Polpette di Melanzane – Eggplant Patties

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

Many Italian families on my block had fig trees in their back yards. And as kids, when we discovered them, we would go on a marauding fig feast, raiding every one’s back yard that had figs.  There was nothing quite as good as picking one of those dark, sweet fruits off the tree and stuffing our faces with them. Until we would get caught. And then there would be either a tapping at the window or the window would be thrown open followed by a screaming voice promising us they were going to speak to our mothers.

My neighbor, Mr and Mrs Nazzaro had a fig tree in their back yard. Mr Nazzaro put up a cyclone fence between our property the height of the fig tree  to protect his figs that grew along the fence. Just in case we were tempted to pick on the fruit or two that might be hanging over on our side of the yard. What Mr Nazzaro needed was a brick wall to keep me from picking his figs. That’s how I learned to climb fences so well at an early age, picking Mr Nazarro’s figs. My neighbor Junior and I used to hoist each other up to get to the figs.

I remember many times I would be squeezing my hands through the little spaces in the fence getting at the ripest figs on the tree. I don’t think they had motion sensors back then, but more often than not I would get caught by Mrs. Nazzaro as she would violently tap on the window shooing me away from her fig trees.

But thinking back on those times, as often as Mr and Mrs Nazzaro would chase me away from their fig trees, Mrs. Nazzaro would always come calling on my mother and grandmother at the end of fig season with a plate of her figs to share with us. I thought that was really nice and showed a lot of class,  in light of the fact that I used to eat twice that amount when I pillaged them on my daily raids.

Mr Nazzaro also had a peach tree next to his fig tree. I didn’t know anything about picking ripe peaches and always got a green one that was not good to eat. Along with his figs and peaches, Mr Nazzaro had a grape vine that was attached to his garage and anchored to his house, forming a canopy of grapes shading his back yard. The grapes were too far away for me to get at without a ladder. Believe me, I thought about it.

My backyard was a “farmer’s market” of good things to eat. The people that lived behind us had a huge cherry tree at the end of their backyard. The tree shaded the entire end of our back yard and was at least three stories high. Must have been an old cherry tree even back then. At the end of our back yard we had a tall telephone pole that our cloths lines were attached to and led  from the pole to each of our windows. One going to the second story window of my grandmother’s apartment and the other went to a window in my sister’s room. I would climb the telephone pole, scaling the climber’s spikes that were attached to the pole. I would get to the top of the pole and would be in reach of the cherries that dangled in front of me. They were some of the sweetest cherries I had ever eaten. More than enough for me and the birds in the neighborhood. My grandmother would poke her head out the window and scream for me to get down before I broke my neck. But those cherries were worth the risk.

Growing up with all those treasures around me made me appreciate fresh picked food at an early age. When I moved up to Rockland County and had my own house it was only natural for me to be partial to plant things that you can eat, rather than looked pretty. That was one of the reasons I wanted a house with some property. I planted over 12 fruit trees along with grape vines, blueberry bushes, a strawberry patch and last but certainly not least, my own fig tree. Thank you Mr Nazzaro for giving me the inspiration and the experience of sampling  some of the finer things in life.

Polpette di Melanzane

  • 3 medium eggplants
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
  • 1  1/2 – 2  1/2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • black pepper
  • olive oil mixed with vegetable oil for shallow frying

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Slice off the top of the eggplant and cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the surface of the eggplant with some olive oil. Score the eggplant in three places to help in the cooking process. 

Place the eggplant in the oven for 40-45  minutes or until the eggplant is cooked through. 

Let the eggplant cool and coarsely mash half the eggplant in a large bowl and chop the other half. I  leave half the skins on the eggplant. If you prefer, you can scoop the flesh out of the eggplant and discard the skins. I think the skin adds texture and goodness to the dish.

Mix the eggplant together, then add the eggs, grated cheese, minced garlic, dried oregano, basil and pepper. Add about 1/2 – 1  cup of breadcrumbs and stir until the eggplant is easy to handle and holds together. If the mixture is too moist, add more breadcrumbs.

Form the eggplant mixture into flat cakes about the size of a small egg and roll them in breadcrumbs. Pat them together till they form an oval pancake.

Heat some olive oil in a large pan over a medium low flame and add the eggplant.  Allow each side to turn golden brown. Place the cooked eggplant on paper towels to absorb the extra oil.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Posted in Antipasto, vegetable | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Grandma Verga’s Meatballs and Sunday Gravy

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

I really don’t want  to get into the tomato sauce/gravy thing. But I guess I have to. Here is my definition. Any other day of the week it’s tomato sauce. When you make it on Sunday, with all the beef, pork and sausages in it, it becomes Sunday Gravy. It’s thicker, darker, hence the term gravy. And that’s that. Now we can move on. ( Just for the record, no one in my family EVER called it gravy)

While we are on the subject, I have to say, my grandmother never heard of Balsamic vinegar. We just had wine vinegar. Don’t get me wrong, I like balsamic vinegar, this is one of my favorites, Fini Modena Balsamic Vinegar of Modena ( Aceto Balsamico de Modena),  but it’s a recent addition to the Italian menu. Someone pulled it out of the region of Modena and Reggio Emilia Italy and now it’s famous. It only took 964 years to hit the big time because balsamic vinegar has been around since the middle ages. What’s old is new again.

Same thing with buffalo mozzarella. Here is some of the best Mozzarella Di Bufala D.O.C. – 6.6 lb . No…buffalo mozzarella is not made in Buffalo New York. Chicken wings are their culinary claim to fame.  Authentic buffalo mozzarella is made from the milk of a domestic water buffalo. We never had water buffalo in Brooklyn. Water buffalo were domesticated in Italy around the year 1000. If you can milk it, you can make cheese.

I’d like to bring back Limburger cheese.  You don’t hear much about it any more. Now here is a cheese that can help you make a mark on the world. This  cheese produces its notorious smell because the bacterium used to ferment Limburger  cheese is Brevibacterium linens, the same one found on human skin that is partially responsible for body odor. I’d like to know what the guy was thinking that formulated this cheese. It was first produced in Germany in 1867. And was very popular then. At least up until 1960. If you can’t tell the difference between your own body odor and the cheese you’re eating I guess it’s OK. But later generations that practiced better hygiene found the cheese repulsive. Hence, you don’t hear much about it any more. I guess it’s an acquired taste. Maybe there should be a Government caution on the package of the cheese that reads, “Caution, do not wash for at least a week before opening this package of cheese, other wise you will be repulsed”.

But I’m digressing. Grandma Verga’s meatballs and Sunday gravy has an aroma I can live with. When you walked into grandma’s kitchen when she was making it you would want to stick you head into the pot and inhale that terrific smell….and break off a piece of fresh Italian bread to dip in it.

Sunday gravy was only made on Sunday because you needed the time. You can’t rush this sauce.  And when you went over to the pot and stirred it with her wooden spoon you would find all sorts of hidden treasures within the gravy. Bracciole, sausages, meatballs, hunks of beef and pork, ribs, pig skin, pigs knuckles. All of which would be consumed as its own course at the Sunday dinner table, usually after you consume the plate of pasta or ravioli that was smothered in that crimson sauce. Finish the meal with a large salad , yes at the end of the meal, and you would be yearning for a cup of espresso coffee and anisette. It doesn’t get any better!  Oh, well, maybe it does. During the summer we would have “iced coffee”.  It’s not what you are thinking. Iced coffee, Italian style, is made with sweetened Italian espresso, chilled, poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass.  My eyes are rolling in back of my head just thinking about it. Give it a try. You will never think of iced coffee the same way again.

I was lucky enough to never have to work on a Sunday. I hope I never have to, because this is what Sundays should be saved for.

Grandma Verga’s Meatballs

2 pounds ground chuck, 80% 20%.

3 oz dried plain bread crumbs

2 large eggs

3 1/2 oz whole milk

4 oz grated Romano cheese

1 medium onion, grated

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/4 cup fresh basil finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

Gently mix all ingredients well together in large bowl. You don’t want to overwork the mixture.

Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. I use a #20 ice cream scoop to measure the meatballs so they are all the same size.

Place in oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until browned. The meatballs do not need to cook through, they will finish cooking in the gravy. If you want to stick to the old fashioned way, fry them up in a cast iron pan till golden brown all around.

BRACCIOLE

  • 2 slices of top sirloin, each slice should be 4″ wide by 7″ long
  • 1/2 cup prepared breadcrumbs*
  • 1/2 beaten egg (beat the whole egg and only use half)
  • 2 tablespoons shortening

*Basic Bread Crumbs: To 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs mix 3 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon fresh chopped basil. Mix well.

Pound the beef flat between two pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten the meat so that it’s about 1/8 of an inch thick and can be rolled easily. Spread a thin layer of shortening over the meat.

Mix the egg and breadcrumbs together and then place a layer of the mixture on 1/2 of the meat, start at 1/4 of the way down the meat slice along the long end of the beef.

Roll the meat turning the sides in, so the breadcrumb mixture doesn’t fall out in the cooking.

Continue rolling so it looks like an egg roll. Secure the end with toothpicks or tie it with butcher string.

GRANDMA VERGA’S  SUNDAY GRAVY

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2  cans San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes, 28 oz, pureed in a blender
  • 1 can Redpack Crushed In Thick Puree Tomatoes, 28 Ounce 
  • 1/4 cup of water for each can of tomatoes to rinse out can.
  • 1  1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 5-6 fresh basil leaves
  • salt to taste, add salt once gravy is cooked down 1 hour.
  • meatballs
  • bracciole
  • 3 Italian Sweet or hot Sausage
  • 2 fresh ham hocks

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven, such as Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Round French Oven. Brown on medium high flame bracciole, sausage and ham hocks on all sides. Remove from pot and saute onions in same pot till translucent, about 5 minutes over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in cans of tomatoes, rinsing each can with 1/4 cup of water and placing in the pot.

Add sugar, black pepper, basil and stir. When sauce comes to a simmer add bracciole, sausage, ham hocks and meatballs. Stir gently and partially cover pot and simmer on lowest possible flame for at least 1  1/2 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent the sauce from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add salt to taste after 1 hour of cooking time. Don’t bother tasting before that.

When gravy is done remove meat and place in a bowl and keep warm. Cook your favorite pasta, with this gravy I recommend, cavatelli, ravioli, spaghetti or ziti.

Serve with plenty of the gravy on top and grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. Once in a while I even put  a couple of dollops of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta.

Serve the meat as another course with a large salad and bread. Or as most Americans do, you can have your meatballs with your spaghetti.

 



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Posted in Beef, Pasta, Pork | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Sicilain Fried Peppers

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

When I see red peppers at the market I think of roasting them over an open fire. The aroma that comes from roasting peppers is heaven. In an earlier blog I gave you a recipe for roasted pepper salad. Pick the peppers that are the deepest red possible, they are the sweetest.

This is another way we utilize red peppers. Frying them up with onions and fresh tomatoes and seasoning them with vinegar, basil, capers and green olives. It’s almost like a caponata, sweet and savory.  Except the sweetness comes from the peppers.

This is truly a down home dish. Italian soul food at its best. Makes a great side dish, antipasto or light supper with a loaf of Italian bread and glass of wine. These peppers also go great when chilled and put on a sandwich with a little ham, salami, and provolone or fresh mozzarella.

This is also a wonderful side dish and accompanyment with grilled Italian sausages. Does it get any better than that?

 

Sicilian Fried Peppers

8     red bell peppers
1     medium red onion
4     ripe tomatoes
10   Sicilian green olives, pitted
1/4  cup capers
1/4  cup extra virgin olive oil
3     tablespoons red wine vinegar
4     basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the peppers, slice open, remove the stem, seeds and ribs, and then slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips.

Dice the red onion.

 Slice the tomatoes in half, gently squeeze out the seeds and excess juice, and then coarsely chop. Rinse the capers and tear the basil leaves.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over moderate heat and fry the peppers and onions, stirring  until they have wilted and begin to brown.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cover and simmer for ten minutes.

When done, transfer the pepper mixture to a bowl, then add the basil, capers, olives and red wine vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste, then stir.

Cover and allow it to cool for at least an hour before serving.

Posted in Antipasto, vegetable | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers and Potatoes

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri
The aroma that goes through the house when you cook this dish will have them come running for dinner before the dish is done! The best kind of pepper to use for this dish are hot cherry peppers in vinegar. For those who cannot take the heat you can also use mild banana peppers in vinegar. As a compromise you can use half and half. If you are using hot cherry peppers, slice them and remove the stem and seeds. That will hold down the heat a bit. The potatoes are a great addition because they absorb and cut some of the vinegar and taste great.

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers and Potatoes

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers and Potatoes

  • 3-4 pork loin chops,  center cut,bone in
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 cups of Pastene Peperoncini Peppers In Vinegar
  • 1/2  cup of vinegar from the jar of peppers
  • 3 fresh basil leaves
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
  • salt & pepper to taste

In a medium frying pan, fry the potatoes in half the oil till golden brown and tender. In a separate large frying pan, heat the remainder of the oil.

Salt and pepper your pork chops and dredge the pork chops in the flour, shaking off any excess flour.

When the oil is hot, with the heat high, brown the pork chops about 3 minutes each side.

Add the garlic and shake the pan to incorporate with the pork chops. Cook about 1 minute.

Add the peppers, reserving the vinegar they came in. Turn and cook the peppers with the pork chops for two minutes. Add the fresh basil and the reserved vinegar from the peppers.  When the pork chops are done, do not over cook, remove them from the pan and place on a platter and keep warm.

Add the cooked potatoes to the vinegar pepper mixture and toss to mix well.

Cover the pork chops with the potatoes and vinegar peppers and serve immediately.



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Posted in Pork | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Apple Pie

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

It’s the middle of September, the air is crisp and getting cooler outside. Must mean one thing…..IT’S APPLE PIE SEASON!!!!!!

Neither my mom or grandmother ever made apple pie. It became an acquired taste for me later on in years. When I moved up to Rockland County I got closer to apple country. My first taste of a Cortland apple was when I moved up here. And they are picking them now, along with Red Delicious and McIntosh. Pretty soon the farms will be pressing those wonderful fruits and the cider will be flowing once again. I just love the fact that you can’t get this stuff all year long, because it makes it just that much more special when they come into season. Oh, I know you can get some form of apple cider from the supermarket any time of year, if you like the taste of preservatives. Heck, you can leave the gallon on your counter for three weeks and it doesn’t change. That worries me. The cider that is pressed up here is preservative free and just lightly pasteurized. So it is just like biting into a crisp sweet apple when you take a slug of the nectar.

I could remember when we had three farms within a two mile radius. Van Riper Farms, Tice Farm and DePiero Farms, all in Montvale, and Woodcliff Lake New Jersey. Today, Van Riper sold out and they built an A&P on the site, along with corporate parks and Tice Farm is now Tice Mall  with another much needed shopping center with stores you can find in just about any other shopping center. I hate progress! DePiero’s is the only farm left nearby. I’ll be getting my apple cider fix real soon!!!! But DePiero’s has sold off much of his land to developers and is getting smaller by the year. At some point I’m sure they will give in to the financial pressure and one day DePiero’s Farm will be gone as well. Looks like I’ll have to invest in a cider press and just do it myself. I know my cousins Concetta and Larry who live in beautiful California have a fruit press juicer and bottle sweet grape juice from the vines they have on their property. I’ll have to confer with them to see what I need to make apple cider if the last of the local farms disappear.

But for now I think I’m safe and to kick off the fall season I’m going to make one of my apple pies. I’ve been making apple pies for over 30 years now and have it down pat. Through trial and error I have perfected my pie and, if I should say so myself, it is a good one. There are a dozen  versions of  apple pie out there. Do I add butter to the crust or shortening? What type of apples do I use? How much sugar? Pre cook the apples? Flour or starch? There are a dozen different ways you can make apple pie. I have gone all the different routes and in the end I found it best to stick to the basics. This recipe is the one I have been using for years, and for my enjoyment, I believe makes the best apple pie.

I know if my son Michael is reading this I have planted the seed for him as well. (no pun intended) Michael, and my brother Richard, would scoff up my apple pies whenever I made them. Michael has made his own apple pies and does just as .good. He learned well.

Making an apple pie is as much about technique as it is about ingredients. Technique comes with time and experience. Make enough of anything and you will perfect it.

Let’s begin with ingredients. What are the best apples to use if you are making an apple pie? In my opinion, Granny Smith apples are the ultimate apple pie apple. But I have found over the years that a combination of a few different apples makes for a much better pie. Not all apples are in season at the same time, but here are a few that I have used with much success. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Cortland, Empire, Jonathan’s. If you are using a sweeter apple like the Golden Delicious it’s good to pair it up with something that is more tart, like Granny Smith. Overall, you want an apple that holds up to cooking, so any cooking apple will do you well. If you are using only Golden Delicious you should hold back on some of the sugar as the apple has a good amount of sweetness. If you are using only Granny Smith apples you should use all of the sugar in the recipe, depending how tart you like your pie. Again, it’s trial and error.

The crust is an important part of your apple pie. Store bought? Never! If you are a true apple pie aficionado only home made crust will do. The one most important component of your crust is the shortening you use. If you use only shortening you will get a very flaky crust. If you use only butter your crust will taste better but will not be as flaky. I know people that use a combination of both, so you have the flavor and the flakiness. In my pie I use only Crisco Shortening. I feel there is enough butter in the pie filling to add that buttery taste to the apple pie. I want flake!

Corn starch or flour? They both thicken the filling. I personally use flour. The choice is yours. The other important factor in making an apple pie is to cut the apple slices very thin. That way they stack well in the pie and don’t leave as much of a void when the pie is cooked and the apples settle down. They all cook uniform that way as well.

Let’s get making an apple pie! On my way home from visiting my father I past Doc Davies Farm Stand on Route 304 in New City, just before you get up to the 9W junction. I picked up 6 Cortland apples to make my pie today. Doc Davies is a great place to go if you want to pick your own apples and don’t want to get trapped in the traffic on Route 17 heading towards some of the more popular upstate apple orchards.

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Apple Pie

For the crust:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup Crisco shortening
  • ice water

For the filling:

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 5-6 medium to large apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter

In a medium bowl combine the apples, brown and white sugar. Add flour, cinnamon and mix until all the apples are well coated.

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In a medium mixing bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender until it’s the texture of cornmeal. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over the mixture and mix just until the dough is moist. Add another 8 tablespoons of the ice water, one at a time until all the dough is just moist. Do not over mix.

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Gather up the dough and form into a ball. Divide the dough in half and roll one half into a circle, on a floured surface, to fit a 9 to 10 inch pie plate.

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To transfer the pastry to the pie plate, wrap it around a rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate.

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Add the apple filling into the pastry lined pie plate. Make sure all the apples are laying flat. Cut the butter into small pieces and put on top of the filling.

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Roll the remaining pastry into a 12 inch circle. Place on top of the filling. Trim off 1 inch beyond the edge of the pie plate and crimp the edges together, folding the top crust under the bottom crust.  Cut slits to allow steam to escape when baking. Brush the top of the pie with milk to help the pie turn a golden brown.

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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the edges of the pie with foil to prevent over browning. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 25-35 minutes or until you see the filling bubble up from the center of one of the slits you made.

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Allow the pie to cool slightly and serve warm with plenty of vanilla ice cream on top.

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Posted in Dessert, Fruit | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Pollo Oreganato – Grilled Oregano Chicken

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

Protection – Italian Style

Do you remember the scene in the 1967  film The Graduate, when Dustin Hoffman was at his graduation party  and a friend of the family walks up to him and says:

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you – just one word.
Ben: Yes sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Ben: Yes I am.
Mr. McGuire: ‘Plastics.’
Ben: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
Ben: Yes I will.
Mr. McGuire: Shh! Enough said. That’s a deal.

History had proven Mr. McGuire’s advise wise.  My mother saw the importance of plastic long before Mr. McGuire did!

There was not one piece of furniture in my house that was not covered and protected in plastic . Sofa, love seat, arm chairs,  even throw pillows. All encased in plastic slip covers, custom made to fit over the furniture.  And it didn’t end with furniture. Plastic runners on the rugs and carpeting. My mother even covered table cloths with plastic as to not stain the very cover that was protecting the table. She had protection on top of the protection. It was great having dinner on one of my mother’s plastic covered table cloths. Your elbows and forearms would stick to it like glue. And forget about sliding your plate anywhere. They stuck to the table as well, with the forks and knifes and anything else that came into contact with the plastic film.  And for the dining room table….a table pad, made specifically for that table, with extensions and all. And a table cloth over the table pad and a sheet of plastic on top of the table cloth. What protection!! It did nothing for the table when I was 3 and took a pen and enjoyed listening to the crackle when the pen penetrated the finish as I drew a smiley face on the dining room table. Broke my mother’s heart…along with my bottom.

When my mother bought her living room furniture, she bought it for life. Styles may come and go, but our furniture would last forever because it was covered and protected in plastic.

Ever sit on a sofa covered in plastic in the summertime with shorts on? I felt like a Colorform toy piece with the back of my thighs sticking to the sofa, having to “peel” myself off when getting up. Not to mention the conductive power of plastic in retaining your body heat!  If you got up too fast a swatch of skin would be left behind. And no matter how soft the sofa was underneath, the plastic covers equalized the pressure when you sat on it and always felt like you were sitting on an air mattress. As a matter of fact, if a lighter person was sitting on the opposite end of the sofa that you just sat hard on top of, that lighter person became a projectile, and flew across the room. What a surprise that always was!

Why was everything protected like that back then?  Even woman’s hair styles. When my mother went to bed after getting her hair done, she would wrap it in endless yards of tissue, maybe even toilet paper. And cover the final turban with a hair net, or some kind of frilly cap. Made her look a foot taller.  I’ll never forget as a child waking up in the middle of the night and freezing on the spot when I saw my mother walking out of her bedroom towards me with that turban rising up from her head.  It brought up the horror memories of the Bride of Frankenstein.  I even had a nightmare about that, waking up and meeting my mother in the hall as she opened her mouth wide and hissed at me!

Even when the woman went swimming back then, they covered their heads in bathing caps. Today, in 2010, my sister Annette still does. Old habits never die. She says she does it so the water does not go in her ears. Simple ear plugs would do the job and not make you look like a turtle.

My living room was protected from time and the elements by plastic. Fabric protection for my mother was not a spray on coating of a 3M product. A fitted layer of heavy duty plastic was the only way my mother would be confident that her furniture was safe, nothing less.

The rest of our living room was pretty typical for the time. One entire wall behind the sofa was covered in a mural picturing the canals of Venice. Looked like it was hand painted on.

Adjacent to that wall was a round table, covered in Formica. On top of that table was a lamp. But this was no ordinary lamp. I actually found a photo of the identical lamp on the internet and posted it here. This lamp was a show piece. It looked like a section of the Great Wall of China. On each end was a post that held a small shade and a shade in the middle. The controls on the front of the lamp allowed you to turn the two end lamps on, the one in the middle only, or all three at the same time. And another switch would light the base of the unit.  And at the center of the show piece was a ceramic hand painted figure of a Siamese princess, about 12 inches tall, that turned slowly. What theatre!! The princess would only turn when company arrived.

Adjacent to that wall was the love seat, covered in plastic, and a piano to the far end. My sister took lessons.  In front of the main sofa was a coffee table. It looked like half of the “ying and yang” symbol. I guess you would call it a tear drop shaped coffee table. It was covered in little ceramic tile. No plastic. (what could be stronger than tile?) Did I mention that my father, being a cabinet maker and master carpenter, made all of our furniture? Except for the sofas.

I’m sorry to say, we never made the pages of Better Homes and Garden. But it was home, as I knew it,  on 77 Street in Brooklyn.

This grilled chicken dish is great for a  cook out. This is a marinade my grandmother used to make and really added great flavor to chicken.  

Grilled Oregano Chicken

  • 4     chicken legs and thighs or whole chicken cut up
  • 4     garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4  cup parsley leaves, chopped fine
  • 1/4  cup lemon juice
  • 1/2  cup olive oil
  • 4     tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1   teaspoon  salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper (optional, not really, go for it!)
  • lemon wedges

Rinse the chicken and pat dry.

Make a marinade with the minced garlic, finely chopped parsley ,lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

Put the chicken in a zip lock bag  or deep dish and pour the marinade over them, then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours, turning the chicken every thirty minutes or so.

Preheat a gas grill to moderate temperature, or light the charcoal.

Place the chicken on the hot grill, keep the temp low so the chicken will not burn,  and baste regularly with the marinade. Turn the chicken after about ten minutes and continue basting until the chicken has thoroughly cooked and is crisp and golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges.

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Penne alla Vodka

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

BON-BONS

Bon-Bons was a candy store on New Utrecht Ave and 77 Street in Brooklyn, about two blocks from where I used to live. New Utrecht Avenue was always in the shadow of the El that ran above it. The El was an elevated railway that ran through that part of the neighborhood.  The B train  ran on that El  line all the way to Coney Island in one direction and to Manhattan in the other direction. 

We used to hang out at Bon-Bons, me and my friends  Mike , Bobby, Larry, among others. Every time the train came we had to stop our conversation because the clanking and vibrations above us would drown out everything. Next to Bon-Bons was a Salumeria, an Italian Deli. The saw dust that covered the floor from inside the store would litter the front of the building and as you passed it you could smell the pungent aroma of the cheeses hanging in the window. And next to the Salumeria was a Chinese restaurant on the corner, that had interesting smells of it’s own. Non of us would ever eat there. The cooks, in their grease stained aprons, would sit outside of the kitchen door facing 77 street. They sat on top of large oil cans smoking their cigarettes. The grease would be dripping from the screen door that was propped open by the oil can. Not a very appetizing sight.

A fellow by the name of Eddie owned Bon-Bons along with his father-in-law, Vick. Eddie liked to call everyone a schmuck, a Yiddish slang word that has a dual meaning but in essence denotes an obnoxious person.  That was his favorite word. Over all he was a pleasant guy and every time we would march into the store Eddie would set us up with egg creams.

 As you walked into Bon-Bons, to the left was a wall display of comics and magazines. The Playboys were higher up. At the base of the wall were all the city newspapers and racing forms. To the right was the lunch counter with cigarettes and candy on the front outside wall. Vick  would be sitting there, on his stool in the corner, collecting  nickels for  candy bars. Cigarettes were 50 cents a pack back then. I remember when they went up to 52 cents and the nickel candy bar went up to 6 cents. It was always a bother coming up with that extra penny or two.

Along the lunch counter were round stools topped with red leather. We would sit on the stools and be able to spin around and keep up on what was going on in the rest of the candy store. On one end of the counter was a red coke dispenser machine with the Coca-Cola logo in white letters along the side. On the counter in front of the Coke dispenser, Eddie kept his barrel filled with pretzel rods, baseball cards, waxed teeth and lips, etc.  Further down the counter were the chrome soda dispensers with a black handle on top that you would pull towards you, one for seltzer the other for water. Just under the counter were the freezers for the ice cream and along side of them were the stainless steel double sinks, one with a long brush stuck to the bottom to clean the glasses in the soapy water and the other sink to rinse them clean. Above the sinks were the syrup dispensers. He had vanilla, chocolate, lime for the lime Rickey  and cherry syrup for the cherry Cokes. Eddie had two cake platters with domes on them on top of the counter for the corn muffins and danish. And on the other side of the counter, against the mirrored wall were the coffee makers, shelves for the glasses and a couple of milk shake mixers.

Sitting on the very end of the counter towards the back was Gus, a regular at Bon-Bons. Gus was a middle aged man who always wore a fresh clean white button down shirt and a black pair of slacks. He had an olive complexion and jet black hair that was slicked all the way back. Gus’s favorite word was “tuckaslacky”. Don’t ask me what it meant, I think he just said it to annoy us. Gus was always drinking a cup of coffee and smoking a Lucky Strike. I often wondered what Gus did for a living, being he hung out at Bon-Bons most of the day. So one time I asked him. “Gus, what do you do for a living”. He said, “I’m a painter”. I replied with, “not very busy?” Gus said, “It’s been slow”.  Thinking back, I realized that Gus made his living from other things. Things that he didn’t talk too much about. So we left it that Gus was a painter.

Another fixture in the candy store was an old man named Jimmy Costello. Costello was my grandfather’s age. As a matter of fact, he said he knew my grandfather. Costello was short in stature and always smoked a non-filtered Camel. He would smoke them so close to the end that his index and middle finger were stained dark with tar from the cigarette. Costello used to boast about the things he did when he was younger, running from the law, before he developed emphysema from all the years of smoking.  Costello and Gus would get together from time to time and go over the racing forms and discuss the horses that raced at “The Big A”, Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park Queens. And in between they would run numbers for people in the neighborhood.

One night we were all sitting at the counter having an egg cream when Eddie had to run out and take care of some business. He might have been gone for only 10 minutes, but asked us to watch the store. A customer walked in and sat down at the counter. I immediately jumped behind the counter and asked him, “What can I get you”. He ordered a chocolate egg cream. I knew how to make it with my eyes closed, I saw Eddie making it so many times. I picked up a Coke glass from the drain board and  added about “two fingers” of milk. I put the glass under the fountain and filled it with seltzer. After that I pumped about two full squirts of chocolate syrup into the glass and mixed it up with a long spoon. There…the perfect egg cream with about a two inch white foam head on top. That was the sequence of  ingredients you needed to make an egg cream. I served the customer and took his 15 cents and placed it in the register.  Just then Eddie walked in and the first thing he said was, “Schmuck!, What are you doing?” I told him I just made his customer an egg cream. And then I asked Eddie if he would make me work for him. That was the first job I ever had, being a soda jerk at Bon-Bons Candy Store.

Eddie said, “All right, I’ll give you $18 a week. You can start everyday after school till closing and open up on Saturdays”. They were closed on Sunday’s of course. I was thrilled! My friends all looked at me with envy. I got a job at Bon-Bons. Eddie showed me the ropes and instructions on how to make malts, chocolate and vanilla sodas, chocolate and vanilla egg creams, ice cream sodas, cherry cokes, lime Rickey’s, vanilla cokes. I had it all down. I served coffee , tea and hot chocolate and bagels and bialys with butter, corn muffins and danish. That was about the extent of the menu. Vic sat on his corner stool and handled the cigarettes and candy. It was great! When my friends showed up it was like I wasn’t working. I would be hanging out there anyway. Bon-Bons was our place.

One  early evening, Mike, Bobby and myself were exchanging digs with Eddie, and daring him to “moon” the next person that got off the next train.  When through the corner of his eye Bobby noticed a group of girls passing in front of Bon-Bons. His reaction was pure Bobby. “Hey, check out those chicks!” Mike could not be outdone by Bobby so the both of them stepped outside of Bon-Bons just as the girls turned the corner and made their way up 77 Street. Bobby poked Mike and said, “Call them!”. Mike poked Bobby back and said, “you call them!” Buy the time either one of them had the nerve to “hit” on the young ladies, they were halfway up the block. I was just chilling on my stool inside Bon-Bons watching this all unfold.

Bobby ran to the corner, past the Chinese Restaurant, put his fingers between his lips and let out a loud whistle, following that with, “YO! SWEETIE”! What happened next caught Bobby totally by surprise….they actually stopped and started walking towards him! 

We were around 16 years old and we all thought we were God’s gift to woman at that age. But Bobby’s reaction was more like a 10 year old who was in the middle of doing something wrong when his mother walked in the room. His eyes grew wide and he ran back towards Michael and said, “Holy crap, they’re coming!”. Mike didn’t believe him and walked past the Chinese Restaurant to look up 77 Street. Mike said, “what do we do now!”

Bobby and Mike  were always whistling at girls and making “cat calls”. But this was the first time they actually got a response, and were not prepared for it. Mike said to Bobby, “you talk to them!”, Bobby replied, “I don’t want to talk to them!” As they tried to make their way back into Bon-Bons for safety, I held the door closed. No escape!

At that point the girls turned the corner and the two “love magnets” had to face the music. After all, isn’t that what they were looking for? I mean, why are you calling out to girls if you’re not going to interact with them?

The girl’s excuse for answering the “cat calls” were they thought that we knew them. Bobby’s response was “oh, I thought you guys were someone else”. Once everyone got past that awkward moment, I stepped outside and added to the conversation. “Where are you girls from?” I asked. They all lived a few blocks away.  We started talking about a whole bunch of things. Sort of a getting to know you period. They hung out with us for a good hour. Looks like we hit “pay dirt”. At some point it was time for them to leave, but I knew we had to set up another meeting…a group date of some kind. The only thing I could think of was a trip to Radio City to see the Christmas show. They thought that was a great idea, so we set up the day and time we would all meet up at Bon-Bons then go into the City to see the Christmas Show.

I was brought up to be honorable and respectful of people. So even at the age of 16 when I made a commitment I stuck to it. The day had come for our outing with the girls. I was standing in front of Bon-Bons waiting for Bobby, Larry, Mike and the girls to show up. Bobby, Larry and Mike never showed. And had no intentions of showing up. And turning the corner walking towards me were the four young ladies we had met earlier in the week, all ready to go to Radio City. I made a mental decision at that point. Heck, if the other guys were too stupid to show up and go into the City with these new found friends, I would step up to the task and take them all in myself. Which is what I did. My first lesson in chivalry. But, you know what they say, nice guys finish last. And I learned that lesson as well. Each of my friends hooked up with one of those girls, except for me. Well, that was not entirely true. The one that had an interest in me, Ursula, reminded me of a…..well, I’ll be nice. Let’s just say the feeling was not mutual. Ursula wound up with my friend Vito Langamazini. It was a match made in  heaven. Thank God Love is Blind!

Penne alla Vodka only became popular in the 1970’s. So this is not a dish my grandmother or mother used to make. They would never think about putting cream in tomato sauce. What sacrilege! But this is one of my all time favorites. The vodka really kicks up the taste of the tomato sauce, and together with the cream make this a very smooth, delicious dish. Again, there are a few versions of this dish, but this is the best one I’ve tasted. Hope you enjoy it!

Penne allaVodka

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips
  • one 28 ounce can San Marzano peeled tomatoes, pureed in a blender
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup vodka
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 pound of penne pasta

In a large pan melt the butter and saute the garlic till golden. Stir in the prosciutto and cook for 1 minute.

Add the pureed tomatoes and red pepper flakes and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Add the vodka and cook for another 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Meanwhile, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and add the pasta. When the pasta is done, drain, reserving some of the pasta water.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce and toss until it is well coated. Add the cheese and toss.  Add some of the reserved pasta water if the pasta is too dry. Serve immediately.

Posted in Pasta | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Nonna's Zucchini Fritters 2.0

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

OK, so I stand corrected. After posting zucchini fritters on my blog, paying tribute to Grandma Isabella, I heard from my son Michael. I got it all wrong.

 I’m only human! I formulated her fritters from how I recalled she made it. That was many years ago.  Apparently, my son payed closer attention than I did. I give him a lot of credit for that. Michael is a good cook himself and has developed a passion for it as I have. I guess the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. He’s observing his grandma the way I had observed mine. Good for him! There is a treasure of knowledge and good food we can take from our elders, they have spent a lifetime developing it. We should not ever let it go to waste.

Here is my son Michael’s recollection of Nonna’s Zucchini Fritters:

“First off ditch the flour, you need very fine semolina flour, 1cup.  To that add 1/2  tsp garlic powder, 3/4 cup Romano cheese , basil, salt and pepper. You CUT the zucchini into half moon slices very thin and do not get rid of any juice!!! Add 2 eggs to the dry Ingredients and mix, then add less than a cup of water. You want a very thick paste. You then add the zucchini and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.  The juice from it will make the batter thinner.  Oh, and you’re not an 80 year old Nonna.”

Do I detect a sense of humor in my son?? Now where could he have gotten that from?  From an early age he knew the importance of food and how comforting it could be and connected it with love and caring. Like the time when he was five and cared about my VCR player. He thought it was hungry and fed it raisins one day. I couldn’t figure out why the tapes were not playing well, until I brought it in for repair and the tech guy told me it was full of raisins. Maybe Michael thought they were California Raisins and if he put them into the VCR maybe they would sing and dance for him on the TV.

So, I call this recipe “Nonna’s Zucchini Fritters 2.0”. I actually liked my zucchini fritters, but this one is the real deal.  I told my son Joseph that his brother Michael gave me the authentic recipe for Nonna’s Zucchini fritters and that I will be making them today. He asked me if I want him around when I make the fritters to let me know if I’m doing it right. He knows how they are made because he has also seen his grandmother make them many times. If this gets me any closer to zucchini fritter nirvana, sure, why not.  Something tells me though, that after I make these and have my son Joseph taste them, he’s still going to say, “They are not like Grandma’s”.

 I might have a room to rent soon if anyone is interested.

Nonna’s Zucchini Fritters

  • 1 cup semolina flour
  • 1 medium zucchini, about 8 ounces, cut lengthwise in half and thinly sliced into half moons
  • 3/4 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the fritters when done frying
  • 2 large eggs
  • 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup of water
  • oil for frying

 

Mix the semolina flour,  garlic powder, grated cheese, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the eggs to the dry ingredients and less than a cup of water to form a thick batter.

Add the sliced zucchini to the batter and mix well. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes so the batter absorbs the moisture from the zucchini. You should have a thick pancake style batter. The batter should just be thin enough for it to slip off the spoon without you having to push it off.

Heat your frying oil in a large pot to 350 degrees. Drop the zucchini batter into the hot oil in large spoonfuls. Allow to brown and turn the fritters to brown on the other side.

Place the fritters on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Sprinkle each layer with additional Romano Cheese. Serve hot.

These fritters are also great eaten right out of the refrigerator. Just ask my son Joseph.

Posted in Antipasto, vegetable | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Pesto With Sun Dried Tomatoes

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

One Christmas Eve when my Uncle Benny arrived at the house with my Aunt Angie and Johnny and Ralph, he was holding a container wrapped in a plastic bag. He walked over to me and said, “Do you know what I got here?” I looked at him and with anticipation I said, “No Uncle Benny, what is it?”  “Green sauce”, he said as he waited for my reaction. “REALLY!”, I said. “Green sauce”, my Uncle Benny repeated. “Did you ever have green sauce?” I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders and said “No!” He laughed and said “You see, you gonna like it”, he said in his broken English.

That evening that was the first time I ever had “green sauce”, or as we know it today as, pesto.  Pesto didn’t become popular in the United States until the 1980’s, so Uncle Benny was ahead of the curve.  And I know he didn’t have a food processer back then, so he made it the traditional way with a mortar and pestle.

It tasted a little odd to me at the time, I was around 10 years old. I remember the look on my uncle’s face as he watched everyone enjoy eating it. My Uncle Benny had a limited menu he could prepare. Many Christmas Eves’ he would be in charge of the “Pulpo”, a cold octopus salad with chopped celery,  garlic, onions, fresh lemon juice, fennel, and extra virgin olive oil. Uncle Benny was the master of the Pulpo salad. Coming from Riposto,  a fishing village in Sicily, seafood was his specialty.

Even though Uncle Benny and Aunt Angie are gone, at Christmas Eve we still talk about his Pulpo. I made it myself a few times and brought it to the Christmas Eve table, and every one would associate it with my Uncle Benny. And because of him, I had my first taste of “green sauce”.

I make  pesto every summer when my basilico is growing wild in my herb garden. I freeze batches of them in little air tight containers. They store well for months. I experimented one time and made the classic pesto but added sun-dried tomatoes to the mix. I was surprised how good it tasted. In addition to the flavor, the “green sauce” gets a little red color from the tomatoes. It’s quite pleasant.

You can use this recipe to make classic pesto, or add the sun-dried tomatoes for an extra layer of flavor to the pesto.  I normally add pesto to any kind of pasta. But I also found it works well on salmon. Spread a few tablespoons of pesto to the top of your piece of salmon and bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes and it’s delicious. Baking chicken breast covered in pesto is also delicious.

 

Pesto With Sun Dried Tomatoes

3 cups fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1/4 cup pignoli nuts

12  sun dried tomato halves

1/2 cup red wine

Salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon

1 pound of pasta, linguine or spaghetti

Place the sun dried tomatoes an a microwave safe bowl and cover with the red wine. Place the bowl in the microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds. Allow the tomatoes to steep in the wine to reconstitute them and get soft.

Put the pine nuts in a small frying pan and toast over medium heat till they just get golden. Place in a bowl to cool.

Wash the basil and pat dry.

Put the leaves in a food processor along with the garlic, grated cheese and pignoli nuts and blend until mixture is chopped up well.

Drain the wine from the sun dried tomatoes and add to the processor. Run the processor for about 30 seconds to blend in the tomatoes. While the food processor is running pour a steady stream of olive oil into the funnel until all the oil is used up or until the mixture becomes a thick purée. Add a few pinches of salt and  set aside.

Cook the pasta  in 5 quarts of salted water. Drain the pasta and place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the pesto and toss. Serve with additional Romano cheese.

Pesto may be frozen and keeps well 3-4 months in the freezer.

Posted in Pasta | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Grilled Fillet of Salmon with Citrus Green Sauce

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

Fresh ingredients is the hallmark of good Sicilian cooking. And when it comes to seafood, the Sicilians are second to non. My grandmother used to make this fresh sauce and top many different kinds of fish with it. What ever the catch of the day was. I adapted her sauce to grilled salmon and trout.

In Sicily, fresh lemons and oranges are a staple. The citrus crop in Sicily is some of the best I have ever seen. Lemons the size of oranges! Their sub-tropical climate make it a perfect environment for growing citrus. And they use  it in many of their fish dishes. Citrus combined with fresh mint and the pungent flavor of capers brings me back to the island and grandma’s kitchen.

I have used this sauce on trout as well as salmon. It works well with any firm flaky fish. Tuna and swordfish also go really well with it. Use the freshest ingredients you can get your hands on and you will not be dissapointed on how it turns out.

Grilled Fillet of Salmon with Citrus Green Sauce

For the citrus green sauce:

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 scallions chopped
  • 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint
  • 2 tablespoons of rinsed capers, roughly chopped
  • zest of one orange
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 teaspoon of salt and peper to taste

To make the sauce combine all the above ingredients and mix well. Keep in the refigerator until you are ready to use.

For the fish:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Prepare your fish by patting dry with a paper towel. Brush the fish with the olive oil then salt and pepper them.

If your grilling your fish on an out door BBQ, brush your grill with vegatable oil to prevent the fish from sticking. Do the same if you’re cooking the fish on an indoor cast iron grill.

Grill the fish about 4 minutes on each side until the fish is done, depending on the thickness of your fillets. Try and turn the fish only once so it will not break up.

Place the grilled fish on a platter and spoon some of the citrus green sauce over the fish. Place the remainder of the sauce in a small bowl to serve with the fish.

Posted in Seafood | Tagged , , | 1 Comment