ITALIAN-AMERICAN NEW YORKERS
ADVENTURES of THE TABLE
by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
Ever Dream of taking a Wonderful Journey. A Journey through Italian-American New York and Italian America., complete with pots of Sunday Sauce, Ethereal Bolognese Sauce, Platters of Antipasto, Perfect Espresso, with trays of Cannoli and Sfogiatelle. Do you Dream of one day Eating the famed Christmas Eve, “Feast of the 7 Fish” or crave a perfect plate of Spaghetti Carbonara? Do you have visions of the Amalfi Coast of Lemoncello, Fiano, and a flawless Plate of Linguine al Vongole. Would you like to know how to throw the perfect Italian Dinner Party, complete with Antipasti, Pasta , Chianti, and Dolce, while the sounds of Frank (Sinatra) and Dino play along? Do you want to know which are the best; Italian Restaurants, Caffes, Pastry Shops, and Pork Stores. Would you like to know how to make the Perfect “Negroni” or pick out the perfect Italian Wine and how to make a textbook Bolognese? Where to go in Italy and what to see? If you’d like to live these things, or just read about them vicariously, then take the journey, the Beautifully Wondrous Journey of La Tavola. Eat as Al Pacino, Jake LaMotta, Sinatra, and Dino had eaten over the years. La Tavola is part Cookbook, Guide-Book. Some have said it’s like a Italian-American New York version of a YEAR in PROVENCE, but with Italian Food in New York, and with Italian-Americans instead of French Food, people, and places? LA TAVOLA entertains and Inspires with stories, antidotes, and recipes of Sunday Sauce (Gravy), Sausage & Peppers, Meatball Parms, and the “FEAST of The 7 FISH” Then MANGIA! Italian-American New Yorker’s Adventures of the Table.
With 30 of The BELLINO FAMILY’S FAVORITE RECIPES
GET SUNDAY SAUCE
The # 1 BEST SELLING COMPAINION BOOK
To La TAVOLA
ITALIAN AMERICAN NEW YORKERS
ADVENTURES of THE TABLE
The BIBLE of ITALIAN COOKING
Marcella Hazan
ESSENTIALS of CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING
# 1 BEST SELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOK
Of ALL-TIME
Essentials of Italian Cooking is a culinary bible for anyone looking to master the art of Italian cooking, bringing together Marcella Hazan’s most beloved books, The Classic Italian Cook Book and More Classic Italian Cooking in a single volume, updated and expanded with new entries and 50 new recipes . Designed as a basic manual for cooks of all levels of expertise—from beginners to accomplished professionals—it offers both an accessible and comprehensive guide to techniques and ingredients and a collection of the most delicious recipes from the Italian repertoire. As home cooks who have used Marcella’s classic books for years (and whose copies are now splattered and worn) know, there is no one more gifted at teaching us just what we need to know about the taste and texture of a dish and how to achieve it, and there is no one more passionate and inspiring about authentic Italian food.
In the language of cookbooks, the word “classic” is bandied about nearly as frequently as the terms “low-fat” and “no-cholesterol.” In this case, however, the estimable Hazan ( More Classic Italian Cooking ) does indeed contribute a classic to the ever-increasing literature of Italian cuisine. A revision and update of her two previous “classic” Italian cookbooks (with more than 35 completely new recipes ), this one includes recipes not “in pursuit of novelty, but of taste.” As Hazan puts it, the book “is meant to be used as a kitchen handbook . . . for cooks of every level . . . who want an accessible and comprehensive guide to the products, the techniques, and the dishes that constitute imperishable Italian cooking.” From marinated carrot sticks to sweet-and-sour tuna steaks, Trapani style, to tortellini with fish stuffing and polenta shortcake with raisins, dried figs and pine nuts, the outstanding recipes–many of them poetically simple–are too numerous to do justice to in few words. Included is a spirited discussion of squid and the essentials of preparing fresh pasta, gnocchi (potato dumplings), authentic risotto, frittate and polenta dishes. While writing from Venice, her home for much of the year, Hazan never fails to consider the availability of ingredients in the U.S., and never assumes that all readers understand complex methods or exotic terminology. This volume is the perfect gift for a new homemaker, a seasoned chef and all lovers of good food.
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AUTHOR DANIEL BELLINO “Z”
EATING at a TRATTORIA
PALERMO , SICILY
The BELLINO’S
LODI , New Jersey 1939
NONNO , MOMMY , UNCLE TONY , NONNA GIUSEPPINA
Missing for Photo are sister Lilly , and Brothers , Frank and James
Author Daniel Bellino “Z”
at The TEATRO GRECO
SIRACUSA
Recipes From My SICILIAN NONNA
by DANIEL BELLINO “Z”
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Yes Follow SUNDAY SAUCE on Instagram for The book SUNDAY SAUCE and pictures of Meatballs, Sausages, Braciole, Spaghetti, Pizza, Pasta, and more Sunday Sauce …
BABY BLUES EYES
Francis Albert Sinatra
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“He
took My Thumb Charlie !!! I didn’t want to Give The Poor Bastard Up but It was My Life Man!!!!”
In an Italian neighborhood of Greenwich Village, cousins Charlie, a maître d’ with aspirations of someday owning his own restaurant, and Paulie, a schemer who works as a waiter, have expensive tastes but not much money. Paulie gets caught skimming checks, and he and Charlie are both fired. Now out of work and in debt, Charlie must find another way to pay his alimony, support his pregnant girlfriend Diane, and try to buy a restaurant.
Paulie comes to Charlie with a “can’t-miss” robbery, involving a large amount of cash in the safe of a local business. Charlie reluctantly agrees to participate, and they manage to crack the safe with help from an accomplice, Barney, a clock repairman and locksmith. But things go sour, resulting in the accidental death of police officer Bunky Ritter, who had been secretly taping “Bed Bug” Eddie Grant. Charlie soon learns that the money they stole belongs to Eddie.
The mob figures out that Paulie is involved, and not even his Uncle Pete, part of Eddie’s crew, can help him. One of Paulie’s thumbs is severed as punishment.
Diane leaves Charlie and takes his money to support their unborn child, while Paulie is forced to work as a waiter for Eddie. He gives the mob Barney’s name but initially refuses to identify Charlie as the third man involved. However, under pressure, he is forced to rat on his cousin. Barney leaves town and Charlie mails him his cut of the loot. And when Charlie makes $20,000 on a horse, things begin to look up.
Charlie prepares for a showdown with Eddie, armed with a copy of the tape that the police officer made. But at the last moment, Paulie puts lye in Eddie’s coffee. Then he and Charlie casually walk away from Greenwich Village.
CAST:
Mickey Rourke as Charlie Eric Roberts as Paulie Daryl Hannah as Diane
Kenneth McMillan as Barney Burt Young as Eddie Grant Jack Kehoe as Walter “Bunky” Ritter Geraldine Page as Mrs. Ritter
A Young Frank Sinatra …. Hoboken, New Jersey
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Frank Sinatra
“Come Fly with Me” !!!
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PATSY’S “Franks Favorite Restaurant”
Frank’s Favorite Restaurant in The World, was Patsy’s on West 56th Street in New York, in The Theater District near Times Square .. Frank’s Favorites were; Calms Posillipo, Spaghetti Pomodoro, Veal Milanes (extra Thin & Crispy) and Spaghetti & Meatballs of which patsy’s makes The Best in The City ..
PATSY’S is by far the restaurant most associated with SINATRA — on its website, the restaurant notes that it “has been known for years as the restaurant Frank Sinatra made famous.” You can still order up old-school Italian there, but you might not have the exact same experience as Sinatra, who was said to have entered through a special door to sit at a reserved table on the second floor. Sinatra became especially loyal to the restaurant after making a solo Thanksgiving reservation one year, not realizing the restaurant was slated to be closed that day. Patsy Scognamillo didn’t want to turn Sinatra away, so he allowed the reservation. He also didn’t want Sinatra to know the restaurant was opened just for him — so he had the entire staff bring their families to fill the place up, something Sinatra didn’t learn until years later, according to Patsy’s lore. The restaurant still celebrates its connection to Sinatra: At right, in 2002, Joe Scognamillo served actor Bill Boggs, who had dressed up as Sinatra . (236 West 56th St.)
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FRANK & AVA GARDNER
Mangia Bene !!!
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FRANK & DINO
Want to Eat Like SINATRA? It’s quite a fun thing to do, follow in the footsteps of the great Francis Albert SInatra, and eat and hang at Frank’s favorite haunts of all-time. You can go to The 21 Club and eat there famous 21 Burger, and get some Jack Daniels while you’re at it, it was Sinatra’s favorite drink.
Also, not far from The 21 Club, and a lot more affordable, is PJ Clarke’s on 3rd Avenue at 52 nd Street. Get one of their tasty Burgers, Frank loved them. And again, do like Frank and order up a Jack Daniels while you’re at it. This is the place that Johhny Merver and Harold Arlen were thinking of when they wrote one of Sinatra’s most beloved song, “One For My Baby.”
Go up to East Harlem for Frank’s Favorite Pizza at Patsy’s Pizzeria at 2287 First Avenue, New York.
And there’s another Patsy’s down on West 56th Street between 8th Avenue and Broadway. No, it has nothing to do with Patsy’s Pizzeria. Patsy’s on W. 56th is a full fleged Italian Restaurant, and as almost anyone knows, this was Sinatra’s favorite restuarant ever. It’s still run by the same family who started cooking for Frank way back in the 40s. Go in and eat like Frank. Order some Clams Posillipo, Spaghetti Pomodoro, and Veal Milanese just the way Frank did.
And if you want to do it like Sinatra in the comfort of your own home, get yourself a copy of Daniel Bellino’s great book SUNDAY SAUCE
with recipes for DOLLY SINATRA ‘S MEATBALLS and ITALIAN-AMERICAN SUNDAY SAUCE GRAVY … You’ll be eating like the Sinatra Clan anytime you like. Cook up some Meatballs and Sunday Sauce, get a nice bottle of Chianti, throw on some Sinatra LPs and you’ll be in your own little Sinatra Heaven. “What’s Better than that?”
PJ CLARKE’S
3rd AVENUE, Midtown MANHATTAN
SINATRA ‘S ALL-TIME FAVORITE BAR / SALOON
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FRANK’S FAVORITE ITALIAN BREAD … PARISI on MOTT STREET, LITTLE ITALY, New York, NY
FRANK’S FAVORITE ITALIAN BREAD
PARISI BAKERY MOTT STREET
LITTLE ITALY, NY NY
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FRANK’S FAVORITE PIZZA “PATYSY’S”
East Harlem
FRANKS FAVORITE PIZZA
PATSY’S in EAST HARLEM
No Relation to PATSY’S on 56th STREET
PASTY’S PIZZERIA
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SINATRA at JILLY’S New York with Friends and Daughters NANCY and TINA
Frank loved going to his close Pal JILLY RIZZO’S New York Restaurant JILLY’S where Frank would eat Chinese Food, tell stories, and drink JACK DANIEL’S to the Wee Hours of the morning …
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SUNDAY SAUCE
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Dean Martin looks on as Sammy Davis Jr. pours Frank a Jack Daniels
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Jack Daniel’s and Frank Sinatra
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FRANK SINATRA with Cigarette & JACK DANIELS
Dom of DOM’S BAKERY Hoboken , New Jersey
FRANK SINATRA had DOM Send him BREAD to Palm Springs , California
FOCCACIA From DOM’S BAKERY
GRANDMA BELLINO’S COOKBOOK
“RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA”
by Daniel Bellino “Z”
Author Daniel Bellino “Z” has the same ancestral Sicilian Roots as Frank Sinatra and one Charles “Lucky” Luciano who was born in LERCARA FRIDDI SICILY , as was Frank SInatra ‘s father Martino Severino Sinatra and Bellino ‘s maternal grandparents Giussepina Salemi and Fillipo Bellino who both immigrated from Lercara Friddi to New York through Ellis Island in 1904 . In 1906 Luciano ‘s parents immigrated and settled on the Lower East Side of New York when young Charlie (Salvatore ) was 9 years old.
Charles “Lucky” Luciano
Born in Lercara Friddi
Lucina
SINATRA’S Favorite PIZZA !!!
PATSY’S in Eats Harlem , New York NY
2287 1st Avenue neat 117th Street
Opened in 1933 by Patsy Lancieri
The 21 CLUB
A Favorite SINATRA Haunt For Years
SINATRA arrives at The 21 CLUB with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Good Friend and Bodyguard JILLY RIZZO and a U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT
7. GINO’S on Lexington Avenue (closed in 2010)
8. PATSY’S PIZZERIA … East Harlem, NY (still Open)
The 21 BURGER
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St Joseph
aka
San Giuseppe
The March 19 is the Feast of St. Joseph , the day when, in Italy , we also celebrate all the dads and is the festival that opens the door to the Spring . The festivities in honor of the Patriarch St. Joseph are widespread in many cities and towns of the Sicilia . the figure of St. Joseph , foster father of Jesus and husband of Maria , is deeply felt and venerated, also demonstrated by the many Sicilians who bear his name. in the memories of most Sicilians is the memory of the picture, the statue or printing of St. Joseph in her arms the Child Jesus , in plain sight in the homes of our grandparents . the Holy Patriarch is loved even today, as a symbol of ‘ honesty , of’ humility , of ‘ love and family , and sacred values absolutely be protected. in Trapani , in many municipalities belonging to the Diocese of Mazara del Vallo , as Campobello di Mazara , Castelvetrano , Santa Ninfa , Salemi , are set up altars to honor the patriarch St. Joseph . in almost all the countries of the Diocese is celebrated rite of the ” Dinner of the Saints “: the Saints knock on the door asking for hospitality; twice they are not accepted. The third opens wide the door and the Saints enter the house, where you will eat dinner. A Salemi you start with dinner on March 19th when we celebrate the religious rite of the ” Dinners San Giuseppe “, last a week, with exhibitions and exhibitions food and wine ; are set up altars decorated with lemons , twigs d ‘ laurel , orangesand the typical ” bread ” manufactured by local women into veritable works of art. The ” bread” in the shape of the symbols of Pentecost , like the fish , the three nails, scale, or make reference to nature; devotees who organize dinner must prepare a meal with 101 dishes , made from vegetables , grains , fish , fruit and sweets of every variety. After dinner there is the rite of the blessing of the ” bread ” which are then distributed to the children, who represent the Holy Family and the many visitors who came to attend the ” Eaten there for Saints .” In Sicily , each holiday has a flat or a traditional sweet and the list would be so vast to enumerate them all to risk of forgetting is always someone. At the Feast of St. Joseph , on the
Sfinci San Giuseppe
St Josephs Day Pastry
tables there was a menu special kind: according tradition imbandire you had a board with various kinds of foods, especially with the bread (symbol of fertility and prosperity) to give refreshment to pilgrims and fugitives; this custom recalls the escape of Mary, Joseph and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s order to kill all the firstborn males. We start from the first course, as the famous pasta with sardines and wild fennel , or the virdi soup of San Giuseppi (legumes and vegetables with leftover pasta of various types) from Palermo, or even the ” ministredda of”Augusta (whose ingredients must be nineteen). the ” maccu “, known throughout the region but especially in the Syracuse area, composed of dried beans , lentils , spinach , onions ,dried chestnuts , oil and … more; He was present in every home and you had to send a sign of hope, family, friends, neighbors and even the poor of the neighborhood. And then the beccaficu sardines , broccoli and ” sparaceddi ” and many other dishes, not meat, because we are in the period of Lent . Finally the cake, with the preparation of Sfinci of St. Joseph . It is a fried sweet typical of Sicily , widespread especially in western areas of the island, originally produced in Palermo , is part of the cultural and traditional heritage of the region.
SFINCI
The origins of sfincia are very old, seem to date back to the Persians, and there are traces both in the Bible and in the Qur’an , although under different names. As for the ‘ origin of the name , there are several schools of thought: according to some, the name derives from the Latin ” spongia ” (sponge), while others derive from the Arabic ” isfanǧ ” (sponge), a name that was given to the special soft pancakes, irregularly shaped, and, precisely spongy, that Arabs ate covered honey or sugar . The transformation of the Arab sweet fried sfincia we know is due to the Poor Clares of the Monastery of the Stigmata of St. Francis (the monastery was demolished in 1875, stood on the site where today we admire the Teatro Massimo ), who dedicated the sweet to the Holy of the Meek , St. Joseph . Later, the skill of confectioners Palermo turned the humble sweet delicacy in enriched with ricotta cheese and candied fruit that, in recent times, you can enjoy all year round.
Saint Joseph’s Day Pasta
RECIPE in GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK
RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN GRANDMOTHER
by Daniel Bellino Z
GREAT SICILIAN HOME-COOKED RECIPES
FROM SICILIAN GRANDMOTHER GIUSEPPINA SALEMI BELLINO
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“Vinnie don’t put to many Onions in The SAUCE”
Big Paulie (Paul Sorvino) warns Vinnie (Charlie Scorsese) in son Martin Scorsese & Nicholas Pileggi’s GOODFELLAS ...
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GRAVY
aka SUNDAY SAUCE
Gravy? Some call it Sunday Sauce, or Sunday Gravy. Whether you cal it Gravy or Sunday Sauce, this dish eaten every Sunday by a million Italian families across America is the Supreme Dish of Italian-America .. The dish stems from the famed Neapolitan sauce known as Ragu Neapolitan in it’s native city Napoli (Naples) in Italy … This famous Neapolitan Ragu varies in it’s preparation from neighborhood to neighborhood in Napoli as well as family to family in this capital city of Campania as well as Sicily and all over the United States with Italian-American families in Brooklyn, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Providence RI, Baltimore, New Orleans, and all over the country.
Yes, in America, some families call it Gravy and others Sunday Sauce, Ragu Neapolitan or simply Ragu in Napoli. And in America some families eat the entire sauce with the meats on a plate with maccherroni (short Pasta) while others do as they do in Naples and eat some of the Sauce without the meat with maccheroni as one course and after the eat the pasta with sauce they’ll have the main course eating a little bit of each type of meat in the ragu along with some greens or boiled potatoes .. No matter how you like to eat the dish with the meats and pasta toghether or in two courses, this dish is always a tasty succulent treat that everyone loves .. Get some nice Italian Wine, put on some Sinatra, and all will be good in your world. Enjoy, be well and God Bless...
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Sophia Loren
“Mangia la Pasta”
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BRACIOLE
The meats inside any given Neapolitan Ragu or Sunday Gravy will vary depending upon who is making the sauce and their family’s recipe .. Many Italian-Americans make it with; Suasage, Meatballs, & Braciole, others may make it with just Meatballs & Sausages, and some will make it with Meatballs, Sausages, & Pork Spareribs .. You can also put in chicken thighs, Pig Skin Braciole (Coteca), beef or pork neck and other various meats.
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Rigatoni e Ragu
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Meatballs
“Always a Prized Item of the Italian-American Table”
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GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK
by Daniel Bellino Z
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Sophia Loren making Neapolitan Ragu
aka Sunday Sauce
aka Gravy
Recipe in Daniel Bellino-Zwicke ‘s SUNDAY SAUCE
available in Paperback and Kindle on AMAZON.com
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SINATRA & SUNDAY SAUCE ? Yes, they go together, Francis Albert Sinatra
& Sunday Sauce ….
Get a copy of Daniel Bellino Z ‘s SUNDAY SAUCE, pull out your favorite Sinata songs, cook up a batch of Sunday Sauce (Gravy) following the great recipe in Mr. Bellino’s book, put on the records, invite some friends, and have the greatest time imagineable … eating some Pasta, the SUNDAY SAUCE, sip some Chianti, chat with your friends and listen to the sounds of Sinatra … “What could be better?” Not much I tell you.
FRANK at the table with friends and family …
Frank Sinatra
SONGS For SWINGING LOVERS
Sunday Suace and Other Reicpes Inside
A platter of SUNDAY SAUCE
aka GRAVY
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SUNDAY SAUCE 