Winning the Rome Derby

Real life offers sadly few opportunities to win things. There are moments that feel like winning—getting a job, say, or getting married. But then you have to live with another person and cannot ever again poop with the door open.

               –Alexandra Petri, A Field Guide to Awkward Silences

This season's first Rome Derby was played on Saturday, September 29, which was the day after Brad's 18th (!) birthday, which was the day after Francesco Totti's birthday. As Wright Thompson pointed out in his excellent piece for ESPN ("The eternal derby reveals why Italian football finds its way into your blood"), the Rome Derby is always played in the afternoon, so police can better deal with the potential of post-match violence between the warring supporters of AS Roma and SS Lazio, the two teams that play in the Italian capital.

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When the game kicked off last Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time (3:00 p.m. in Italy), I didn't know if either Brad or Dylan (6:00 a.m. Pacific time) would be awake.  But sure enough, when I texted to check they were both watching. And so we had our first three-way Derby della Capitale match-thread text, which was the next best thing to watching the big game with my boys in the room with me. Thankfully, it was well worth getting up for, as Roma thrashed Lazio 3-1 in a thrilling performance spearheaded by the 22-year-old Roman Lorenzo Pellegrini, who was playing in his first Rome Derby and fully understands the significance of this match. Real life may not offer many opportunities to actually win things yourself, but it sure feels like you've won something when Roma beats Lazio in the Derby.


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Later that day, we celebrated Brad's birthday at Andi and Adam's house. At Brad's request, we brought Baked Ziti and his favorite Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies. I also made a batch of Katherine Redford's Chocolate Chip Cookies so there would be enough cookies to go around and for Brad to have plenty left to bring back to school. Because what can make you more popular in a college dorm than sharing a big sack of homemade cookies? All in all, it was a winning day from start to finish.

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On Sunday, I tried this new-to-us chicken dish from Made in India by Meera Sodha, which is a very popular cookbook in our family. It was really easy and tasty, so I highly recommend it to the omnivore(s) among you. Sodha must use a lower-powered blender than our NutriBullet, because her Mint Chutney was white with flecks of green mint in it, whereas my Mint Chutney came out bright green. But I like that it makes the dish look sorta like a weird painting with the green chutney setting off the turmeric colored chicken. Anyway, it tasted great, which is what matters.

Chicken Tikka

Adapted from Made in India (2015) by Meera Sodha

Time: 40 minutes, plus however long you marinate the chicken

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped or grated on a Microplane
4 medium cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped
½ of a small serrano or jalapeno chile, roughly chopped
fine sea salt
½ cup (115 grams) yogurt, preferably whole milk
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
¾ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili power, to taste

    1. Trim the chicken thighs of any excess fat, then cut them bite-sized pieces, roughly 1 x ¾ inches. Place the pieces in a small bowl.
    2. In a mortar and pestle, pound the ginger, garlic, chile, and salt into a paste. Scrape the paste into the bowl with the chicken, then add the yogurt, garam masala, paprika, sugar, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and 1¼ teaspoons salt. Stir to coat the chicken with the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and park in the fridge to marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to a few hours.
    3. When you’re almost ready to cook the chicken, place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Line an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
    4. Scrape the chicken onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread the chicken out as much as possible. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and browning around the edges, about 20 minutes. Serve promptly with the Mint Chutney, which you can make while the chicken is marinating. Makes about 3 to 4 servings.

Mint Chutney

Adapted from Made in India (2015) by Meera Sodha

Time: 7 minutes

75 grams (5 tablespoons) Greek yogurt
10 grams fresh mint
½ of a small serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and sliced thin
1 teaspoon sugar
juice of ½ lemon
pinch of fine sea salt

Place all of the ingredients in the jar of a blender (the small jar of a personal blender like a NutriBullet works well here). Blend until thoroughly mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning and consistency to your taste. Use immediately or store in an airtight jar in the fridge for 1 or 2 days. Makes 3–4 ounces.