G'day Jerry / Ferrara et al,

I'm right out of my territory here ... but last week's e-mail newsletter from Joe Dolce included this (my emphasis):

' ... I've enclosed an excerpt from a wonderful book I'm just reading, Bruculinu, America: Remembrances of Sicilian-American Brooklyn, Told in Stories and Recipes, by Vincent Schiavelli, which I liked so much I typed it up ... it's a moving excerpt so be prepared. I've also added one of the dishes from the book, Sosizza chi Patati, that I made last week and can personally attest to. You may recall the bacalla recipe I passed along last week? Schiavelli gives his own family formula in the book, for this dish, plus these insights:

" Bacccalaru is dried in two forms, one slightly softer and moister than the other. Both, however, are remarkably stiff, resembling a petrified fish fillet. The word baccalaru is also a vulgar Sicilian name for a part of the male anatomy in a particular state. "Stop standin' der like a baccalaru!" or "Dat guy was a real baccalaru!" were common phrases of derision. Baccalaru never entered our house without one of the women giggling a reference to this theme. "

I knew there was I reason I LOVED this dish! ...'

This does suggest that the references to "baccala" in the chorus may just have had some extra humour to the locals!

Regards,

Bob Bolton