Monday, June 22, 2015

Grandma Bellino 's Italian Gravy Recipe

Charlie Scorsese Makes Gravy in Goodfellas

by Martin Scorsese
GRAVY
My grandmother simply called this tasty meat sauce Gravy. It’s made with Veal Shank, chunks of pork shoulder, and Sweet Italian Sausages braised with a bit of wine and tomatoes. You need long slow cooking to get the meat tender, and you end up with a hearty, extremely tasty Gravy that everyone will love. All those except people who don’t eat meat, or don’t eat pork. Well, “Sorry for them,” they don’t know what they’re missing! As for you, make it, serve it, and relish it!
1 Veal Shank
2 pounds Pork Shoulder Meat cut into 2” cubes
1 large Onion, peeled and minced
8 cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
2 carrots, peeled and minced fine
2 stalks Celery, washed & minced fine
¼ cup White Wine
5 – 28 cans Crushed Tomatoes
3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Bay Leaf, ½ a teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
2 pounds Sweet Italian Sausages
Season the Veal Shank on both sides with salt & black pepper. Place half the Olive Oil in a 8-quart non-corrosive pot and brown the veal shanks on high heat until the veal is nice and golden brown on both sides, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
Season the Pork Shoulder meat with Salt & Pepper. Add Pork to the pot and brown over high heat in two separate batches.
Once all the meat is nicely browned, remove from pot and set aside. Add onions, celery, and garlic to pot and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
Season the onions with a bit of salt & pepper. Add wine to pan and cook on high heat while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This will dislodge and brown bits that have a lot of flavor from the bottom of the pan (deglazing). Cook until the wine is reduced by half its original volume.
Put all the Veal Shank & Pork back in the pot. Add crushed tomatoes, Bay Leaf, Red Pepper flakes, and tomato paste to pot. Fill an empty tomato can with water and put the water in the pot. Bring all to the boil, then lower flame to a low simmer.
Simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes, stirring and scrapping the bottom of the pan occasionally with a wooden spoon so the sauce doesn’t stick.
After the sauce has been simmering for 90 minutes, brown the sausages in a pan with a little olive oil over medium heat until the sausages a lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pan and let cool for a few minutes.
Once the sausages are cooled, cut each link into 4 equal pieces each, then put into the sauce.
Remove the Veal Shank from the pot and let cool for a few minutes.
Once the veal has cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the veal shank and break into pieces that are about 2” square. Put the veal meat back in the pot, and let everything simmer on low heat for another 45 minutes.
To Serve : Cook 1 or 2 pounds of your favorite maccheroni following the directions on the package. We like to use; Rigatoni, Mezze Monica, Cavatappi, Cavatelli, or any short maccheroni that you like.
When the pasta is ready (finished cooking), remove from heat, and drain in a colander, reserving ¼ cup or so of the pasta water to mix with the pasta and sauce. Put the pasta back in the pot it cooked in. Add some of the sauce with the pork and sausages to the pot. Drizzle a little olive oil over all and mix.
Spoon pasta onto however many plates you need. Top pasta with some more sauce on top and pass some grated cheese for your guest to apply them-selves. Buon Appetito!
Excerpted From Daniel Bellino "Z" s new upcoming cookbook, 
GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK  
"RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN GRANDMOHER"
Available July 2015 on AMAZON.com & Barnes & Noble Book Sellers
Grandma Bellino 's Italian Cookbook

Recipes from My Sicilian Grandmother 

by Daniel Bellino Z






PAULIE SLICES The GARLIC

Nice & Thin For The GRAVY



Paul Castellano & Al Pacino
in
Francis Ford Coppola's The GODFATHER

.
CLEMENZA SHOWS MICHAEL How to Make SAUCE
aka 
GRAVY

Saturday, June 13, 2015

GROTTO AZZURRA CAPRI



Famous Majolica Tile MAP of CAPRI







Get a on a Nice Boat Tour Around The Isle of Capri

18 EURO

You Get a Boat that takes you on a tour around Capri, first stop is 
The BLUE GROTTO, where you get on a small rowboat to go
into The Blue Grotto. You must pay an ENTRNCE FEE 
of 13 EURO Which is Seperate from the 18 Euro for the
larger boat taking you around the island. SO if you want to go
into the Blue Grotto it will cost you 18 Euro plus 13 Euro
for a total cost of 31 Euro ...






LINE-UP of BOATs to The BLUE GROTTO
You Take a Larger Boat From Marina Grande, Capri
to The Entrance of The Blue Grotto ..
You Then Take Transfer to a Small Rowboat that takes
you into The Fame BLUE GROTTO .. It's Absolutely
Spectacular and more than worth the effort.






MY BOATMAN GABRIELLE



That's Me About to Go in to The BLUE GROTTO






The BLUE GROTTO


"You've Got to See It in Person"

photos Copright 2015 Daniel Bellin Zwicke






Painting

THE BLUE GROTTO

nacapri, Capri, Italy






Grotto Azzuro


.


.





.
.

SUNDAY SAUCE
.


Learn How to Makee SUNDAY SAUCE
alla CLEMENZA
&
Other Great Dishes


SUNDAY SAUCE

by Daniel Bellino "Z"




 .



The LEMONCELLO SHOP CAPRI

.

 
 
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Friday, June 12, 2015

Take Me Back to Sorrento !!! Capri Amalfi & Napoli Too !!!

 
 
CAPRI
View From The TOp of Monte Solaro, Capri, Italy
with Faroglionni Rocks below ...
copyright 2015 Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
SORRENTO
A Classic View
VIEW of MARINA GRANDE CAPRI
From ANACAPRI
MARINA PICOLO CAPRI
with FARAGLIONI ROCKS in Distance
PIAZZA UMBERTO
ITALIAN BREAKFAST
A Typical Italian Breakfast
CAPPUCCINO e un CORNETTO
LIMONCELLO LADIES
ANACAPRI
CAPRI
GELATO
in
NAPOLI
My Favorite Lemonade Stand in Italy
Behind the famed Quississana Hotel
&
Across From CAESAR AUSUSTUS GARDENS, CAPRI
Also right by a Wonderful Little Hotel I Used to Stay At,
La TOSCA, a lovely little Hotel with the most Spectacular Views
of Capri and The Faralognni Rocks (most Iconic Symbol of Capri)
The Hotel is lovely and very affordle. I stayed ther in 1988, but stayed
in Anacapri this time at The Hotel Carmencita
Me at My Favorite Restorante in Positano
Da VINCENZO
With My ANtipasto of Polpo al Griglia e Carciofi Fritte
and a Nice Glass of Greco di Tufo local wine ...
SPAGHETTI VONGOLE
al Solotaria Restorante, Anacapri
 
 
RAVELLO
Villa Ruffoli
MINORI
The AMALFI COAST
 
View From The Terrazza at VILLA MARIA in Minori
LEMON GROVES at Villa Maria, Minor, Italy
WORLD'S BEST BREAKFAST
World's BestBreakfast? I Kid You Not!
This was my typical Breakfast (Colazione)
at Villa Maria each of My Three Wonderful  Days There
Vincenzo the owner Makes all types of different Jams
from the fruit he grows on his farmer way up in the hill of
the beautiful little town on The Amalfi Coast .. Villa Maria is
a wonderful little farm/ agroturismo Inn in the town of Minori, 
a cute little town if you want to be on the Amalfi Coast but away from
the madening crowds that overrun the gorgeous little town of Positano.
Vincenzo's main crop of his farm are Lemons with Olive Tree Groves,
Grapevines, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables, along with Chickens (for
meat & Eggs) and Pigs to make his awesome Homemade Salami. Vincenzo 
makes his own wine, Prosciutto, Pancetta, Coppa, and his tasty
homemade Fruit Jams which you spread on toast & Cornetto 's in the
morning for breakfast.
When dinner time comes, Maria (Vincenzo's wife) makes an awesome 
Four-Course Dinner with; Antipast to start, followed by some awesome pasta or another,
a main-course of fish, meat, or chicken, and ending with either Fruit or a Dessert that Maria makes (I love the Lemon Cake), and some of Vincenzo's Homemade Lemoncello.
And of course during the meal you'll get a bottle of either Vincenzo's own Vino Bianco or
Vino Rosso or both.
Villa Maria is one of the most special places you could ever want to stay at in your life.
It's a once in a lifetime experience that not many people get a chnace to do, and I reccommend going there most highly, "You will have the time of your life."
PACCHERI al FRUTTA di MARE
Mixed Seafood Pasta
"The Best Frutta di Mare Ever" !!!
Maria made me this awesome plate of pasta soon after my 
arrival. Vincenzo picked me up down in Minaori at
the wonderful Caffe Riso (Best Caffe & Pastry in Town)
and drove me u to his place (Villa Maria). When we got there
Vincenzo gave me a Lemonade made with his own Lemons. 
Best Lemonade of my life needless-to-say!
After I had my Lemonade and chit-chattted with Vincenzo
Maria & Nadia, I went to my room to take a show and freshen up 
after my trip from Napoli on the Circumvesuviano Train from
Naples to Sorrento, then a bus from Sorrento to Amalfi, and then
another bus from Amalfi to Minori, and finally a ride in Vincenzo's
little Fiat Panda Station Wagon from Minori by The Sea, up to
Minori in the Mountains below Ravello at Villa Maria.
So after I showered and put on some fresh clothes and went back out
to the terrace (terrazzo) Vincenzo asked me if I wantedd a little pasta?
Hell Yeah!!! Then Vincenzo asked if I wanted some wine. Again, Heck Yeah!
I had his Vino Bianco, and when he brought me the plate of pasta(Paccheri with 
Clams & Mussels) that Maria made me, 
I was in 7th Heaven!
La PASTA
con Vino Bianco Vincenzo
 
 
 
 
DSC01241
 
 
MARIA & VINCENZO
Agroturismo Villa Maria
Minori
 
 
DSC01244
 ME & VINCENZO
 
 
 
 
 
 
SUNDAY SAUCE
When Italian-americans Cook
by Daniel Bellino Zwicke
 
 
 
 
When Italian-Americans Cook
 
 
 
Spaghetti con Cozze
 
SPAGHETTI with MUSSELS
 
in 
 
SORRENTO
 
 
 
 
POSITANO
 
Classic Veiw of Positano, Amalfi Coast, Italy
 
 
 
 
 
 
Salumaria De Martino, Capri
 
Pinnino Buono
 
Sopresetta e Provola Affumicatto
 
 
RAVELLO
 
View From Villa Cimbrone 's Terrace of Infinity
 
Ravello on The Amalfi Coast Italy
05ff7-segret-small
 
 
 
All Photos Copyright 2015 Daniel Bellino-Zwicke