FRANK SINATRA 'S FAVORITE SPAGHETTI

FRANK & AVA

MANGIA BENE !

FRANK SINATRA'S Favorite 

SPAGHETTI with TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Small Onion, minced

1 28 oz. Can Whole Italian Plum Tomatoes

1/10 teaspoon Peperoncino (Red Pepper Flakes)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry Basil

1/4 teaspoon dry Oregano

7 cloves Garlic, peeled an left whole

1 lb Imported Italian Spaghetti

Best Quality Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Cooking Procedures:

1) Put Olive Oil and garlic cloves in a 3 quart or larger pot. Turn flame on to medium heat. Cook garlic for about four minutes until it is lightly browned. Remove garlic from pot and discard.

2) Put whole tomatoes in blender or food processor and blend for two minutes.

3) Add tomatoes and all remaining ingredients to pot. Bring the ingredients up to the boil, then lower flame until sauce is a a low gentle simmer. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping bottom of pot to keep sauce from burning.

4) After the sauce has been cooking for about 15 minutes, add Spaghetti to a separate pot of boiling salted water. Cook spaghetti according to directions on spaghetti package.

5) Drain the Spaghetti in a colander. Add spaghetti back to pot it cooked in. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix. Add half the Tomato Sauce and mix.

6) Plate out spaghetti onto four plates. Add a little more tomato sauce on top of already dressed Spaghetti. Serve and pass the Grated Cheesse. Enjoy!

To LEarn How to Make Frank Sinatra's Favorite Spaghetti and Other Great Recipes, See "La TAVOLA" by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Available in PAPERBACK and KINDLE for Kindle,  Kindle for iPad, Kindle           for iPhone,  and KINDLE for ANDROID

PATSY'S

NEW YORK
FRANK SINATRA'S

FAVORITE RESTAURANT

ESPRESSO ITALIAN AMERICAN STYLE

ESPRESSO

ITALIAN STYLE !!!

SANDWICHES "ITALIAN AMERICAN STYLE"

Italian-Americans love there sandwiches. They've got some famous ones that many non-Italians in America know of as well. Of course everyoen knows about Italian Submarine Sandwiches like the most typical of Salami, Ham, and Provolone with Lettuce, Onion, and Tomato dressed with Oil & Vinegar with Salt, Pepper and Oregano. Most everone knows about Meatball Parm Sandwiches and Sausage & Peppers. Those in New orleans and those who have visited the famed Central Groacery know of New Orleans Famous Sicilian-American Muffuletta Sandwich and those in Chicago have Italian Beef (Sandwiches), and Philly Famed Cheese-Steaks, "Yes They Are Italian." Italian-Americans have many great sandwiches that aren't quite as well know. And we like it that way. Hey we have to keep some things to ouselves. For example I have a famous Sandwich that my Aunt Helen taught me, and all my friends go nuts for it, "Aunt Helen's Panini al Ovo." The sandwich amazing! Made of spinach sauteed with olive oil and butter, with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and served on nice toasted Italian Bread, my friends go nuts for it. Sausage Pepper & Eggs or Sausage & Potato are a couple other Secret Sandwiches.

As I said my Aunt Helen's Panini al Ovo is famous, but famous just within a small group of a few who are Lucky to know of this rare Gem. Another one, is one I created by acccident one day. When I owned my restaruant Bar Cichetti on Houston Street in New York's Greenwich Village I created this tasty sandwich by accident one day. Before we started our lunch service one day, I had made a little plate of food for myself for lunch. The plate consisted of two Fried Eggs and 3 slices of Prosciutto di Parm with a couple slices of bread on the side. It made for a nice little lunch. One of my regular customers came in and saw me eating it and asked what it was, I told him, "Just a couple Fried Eggs with Prosciutto." He said, "Hhumm." A few minutes later one of my waitresses came in and said the guy wanted some Prosciutto with Fried Eggs. I made it and sent it out. She cam back and saide the guy wanted some Garlic Bread. I made him some Tuscan Garlic Bread of toasted Italian Bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with Olive Oil. The guy loved it. A couple days later, for my own lunch I decided to make the Fried Eggs with Prosciutto and put it on a taosted hero-roll as a sandwich. Voila a new sandwich was created.

So there you go, you've got the famous well-known Italian-Sandwiches, you've got lesser known regional ones like Italian-Beef of Chicago and the Muffuletta of New Orleans. Then you've got Secret Sandwiches like my "Aunt Hellen's Panini al Ovo" and my own "Ovo Frittti con Prosciutto," what's better than that?

READ ALL ABOUT ITALIAN-AMERICAN SANDWICHES

in Daniel Bellino's "La TAVOLA"

ITALIAN-AMERICAN NEW YORKERS ADVENTURES of The TABLE

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO at ARMANI RESTORNATE

With Director  MARTIN SCORSESE

Leonardo DiCaprio & Martin Scorsese

Armani Restorante

NEW YORK

ARMANI CHEAPER THAN CARBONE RESTORANTE

ARMANI RESTORANTE

New York

Armani Restorante is Cheaper Than Carbone. That's not that hard. With Veal Parmigiano at $50, Veal Marsala $52 and $45 per person for Hot Antipasto, it's hard to be more expensive than Carbone, the so-called Torrisi Boys latest and flagship restaurant Carbone on Thompson STreet in New York's Greenwich Village ...  Armani has $11 a bottle minerale water, but they also have bottles of wine as low as $39 which is dam cheap and which Pete Wells currectly stated in his 2 Star Review (NY Times) of Armani Restorante that that $39 is cheaper than most so-called inexpensive downtown Italian Trattoria's.

$50 Veal Parm at Carbone

A few things you'll be able to count on as concerns Armani Restorant and Carbone is that #1 Armani will most likely not stant the test of time, as Carbone dispite its high-prices probably will. Armani is very Chi-Chi .. The decor at Armani to slick and again Chi-Chi to be warm and inviting. The food at Armani is also Chi-Chi, untraditional and "Trying Too Hard" type of food that when it comes to Italian Food in New York, "It Will Not Fly." We want great tasty food that is conssitently good and traditional. It's OK to have some invented and dazzling dishes, but the base and bulk of the menu should be traditonal dishes that are well executed, tasty, and excellent, which Armani is not ...  You can bet money in 12 years from now Carbone will most likely still be here, Armani Restaurant will not. Basta!

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

BEST EGGPLANT PARM In TOWN

BAR PITTI

Melanzane alla Parmigano

ITALIAN

For 

EGGPLANT PARM

BAR PITTI'S Is The BEST in NEW YORK

DeGrezia Gets Runner-Up

Eggplant Parmigiano, not an easy dish to get right. Good that is. Tasty, prepared properly. Eggplant is a hard thing to work with, not everyone knows how, Giovanni Tognozzi and his boys (Cooks) know how .. They know their stuff those guys who work the kitchen at what I call New York's Best Italian Restaurant, "Yes Bar Pitti." Some may disagree, but they probably don't know what they're talking about, maybe they do. In that cas, lets just say "They have their opinion, I have mine," and Bar Pitti is top notch, thee A # 1 Best Italian Restaurant in New York, not an easy task. They prove it over-and-over-again. They proved it to me again today, with the Meleanzane alla Parmigiano, it's awesome, and as good as it gets. I should know, I'm Sicilian, and we eat more Eggplant than any other region of Italy. They eat a lot in Napoli, but the Sicilians have them beat. Sicilians are the King of Eggplant when it comes to Eggplant Dishes in Italy. The Sicilians have they famed dish Caponata, a sweet and sour eggplant stew that when done right, by a master, it simply devine, as is mine if I must say so myself. I worked on that recipe for more than a year, tweeking it, getting the right balance of eggplant to tomato to onions, to olive oil, celery, sugar and vinegar, topped off with some nice big fat Green Sicilian Olives. Dam, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it, The Caponata, "My caponata," not many can make it as good as mine, "No Brag, Just Fact." 

Sicilian Eggpnat Dishes? They grill it and dress it with Olive Oil and Vinegar, season with salt & pepper of course. It's quite a good antipasto item. The there's the famed Pasta alla Norma, a pasta dish made with eggplant sauteed with garlic, olive oil, and tomatoes, and topped with grated Ricotta Salata Cheese .. You can use whatever pasta you like, Spaghetti, Bucatini, Cavatelli, Rigatone, whatever .. The best in New York can be found at Degrezia Restaurant on East 5oth Street in Midtown Manhattan. Their Pasta alla Norma which they call Gargenelli alla Siciliana at Degrezia is awesome. DeGrezia is a hidden Gem that not everyone knows about, but those "In-The-Know" have it down as one of the Best In The City, best Italian Restaurants that is. Check it out on Zagat, they got very high marks.

Hey, anyway I got off on the beaten track a minute as I often do. I start out talking about Bar Pitti and their awesome Eggplant Parm, then I'm on to these eggplant dishes of Sicily and wind up talking about Pasat alla Siciliana at DeGrezia. Well, one thing often leads to the other.

Let's get back to Bar Pitti and their Melanzane Parmigiano and why Bar Pitti is New York's BEst Italian Restaurant. Well, they prove it over and over again. The food is great, authentic, done right and consistently so. The ambiance is nice, they have nice wines, and pretty good service. And the prices, though not cheap, are fair. Well the Food at Bar Pitti is quite simply, Great. And it's always great. I've eaten at Bar Pitti more than 200 times over the years and every dish I've ever had has been excellent or dam close to it. I've had the egplant parm there befor, and have always like it. I got it today when I ran into some friends (as I often do) sitting outside. They told me to sit down and have a glass of wine. I did. I was a bit hungry and ordered the Melanzane Parmigiano. Befor it came, my buddy Mike let me have one piece of hsi Coda di Vaccinara (Roman Braised Oxtails), which might very well be my single most favorite dish at the place (love the Trippa) as well. The Oxtails were a special that they serve about 2 - 3 times a week, and they are superb. My friends Michael and Jasmine had already ordered and when he told me he had ordered the Braised Oxtails, my interest was peaked. I thought about getting them but decided against it as I didn't feel like having so much meat on these day. I'm a Meatatarian (I eat meat, but less, about 3 times a week). Well problem was solved when Michaels Oxtails came, he looked at his dish, and said I could have one piece. Awesome! I ordered the Eggplant Parm, had a piece of Oxtail with a bit of the Soft Polenta and a few pieces of sauteed zucchini which were unsurprisingly perfect. That's Bar Pitti for you, usually perfect or near to it. Bar Pitti, New York's Best Eggplant Parm, Coda d' Vaccinara (Braised Oxtails), and quite simply New York's number # 1 Italian Restaurant. Basta!

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

BAR PITTI

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT

in

NEW YORK

Best EGGPLANT

and Braised Oxtails Too

THE CORLEONES of Francis Ford Coppola's The GODFATHER

THE CORLEONE'S
MICHAEL, DON VITO, SONNY, & FREDDO

From left to right: Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, and John Casale

VITO WHACKS DON FANUCCI

Young Vito Corleone

Played by Robert DiNero

The GODFATHER II