The Feast of The 7 Fish, a popular cookbook celebrating the Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition. The book features recipes, stories, and instructions for preparing the multi-course seafood meal, often called La Vigilia.
About Daniel Bellino-Zwicke:
He is a long-time Italian food and wine professional from New York.
He has worked as a chef, wine director, and managing partner at various restaurants, including
Bar Cichetti
, which he founded.
Bellino-Zwicke has authored several best-selling Italian cookbooks, including Sunday Sauce, Ragu Bolognese Cookbook, and Positano The Amalfi Coast Cookbook.
He often writes about Italian-American cuisine and culture, incorporating personal stories and travel experiences.
The book serves as both a cookbook and a cultural guide to the traditional meal.
It provides historical context for the Southern Italian and Italian-American Christmas Eve feast.
The recipes include traditional dishes such as Baked Clams Oreganta, Seafood Salad, Linguine with Clam Sauce, and Mussels Marinara.
The book aims to preserve and share the family tradition, which has often been passed down orally through generations.
The tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes:
Origin: It is an Italian-American tradition that evolved from the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on the eve of holy days. While fish-centric meals are common in Southern Italy, the specific "seven fishes" tradition is largely an American development.
Symbolism: The number seven can symbolize various things, including the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, the seven hills of Rome, or the seven days of creation.
The meal: It is a multi-course dinner featuring a variety of seafood, which can include baccalà (salt cod), calamari, clams, mussels, and eel. The specific dishes often vary by region and family tradition
Based on recent culinary publications, the connection between Al Pacino and Daniel Bellino-Zwicke is a recipe for Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil, which Bellino-Zwicke named "Spaghetti alla Pacino"
. The recipe was featured in Bellino-Zwicke's 2025 book Sunday Sauce and was based on a dish the actor supposedly enjoyed at a New York restaurant.
The story behind the recipe:
Culinary author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke was inspired to write about the dish after hearing that Al Pacino enjoyed a simple pasta with garlic and oil while dining at the restaurant Barbetta in New York.
Bellino-Zwicke included his version of the recipe, along with the story of Pacino's meal, in his cookbook Sunday Sauce.
Following the book's publication and coverage by Parade Magazine in April 2025, the story of "Pacino's favorite pasta" gained widespread attention.
No credible sources indicate a more substantive or personal connection between the two individuals. The association appears to be centered entirely on Bellino-Zwicke naming a recipe after the actor.
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke is a culinary author and chef known for creating New York-Italian cuisine inspired by classic mafia movies like
The Godfather. His connection to actor Al Pacino comes from writing about Pacino's favorite pasta dish.
The story behind "Pacino Pasta":
Bellino-Zwicke previously worked as a chef at
Barbetta Ristorante
, a New York City restaurant that Al Pacino frequented.
He prepared Pacino's favorite dish, spaghetti with garlic and oil (aglio e olio), for him multiple times.
Bellino-Zwicke included the story and the recipe, which he named "Spaghetti alla Pacino," in his book Sunday Sauce.
The story gained wider attention when it was featured in Parade Magazine in April 2025.
Other links to Al Pacino
The Godfather Cookbook: Bellino-Zwicke has promoted a cookbook inspired by The Godfather, with recipes for dishes like "Sunday Sauce alla Clemenza".
Online content: Bellino-Zwicke writes about his New York-Italian food and the Pacino story on his websites and social media.
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's background -
He is a New York-based Italian-American chef and food writer.
His work often blends his family's Sicilian-American culinary traditions with references to Italian-American culture, including movies and mob history.
Yes, they go together, Francis Albert Sinatra & Sunday Sauce ...
FRANCIS ALBERT
"Ah SALUTE" !
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.
Searching for "Spaghetti & Meatballs" returns several results, but not for a specific dish or recipe with that name
. The most likely interpretations of this query are:
A recipe by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, a food writer who publishes Spaghetti and Meatballs recipes on his blog.
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's Spaghetti & Meatballs
Author and food blogger Daniel Bellino-Zwicke has written about Spaghetti and Meatballs on several occasions, referencing the dish in his book SUNDAY SAUCE and on his food blog. For many, the association comes from the tradition of simmering a sauce all day with different meats, including meatballs. He's known for sharing classic Italian-American recipes rooted in Bellino Family tradition.
Place the olive oil and garlic in a 4-6 quart stainless steel pol. Turn flame onto low and cook garlic for 3 minutes, making sure not to burn.
Add the red pepper flakes. Add the Tomato Passata. Turn heat to high. Cook until the tomatoes start to bubble, than turn the heat down very low. Cook for 20 minutes.
Add the fresh Basil, and cook 10-15 minutes more. As the sauce cooks be sure to stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.
MEATBALLS :
MEATBALLS - Ingredients;
2 & 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
3 large Eggs
1 cup Breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
1 teaspoon each - Salt & ground Black Pepper
First mix the Breadcrumbs and 3/4 cup of water or milk together in a large mixing bowl.
Add all the remaining meatball ingredients to the bowl and mix.
Roll the meatballs: Mix until just combined, then form the mixture into meatballs of your desired size.
Brown the meatballs: Heat olive oil in a large pot or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in batches and brown them on all sides. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
Once the meatballs have finished browning, put into the tomato sauce, and let simmer on a low flame for 15- 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through, and no longer raw in the center.
Cook Spaghetti in a large pot of boing salted water according to the directions on package.
Once the Spaghetti is finished cooking, drain into a colander.
Place the Spaghetti back in the pot it cooked in and add 2-3 cups the Tomato Sauce to the Spaghetti. mix until the Spaghetti is coated with the sauce.
Place the Spaghetti onto 4-5 plates, in equal portions. Add about 1/2 cup sauce to the top of each plate of Spaghetti.
Place 2 to 3 Meatballs on each plate, and top each meatball with a bit more Tomato Sauce.
Serve and Enjoy! Serve with grated Pecorino or Parmigiana Cheese on the side.
"MANGIA BENE" !!!
Recipe Excerpted from "SUNDAY SAUCE" by Daniel Bellino
SAUCE, GRAVY, SUNDAY SAUCE, "RED SAUCE" or SUGO ? What is it. It can be a couple different things. It depends on who you are talking to, if they are Italian-American or not, where their family comes from in Italy, and what Italian Enclave in America they grew up in : New York City, Boston, New Jersey, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, or wherever?
Some, when they say Sauce, Sugo, or Gravy, they can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with or without meat in it. They can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with Meat in it, and the Sauce is served, dressing Maccheroni, but with the Sauce removed, for the Meat ( or Meats) to be served later in the meal, or put aside, refrigerated and served at another time.
Usually, when someone says "Gravy" they are referring to a sauce made with Tomatoes that meats, such as Italian Sausages, Braciola, Pork Ribs, Meatballs, and or Pork or Beef Neck, maybe chicken parts, Beef Chuck, or veal, in which the sauce is cooked with any combination of some of these meats mentioned, and possibly other meats, such as Lamb or Beef Short Ribs, whatever?
There is no one right answer to what is Italian-American Gravy, "Sauce" Sunday Gravy, Sugo, or Sunday Sauce. Again, it just depends on who is talking and their family background and history. There is now one standard answer, "No Right or Wrong." The main and most important thing is that the dish taste good.
Ragù in Naples is religion. A preparation that takes a very long time and requires considerable attention: it is not enough to cook meat and sauce for a long time. It takes seven or eight hours for this Sunday lunch dressing, so much so that the most shrewd recipes recommend leaving on Saturday: in fact, although in Naples you have a late lunch, and on Sunday even more, you should wake up before dawn to be ready just in time. In addition, the next day the sauce, as happens with many traditional preparations, condenses and settles, becoming even richer and full of nuances.
Eduardo De Filippo's memorable comedy, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, revolves around a meat sauce, and in the most realistic stagings the initial sauté is really prepared, spreading an incredible smell from the stage to the whole theater. Eduardo himself dedicated a short and beautiful poem to the ragù. The most evident peculiarity of the Neapolitan ragù is that, unlike the Bolognese sauce, the meat is not minced but comes in whole pieces: hence both the need to cook longer, and the possibility of having a complete meal, sauce to season the pasta and meat for the main course. The long preparation makes this recipe perfect for when we have a lot of time to spend at home: let's give it a try.
Meat and other ingredients of Neapolitan Ragù
What is the right meat to make ragù? Here there are as many versions as there are families in Naples and its surroundings. The general agreement is that a mixture of types is needed, certainly beef, but going into the specifics here are the differences: there are those who mix beef and pork and those who consider pork out of place; there are those who put sausages and those who even put meatballs in it; There are those who make a rind roll and those who add the further complication of the chop. Which is not grilled meat but the way it is called a particular wrap made with the locena (under the shoulder), stuffed with salt, pepper, raisins, pine nuts, chopped garlic and parsley, diced pecorino cheese.
Let's take an average between the most fundamentalist traditions and a availability within anyone's reach, and let's get the following cuts: a first choice of beef such as colarda (culata) or pezza a cinnamon (shoulder), a second choice such as lacerto (girello or magatello), a cut of pork such as tracchie or tracchiulelle (trimmings). Another key ingredient is tomato paste. Finally, the ideal would be to cook the Neapolitan-style ragù in the cuoccio, which is a terracotta pot.
The preparation of Neapolitan ragù
Sauté the onion in extra virgin olive oil, very gently. Add the meat and brown it well on all sides, always over low heat. Let it evaporate with the wine, strictly red: this operation should be carried out several times, not in one fell swoop. Then add the tomato paste a little at a time, making sure that it darkens but does not burn. During these operations, the meat will have to be turned over several times, so it is not the time to move away and lose sight of the sauce. Finally, add the tomato puree, possibly with half a glass of water, no more, and raising the heat gently, and for no more than a few minutes, just to rebalance the insertion of cold ingredients.
At this point, and at least two hours will have passed, the ragù must pippiare: this is the secret of the Neapolitan ragù, an effect that does not correspond precisely to the Italian simmering, and which consists of a slow evaporation, which produces an almost imperceptible noise and a movement bordering on the invisible on the surface of the sauce. To obtain it, it must not be covered - otherwise all the steam would condense and fall back into the sauce, watering it down - nor leave uncovered, at the risk of not being able to keep the temperature stable: place the lid slightly offset on one side, and held up on the other side with the inevitable wooden spoon.
This very thick and dark sauce is perfect for seasoning a large pasta such as paccheri, but its traditional accompaniment is smooth zite broken by hand. Welcome to Naples.
