RA and Beef Parmigiana

In my advanced reference class, the topic last week was RA, better known as Reader's Advisory. Until now, this is not something that I've had much experience in, at least I didn't think so. However my instructor included information about both passive and active RA. Many library users and librarians have experience with active RA. This is when a patron walks up to a librarian and says something like, "Hey, I need another book to read, but I'm not sure what to choose. Can you recommend something?" What follows is a conversation (reference interview) resulting with a patron walking off with a new book to read and (hopefully) enjoy.

Passive RA is something that I see as a collective effort among library staff, and doesn't fall on one person's/librarian's shoulders--unless of course the library staff consists of one. Passive RA includes things like book displays, staff picks, featured items on the library's website, and even something as simple as shelving items by genre so browsers can find similar items. I took this one step further and noted that cataloging could then be considered a kind of passive RA because assigning call numbers then determines where on the shelves they go. Similar subjects/topics in non-fiction are grouped together and similar genres in fiction are shelved together because of that little number and effort to make things easy to find. So if cataloging can also be seen as a type of passive RA, then RA happens in every library that catalogs its materials even if there are no book displays or nice librarians that can offer recommendations. In a way, RA happens every day in just about every library, and I was a part of that and didn't know it until now. Perhaps a silly revelation, but one that's important to me because I had been feeling very apprehensive and unprepared for RA. Not so much now.

Perhaps I can post another discussion about RA--particularly the controversy that surrounds it--but for right now, I wanted to include another recipe: beef parmigiana. Brother Dear bought me a couple of Italian cookbooks for my birthday, and the original recipe (veal cutlets parmigiana) comes from one of them. I cooked this last night and it went over quite well.

What you'll need:
1 1/2 lbs. beef cutlets sliced about 1/4 inch thick*
2 eggs
3 Tbs. milk
3 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. olive oil
1 jar red pasta sauce
6-8 oz. shredded mozzarella

What you'll need to do:
1. In a shallow dish or bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Set aside.
2. In another shallow dish or bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper.
3. Dredge each piece of meat in the egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Press down slightly on the bread crumbs to make sure they stick on both sides. Place each cutlet on wax paper to set.
4. Heat the olive oil in a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat. Oil should be shimmering before adding meat. Add cutlets a few at a time and cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Cutlets should be golden brown.
5. Remove cutlets and drain on paper towels.
6. Preheat oven to 375. Place cutlets in a baking dish and cover with pasta sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella over each cutlet and cook for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling along the edges.
7. Serve over pasta of your choice.

*If you can't get the meat sliced thinly enough, you can cover them with wax paper and use a rolling pin or mallet to pound them to the desired thickness.