For recipe see Italy Revisited/Recipes/"Italian Meat Dishes"

Prior to World War II "Meat Stewed in Tomato Sauce" or any other kind of meat dish was rarely served in Molise. Meat dishes were reserved for festive occasions -- not for "health" reasons, but because they were simply too expensive. Even those farmers who raised animals generally ate "pasta e fagiole." So on New Year's Day and other festive occasions when meat was served everyone was delighted. Growing up in Montreal in the 1960s "Meat Stewed in Tomato Sauce" was a must on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Actually, it was a must on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays when my mother served pasta, followed by "Meat stewed in Tomato Sauce." I suppose the meat served on New Year's Day in the 1960s wasn't all that different than on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, except for the fact that there was more of it. In the late 1980s "Meat Stewed in Tomato Sauce" suddenly became less popular with second and third generation Italian-Canadians. Often, the dish was omitted on festive occasions (Mind you, the tomato sauce was still made with meat, but the stewed meat was put aside after it was cooked and reserved for some other day). Nowadays on Christmas Day and New Year's Day most second and third generation Italian Canadians serve grilled meats and seafood with salad after the pasta. It's hard to say if they do it because their kids prefer grilled meats to stewed meats or they do it because of the status that accompanies those hosts who can afford to serve "Surf and Turf" to two dozen or so guests at one sitting. As they say, everything changes, exchange change itself. Photo: Mary Melfi.

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