SUNDAY SAUCE by Bellino

A Pot of SUNDAY SAUCE

alla BELLINO alla PACINO

"SOME CALL IT GRAVY"

 

SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

AMAZON.com

SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's recipe for Sunday Sauce is a classic Italian-American gravy, featuring a long simmer time and a combination of meats

. His recipe is published in his book, Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook. 

About Daniel Bellino's recipe -

Bellino-Zwicke's recipe, like others in his cookbook, is based on traditional Italian-American family recipes and food culture.

• It celebrates the tradition of simmering a meat-based tomato sauce for several hours to create a rich flavor.
• An excerpt from his book notes that meat combinations often include sausages, meatballs, and beef braciole, though pork neck and veal shank are also possible additions.
• His book also includes recipes for famous movie-inspired sauces, such as Clemenza's Sunday Sauce from The Godfather and Sinatra's Spaghetti & Meatballs. 
• Where to find the recipe
• The book: The full recipe is available in his cookbook, Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook. This can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AbeBooks.

• Excerpts: Excerpts and summaries of the recipe's approach and ingredients can be found on Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's personal website and various food blogs.
• Inspired recipes: Since Bellino-Zwicke's recipe is a classic version of the Italian-American Sunday Sauce, many similar recipes exist online, often referencing the same key elements, like a long simmer time and a combination of meats. 
• General Sunday sauce preparation
• While the specific recipe is proprietary to Bellino-Zwicke's book, the general method for this type of Sunday sauce, or "gravy," is widely known. It involves: 

Browning a combination of meats, such as Italian sausages, meatballs, and pork.

1. Adding aromatics like onion and garlic.
2. Combining with tomatoes and other flavorings (such as tomato paste, wine, and herbs).
3. Slow-simmering for several hours to allow the flavors to meld and the meats to become tender. 
4. The final sauce can then be served over pasta, with the cooked meat as a second course.

"MAKING SUNDAY SAUCE"

Author DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

At UNCLE TONY'S HOUSE

LODI, NEW JERSEY

MORE on SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's book, 

Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook, doesn't contain just one single recipe, but rather presents a variety of Sunday sauce traditions reflecting different family customs. The core difference between the recipes is typically the combination of meats used. 

Here are the variations of Sunday sauce included in the book, based on Bellino-Zwicke's writing: 

The popular trio: Many families, including the most popular version Bellino-Zwicke describes, make their sauce with a trio of Italian sausages, meatballs, and beef braciole. This is considered a foundational version of the dish.

• A simpler sauce: For some, a simpler version of the sauce is made with just sausages and meatballs. This version is notably featured as Pete Clemenza's sauce in The Godfather.
• Pork variations: Other families incorporate pork into their sauce. Some versions use pork neck, while Bellino-Zwicke mentions that he sometimes makes his Sunday sauce with sausages, meatballs, and pork ribs.
• Other meat options: The author notes that other meats can be added to the mix. Some families might include chicken thighs or a veal shank.
• "Secret Sauce": The cookbook also includes a "Secret Sauce," or Salsa Segreta, recipe. Inspired by the old-school Italian red-sauce joint Gino's of Lexington Avenue, this version is distinct from the typical meat-heavy Sunday sauce. 

"RED SAUCE"

ROCCO'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

GREENWICH VILLAGE

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When SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS Were INVENTED

THE GENESIS of MEATBALLS

Spaghetti & Meatballs

MEATBALLS  ...  Excerpted From Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's SUNDAY SAUCE

"Whne Italian-Americans Cook"

Many people will tell you that that Spaghetti and Meatballs or Veal Parmigiano are not Italian. Well Italians do eat Meatballs, but not with pasta.  The Meat-balls are served on their own  with Tomato Sauce or with Polenta and sauce, and even mashed potatoes. Yes Italians in Italy eat mashed potatoes.  It was our Italian immigrant ancestors who first put the two together, Spaghetti and Meatballs that is! Although I must say, that I feel that although it may not have been a known practice, that over time, there must have been quite a good number of Italians in Italy who over the years put maccheroni together with Meatballs on the same plate.  “It would be utterly impossible that of the Billions of meals cooked in Italy over the years, that somewhere in homes in Sicily, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, or even Tuscany for that matter,  that no Italian mothers or grandmas did not put  Meatballs and Pasta on the same plate. “Impossible I tell you!  The odds are way against it!”

    So, what I’m saying is that, although it was not documented, I’m sure that in some households in Italy,  over the years, there had to be families who cooked  Meatballs in Sauce (Gravy), dressed the pasta, Spaghetti, Rigatoni, Ziti with the Sauce, and threw a couple Meatballs on the same plate as well. I guarantee this happened. And if it did, that makes it Italian.

    Yes, the Italian immigrants at the turn of the 19th Century were primarily a poor lot.  Meat was a bit expensive, and any meal that might include it, might have to be stretched with much cheaper ingredients in order to feed the entire family. That cheaper ingredient was none other than, “Yes, you guessed it, “Pasta” or as most Italians in Italy call it “Maccheroni,” Spaghetti, Ziti, Rigatoni and such. I’m sure, some of these Italian ladies who came to America from Campania, Sicily, Calabria, Genoa, and Apulia, as a treat, would put one or two Meatballs on a plate with pasta, and on the same plate in order to have less work by washing less dishes, the “invention” of Spaghetti & Meatballs, the Genesis so to speak.

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

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