A Hospital Emergency and Apricot Crostata

Christopher was like a cat with 9 lives.  As a child he had several accidents, concussions and a broken leg.  One day we were off to the park along the wide sidewalk.  Chris was barreling along on his bike, hit a bump and went sailing over the handle bars.  He landed on his head and lay there, dazed and bleeding.  I panicked and decided to take him to the hospital.  A friend took the other two children to her house.

At the hospital, I found my way to the ER.  We entered a white tiled room with wooden benches along the walls.  Several people were waiting to be seen by a doctor. Across the room was a no smoking sign.  Standing under it were two doctors or nurses or orderlies smoking cigarettes.  We waited awhile.  Chris’s eyes were dilated and I thought he had a concussion.  No one paid attention to us until he began to vomit.  Then the medical personal jumped into action and took us back into the ER.

After x-rays and an examination, it was decided that Christopher should be admitted to the hospital for observation.  The wards were jam-packed with people.   Chris was moved from the gurney to  a bed in the corridor since all the rooms were full.  A nurse told me I would need to stay there and watch him since the bed was high and he could fall on the cement floor.  There was no chair, so I perched on the foot of the bed.

A parade of people walked by.  It didn’t seem to me there were any special visiting hours.  Family members came to visit their loved ones and camped out with their panini, bottles of wine and crostata. It was noisy with laughter, screaming and crying.

Vincent arrived from work. We caught a nurse on the fly and asked to see the doctor.  After an hour there was no action.  We asked again with more vigor.  Another hour went by.  No one came to look at Chris.  He wasn't being observed by hospital staff.  The circus parade continued around us.  Finally, we grabbed another nurse and said we were taking our son home.  It was more likely that we could whisk him to the Doctor around the corner from our apartment than getting any medical care in that hospital.  We filled out a form and carried Chris down to the car. The next day he was fine.

Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona - a top notch modern hospital.

The Italian Health System has greatly improved since then.  It is ranked Second in the world after France by the World Health Organization.  The US is ranked 37th.  I doubt this was true in 1978.  The rich went to private clinics staffed by the best doctors and everyone else went to public hospitals that were not well run. 

The Italians are not big into desserts.  I feel they are more interested in the main part of the meal. A Crostata filled with jam is a treat to be enjoyed anytime.  It's somewhat like a tarte with a heartier crust.

Apricot Jam Crostata

Crostata alla Confettura di Albicocche

Ingredients for a 10 inch tarte pan

2 ½ cups - Flour

6 ½ T.  - Very soft butter

½ cup   - Sugar

Zest from 1 lemon

1 tsp.  - Baking powder

2 eggs 

Jar of Apricot Jam

On a marble slab or smooth wooden surface dump the flour.   Make a well.  Put the sugar, baking powder, butter, lemon zest and 2 eggs in the well.  Working from the middle of the well out, mix the ingredients with your fingers.  Work rapidly and deftly until you have a homogeneous dough. Bring the dough into a smooth ball.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into thirds.  Roll out 2 thirds into a 11 inch circle.  Slip the dough into the 10 inch tarte pan.  Make a 1/2 inch edge around pan.  Roll out the remaining dough. Cut into 3/4 inch strips with a pastry roller.

Spread the jam evenly over the dough.

Weave the strips over the jam in a lattice pattern.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Buon Appetito!