New Book of Italian Stories & Recipes

 

Memories of Italian Food

 


 

Best Selling Cookbook author Daniel Bellino Zwicke has a new book of Recipes & Stories of Italian Food.  As with most of Daniel's books Mangia Italiano is filled with delightful stories of Italian Food and Culture as told through Daniel's eyes. There are stories of; Braciole, Stuffed Artichokes, Pasta, Italian Wedding Soup, Lasagna, Frittata, Italian Red Sauce Restaurants and much more ... This is a book of essays of Italian Food and the Italian-American Lifestyle, told as only Daniel can tell, with stories that are sure to delight any and all lovers of this most popular subject, Italian Food. Read Daniel's accounts of meals at Gino's, John's, and other famed Italian Red Sauce Joints of New York City and of many cherished moments shared at his Italian Table with friends and family as they make their way through course after course of Italian-America and Italy's most storied dishes. Dishes like; Lasagna, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Pasta Fazool, Braciole, Baked Clams, Spaghetti Vongole and much more. If you Love Italian Food, "and who doesn't" you are sure to love Mangia Italiano, Memories of Italian Food. 

MANGIA ITALIANO / Memmories of Italian Food is Due for September 2017 publication ...

.

.

Best Italian Cookbook Cover 2014

   

SUNDAY SAUCE

Voted Best Italian Cookbook Cover 2014

by Daniel Bellino Z

  .

Stuffed Artichokes Recipe

    .

 

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

     Stuffed Artichokes are another of my very first remembrances of Italian food. We are of Sicilian ancestry and Artichokes (Carciofi) along with Eggplant (Melanzane) are a very prominent part of the Sicilian Table. And as far as Italian-Americans go, when it comes to Artichokes and their preparation, stuffing them was the preferred way to go. Yes, every now and them we might have a Artichoke Frittata, or Pasta con Carciofi, but 98% of the time, when Italian-Americans get Artichokes at the market, you’re going to get them stuffed. There’s a reason for that, it’s the tastiest and most whimsical way to go. Yes whimsical, or so I always thought so, especially as a young boy, whenever my mom made them, I’d get quite excited, there’s nothing quite like a Stuffed Artichoke. All my life I’ve always viewed them as a very special treat. Stuffed with breadcrumbs that are flavored with garlic, oregano, parsley, and grated Pecorino or Parmigiano, yes these crazy looking vegetable are always a special treat, for eating a stuffed artichoke is unlike eating anything else. When making a stuffed artichoke you have to cut the spikey tips on the end of the leaves, and remove the center choke that you fill them with the tasty a breadcrumb stuffing, which also goes in-between the leaves. You then cook them with garlic and olive oil and a bit of water until done, and then the fun really begins, eating it.    Eating your Stuffed Artichoke is a great adventure, and there’s nothing quite like it in the whole wide culinary world. These baby’s look like some sort of Medieval Weapon or something, spirally with layers and layers of thorny tips. And now you’re going to dig into it. You have your Artichoke before, all hot and steamy and stuffed with that tasty breadcrumb filling in the middle, stuffed and overflowing between the leaves. You pull off you first leave, that’s cooked tender and juicy and has a bit of the stuffing upon its surface. You put the artichoke leave in-between you upper and lower teeth and the bite down onto the leave. Then you must pull the leave from back to front, all the time biting down on the leave and this way you will scrape that little bit of artichoke meat on the leaf, along with the breadcrumbs into your mouth for that little savory treat of one leaf of your stuffed artichoke. You will continue the process of eating the leaves one at a time until they are all gone. Well, you don’t actually eat the whole leaf, but you are scraping off that little bit of the edible flesh of each leaf, and breadcrumbs one-by one until they are all gone. That was quite fun and tasty to boot, and now your are left with the special prize of the Heart of the Artichoke, and any breadcrumb stuffing that is left. There’s some braising liquid as well. You’re in for the last special treat of your prized Artichoke and yes it is oh so very good. Better than good, it fabulous. This is the story of Stuffed Artichokes and the memories of eating them. Have you any? If not, then you should do so soon, and you’re in for a special treat.    A Stuffed Artichokes is a special treat Italian have been eating for years. Italian immigrants to American have been eating them for more than one hundred years now. They are one of our most prized items and are especially beloved in Italian-American enclaves all over the country. We love them in New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Baltimore, but no more so than in the great southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana where the popularity of the Stuffed Artichoke is at its zenith. Why? Well, there are no Italians who love and eat Stuffed Artichokes more than the Sicilians. The Stuffed Artichoke is mostly of the south of Italy, around Naples and Puglia, but at its strongest in the great region of Sicily, where artichokes were most likely imported into Sicily by the Arabs and later spread through other parts of Italy.    Yes, if you go down to New Orleans you’ll see Stuffed Artichokes all over the place. They are a popular deli item, especially if the owners are Italian-Americans you might see a tray of Stuffed Artichoke at the counter, cooked and ready to go. They are so popular in New Orleans that they have spread to the whole populous, becoming favorites of not just the Italians, but all other ethnic peoples of the great city of New Orleans. Artichoke, stuffed, they’re a special indulgence. If you’ve had them you know why. It’s time to indulge in one of your own.    



 Excerpted from Daniel Bellino's newest forthcoming cookbook ; Mangia Italiano

  RECIPE - STUFFED ARtICHOKES


Ingredients:

4 large, full-size artichokes 1 lemon, halved 1 3⁄4 cups dried breadcrumbs 1 cup grated pecorino 1⁄3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped 10 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil


Using a serrated knife, cut off artichoke stems to create a flat bottom. Cut top quarter off artichokes, pull off tough outermost leaves, and trim tips of leaves with kitchen shears.

Fill a large pot with water and 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to the boil. Put artichokes in the pot. Once the water comes to the boil, cook the artichokes in the boiling water for 5 minutes. 

Remove artichokes from water and set aside.

Open artichoke leaves with your thumbs to make room for stuffing; set aside.

Heat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine garlic, breadcrumbs, 3⁄4 cup pecorino, parsley, salt, pepper, half the olive oil, and 6 tablespoons of water.

Take each artichoke and spread leaves apart in order to fill with breadcrumb stuffing. 

Working with one artichoke at a time over bowl, sprinkle one-quarter of breadcrumb mixture over each artichoke and work it in between leaves.

Once all the artichokes are filled with the bread stuffing, transfer the stuffed artichoke to a shallow baking dish. Drizzle each artichoke with 1-tablespoon oil. 

Pour in boiling water to a depth of 1" .. 

Cover pan and artichokes with foil. Bake Artichokes until a knife easily slides into the base of an artichoke, about 35- 40 minutes. 

Remove foil, sprinkle tops with remaining cheese. 

Turn heat up to 400 degrees and bake for 8 minutes more.  

RECIPE in SEGRETO ITALIANP

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

.

.

  .   .

Jersey Pasta Crab Sauce

   

JERSEY BLUE CRABS

 . 

   .  

The SAUCE

 

JERSEY SHORE CRAB SAUCE

There are plenty of Maryland Blue Crabs down on the Jersey Shore, as well as plenty of Italian-Americans. The two go together, and this Crab Sauce for pasta is a specialty of Jersey Italians who love seafood, along with their Brooklyn and New York neighbors. They all love it! So will you.   12 Hard Shell Blue Crabs 12 tablespoons Olive Oil 12 Cloves Garlic, 1 for each Crab, peeled and chopped 1 Small Onion, peeled and chopped fine 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes 1 – 28 oz. can whole San Marzano Tomatoes 1 – 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes 1- 16 oz. can Tomato Puree ½ teaspoon dry Basil ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley 1 pound Lump Crab-Meat, fresh frozen or canned 1 pound imported Italian Spaghetti or Linguine   Put olive oil in a large pot and heat to high. Place the Crabs in the pot and sauté at high heat for 10 minutes. After browning the crabs, remove from pan and set aside. Put onions in pan and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper to pan and cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Add whole tomatoes to pan and cook on high heat for 4 minutes whole stirring with a wooden spoon. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato puree. Add the Crabs back to the pot. Cook for 90 minutes on low heat. Remove the crabs from pan and let cool on the side. Remove all the meat from the crabs and discard the shells. Add crab-meat to sauce with your extra pound of lump crab-meat and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain pasta and put back in the pot it cooked in with 8 tablespoons of reserved pasta cooking water. Sprinkle pasta with a little olive oil and mix. Add 2 cups of crab sauce and half the parsley to pasta and mix. Plate the pasta with sauce on 4 plates in equal portions and top with some more sauce and some parsley.   Notes: Do not serve with cheese! Italians never have cheese with Seafood Pasta. This is enough sauce for 2 to 3 pound of pasta, or about 12 portions, so after you make this Pasta with Crab Sauce with 1 pound of pasta, you still have plenty leftover for another day.

Finished Sauce

"Yummm" !!!

,

Pasta with Jersey Shore Crab Sauce

.

.

JERSEY CRAB SHORE SAUCE

and Other Great Recipes

in

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Z

,