out laughing. And throughout the remainder of the evening, they kept reassuring me that I had nothing to worry about because they were positive my future mother-in-law would like me very much.

#3. Occhi ricci vs. capelli ricci. Now, I cannot take credit for this one. This was 100% Chiara. Occhi ricci = curly eyes, while capelli ricci = curly hair.

I don't think I need to say which one she was trying to say. She made this error as we were heading back to the car after the 5th and final day of Vinitaly, 2-3 beers and a "panino di merda."

Now, the literal translation of "panino di merda" is a "sandwich of shit" (please excuse the profanity). These sandwiches are called "paninos di merda" because they are usually sold at down & dirty stands on the side of the road outside of venues where they put on conferences, concerts, etc. These stands are a little bit like the Sausage Guy in Boston and, despite the name, their sandwiches are really quite good.

We ultimately came to the conclusion that "occhi ricci" was actually a very accurate way to describe our eyes after the 5 crazy days of Vinitaly!

#4. Gnocca fritta vs. gnocco fritto. I tried "gnocco fritto" for the first time with Chiara about 2 nights ago. They are a typical product from the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region. Basically they are little pillows of fried dough that are usually served with cured meats such as sopressata, prosciutto, salami, lardo, etc. and I challenge anyone to eat just one of these little puffs of deliciousness.

Chiara told me what these tasty treats were called...but of course I forgot after having another beer and asked "Il nome per questi e 'gnocca fritta' si?"

"Gnocca" = a hot or very attractive girl
"Fritta" = fried

So I asked her if these tasty little treats were called "fried hot girl" or "hot girl fried."

after that, it was "Gnocca fritta per tutti!!!!"

Bahhh!!!

- Zucca