Each region of Italy has its own foods, its own classics, she says. And outside of those small regions, the foods are adapted to other tastes and ingredients. If someone in America wants to serve polenta with baked beans and Cheddar cheese, so be it. It becomes bastardized, of course. But I see it everywhere.
Italian cuisine is a property of everybody.
I personally feel sacrilegious if I go out of the boundary. But if I can introduce someone to something like risotto, and in turn give them the freedom to make it with Cheddar cheese, then I've given them another dimension to their cuisine, to their culture. And I don't see anything wrong with that. Walnut pieces, toasted 2 Tbsp. Red-wine vinaigrette as needed Combine lettuce, apple, cheese and nuts.