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

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARIA & VINCENZO

Agroturismo Villa Maria

Minori

 

 

 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

 

 

 

All Photos Copyright 2015 Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Big Boys of Italian Wine New York 2015

Winebow Top Italian Wine Producers in New York

at The KIMBERLY HOTEL .. Mid-Town NEW YORK

The KING of BARBARESCO

ITALO STUPINO

ITALALO STUPINO  "The KING of BARBARESCO'

with Author / Italian Wine-Guy DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Italo Stupino is a Top Producer of one of Italy's most Prestigious Indigenous

Wines, BARBARESCO .. To me he is The KING of BARBARESCO, and I'd

take a Barbaresco made by Italo over one made by Angelo Gaja Any Day

of The Week ... Italo owns a beautiful Barbaresco producing property

CASTELLO di NEIVE in Neive Peidmonte, Italy ...

Italo makes World Class Barbaresco including his base Barbaresco

Castello Neive, Barbaresco Santa Stephano which is a famous

site specific "Single Vineyard" of which Italo is the stole owner ..

A small portion (20%) of this famous vineyard is planted to Barbera, for

his Babera d'Alba Santa Stephano, while the remainder of the vineyard

is planted to Nebbiolo for his famous Barbaresco Santa Stepahano ..

Italo's Base Barbaresco has quite a great pedigree as well with grapes

coming form the famed Gallina Vineyard and other site specific vineyards.

I've been selling Italo's fabulous Barbaresco and Barbera at DeGrezia Restaurant

(New York) for quite some time, and I'm a big advocate of Mr. Stupino, who I fell is one

of the best, if not the # 1 best producer of Barbaresco wines. At the restaurant, I sell Italo's

wines all the time, and tell my clients about him, his wonderful wines, and his vineyards.

I got to chat with Italo of r good 20 minutes at this tasting today, and learned quite a bit

more things about Italo and his renowned Barbaresco's and vineyard. Like the fact that his

has been producing Blanc Noir Spumante made of 100% Pinot Noir, and that it will be available in New York and the U.S. very soon.

Italo was showing me a beautiful old Map of his Santa Stephano Vineyard that was

drawn-up in 1700  .. He also showed me a current picture of this storied vineyard and he showed me a spot on it where he is growing Hazelnuts along with Barbera and the

rnowned Nebbiolo for his Barbaresco Santa Stephano ..

to be continued ...

Anna Teifenbruner

Her Family Makes Awesome Whites

Like Feldmarshal Muller Thurrgau

A bottle of which Anna is holding ...

Fillipo Zardetto & Daniel Bellino Z

Great PROSECCO

IT EQUALS a MIAMI POSITANO MASH-UP Says NEW YORK MAGAZINES ADAM PLATT of SAMTINA

SANTINA

in

THE MEATPACING DISTRICT

.

.

.

 

photo Copyright Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

2 STARS FROM NEW YORK TIMES

The TORRISI BOYS

RICH TORRISI

&

MARIO CARBONE

Roast Peppers

RIGATONI

PASTA alla NORMA

.

.

 ITALIAN GRAVY !!!!

SUNDAY SAUCE

by Daniel Bellino Z

.

.

SANTINA REVIEW NY TIMES

Zuppa di Cucuzza "Gagootza"

ZUPPA di CUCUZZA

 

"THATS a GAGOOTZA" !!!

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA 

by Daniel Bellino "Z"

 

on

A Kickstarter Project

 

 

RECIPE

 

Zuppa di Cucuzza

 

Excerpted Form Daniel Bellino's

 

Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook

 

 

 

 

ZUPPA di CUCUZZA

    “Gagootz” !!!!

This is a soup that my mother used to make every now and then. Usually when her friend Mary Santangelo gave her a couple big Cucuzza, from their backyard garden in Garfield. My mother Lucia learned this recipe from her mother who used to make it back in Sicily, and she learned how to make it from her mother, my Great Grandmother Salemi. This dish is one of the quintessential recipes of this book, and also of both the Italian-American and Sicilian-American table as a whole, and of course of Sicilians in Sicily, especially in the years of the first 70 years of the 20^th Century from around 1900 to 1970’s or so. The soup is easy to make and quite economical, feeding about 15 or 16 portions of which you can serve over a 3 - 4 day time. Cucuzza are not always available in every store, however more and more super markets are carrying them during their growing season, and you can always get them at any produce store that specializes in Italian foods.

This soup is a soup of course, but almost a pasta dish as well, and you can vary the amount of pasta as you like. Cooking pasta separately on the side and when you are serving it, you will use double the amount of pasta or more, with less liquid in the soup and using the soup actually as a sauce. I always do this, as there are always leftovers when making a pot of it, and serving it as a pasta is a nice welcome alternative to give one variety from the same dish. I do the same with Lentil Soup to make Pasta Lenticchie, a pasta dish. In addition, if you like, you can sauté one link of Italian Sweet or Hot Sausage, serve up the soup as either pasta or soup and add a link of sausage or two to each plate. You will love it any way you do, as do the Bellino’s and millions of other Italian’s have over the years. So make it, and enjoy, and always Mangia Bene Amici!

GAGOOTZ

 

RECIPE :

1 large Cucuzza ak.a. Gagootz

1 large onion, peeled and diced

6 Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced thin

8 tablespoons Olive Oil

½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

½ tsp. Black Pepper

6 Plum Tomatoes, chopped

1 pound fresh cooked Fava Beans, or frozen Baby Lima Beans (or canned lima beans)

1 pound imported Italian Ditalini (or Ronzoni)

Cut off ends of the Cucuzza and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Cut the Cucuzza in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.

Put olive oil and cucuzza in a large 6-quart pot. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes more.

Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add red pepper, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Add water and cook on medium-low heat for 12 minutes.

Add Fava Beans (or Lima Beans) and cook on low heat for 6 minutes.

Cook Ditalini according to directions on package. When finished cooking, drain in a colander, making sure to reserve 2 – 3 cups of water to add to soup.

Add all the pasta to the soup. Add salt 7 Black Pepper and stir.

Add water little by little to the soup until you reach the consistency that you like. The soup should be fairly thick, yet slightly watery.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top of each bow of soup and pass grated cheese for your guest to put in their soup.

Save any remaining soup in a closed container to enjoy anytime for lunch, dinner, or anytime in-between.

 

 

ZUPPZ di CUCUZZA

 

 

Mangia Bene !!!

 

 

 

RECIPES in GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

 

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

 

by Daniel Bellino "Z"

 

YOU CAN BE a PART of DANIEL'S WONDERFUL NEW PROJECT

 

DONATE a LITTLE & COLLECT YOUR SPECIAL REWARD

 

 

 

 

 

ALSO by DANIEL

 

 

SUNDAY SAUCE

 

WHEN ITALIAN-AMERICANS COOK

on AMAZON.com

 

 

 

AL PACINO SPAGHETTI RECIPE

AL PACINO

 

and AGLIO OLIO

 

 

"SPAGHETTI THAT IS" !!!

 

 

SPAGHETTI AGLIO OLIO

 

alla AL

 

 

 

AL PACINO & AGLIO OLIO

 

Al Pacino and Aglio Olio you ask? What about it? Well it’s just that Spaghetti Aglio Olio always reminds me of that great fellow New Yorker Sicilian American, the one-and-only Al Pacino from da Bronx. It’s not a big deal, just a wonderful little memory for me. When I was the Wine Director at the famed Barbetta Restorante on Restaurant Row in New York’s Theater District (where Al often performs on stage), Al Pacino used to come and eat there every now and then. He never wanted anything to fancy, but something that just about all true blooded Italian-American wants, and that dish is Spaghetti Aglio Olio, plain and simple, yet it’s in our blood. That’s what Al wanted and that’s what we gave him, and Al loved it and you will too.

Recipe Excerpted

from Grandma Bellino's Cookbook

 

Recipe

AMAZON.com

 

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

 

the Way AL Likes It !!!

 

"Al Pacino That Is"

 

 

 

Recipe Excerpted From Daniel Bellino's Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook

 

Note : Note, the recipe for Spaghetti Aglio Olio as Al Pacino likes it and as it's written in Daniel Bellino's Grandma Bellino's Cookbook, encompasses Two-Recipes-In-One .. You have the Recipe for Spaghetti w/ Garlic Oil & Anchovies, and to make Spaghetti Aglio Olio the way AL Likes It, is by making this recipe, but omitting the Anchovies to end up with Spaghetti Aglio Olio, just the way the Great Al Pacino likes it. 

Mangia Bene!

RECIPE

 

INGREDIENTS :

 

¼ cup best quality Italian Olive Oil

6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and minced

½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

6 Anchovy Filets minced fine

1 pound imported Italian Spaghetti

¼ cup Italian Parsley

Put a large pot with 4 quarts of water on the stove. Add 2 tablespoons salt and bring to the boil.

Place Olive Oil and Anchovies in a large frying pan and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add garlic and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add red pepper and continue cooking on low heat until the garlic begins to turn slightly brown. Turn heat off and let rest.

Add spaghetti to the boiling salted water. Cook spaghetti according to directions on package. Two minutes before the cooking time on package start testing the done-ness of the spaghetti by taking a strand out of the water and biting into it to see how far cooked it. By doing this you’ll be able to determine if it needs to cook a bit longer or if it’s ready.

Once the past is finished cooking, quickly remove it from the heat and drain into a colander, reserving about 4 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to add to pasta sauce.

Add spaghetti back to the pot it cooked in and drizzle on a little olive oil and mix. Pour the garlic anchovy sauce and the reserved pasta water over the spaghetti with half the chopped Parsley and mix well.

 

Divide the spaghetti among four pasta plates or bowls. Sprinkle the top of each plate of Spaghetti with some chopped parsley and serve.

 

 

The GODFATHER

Micahel Corleone (Al Pacino), Captain McCloskey (Sterling Hayden),

and Sollozzo (Al Lettieri)

 

 

"GET THE VEAL. IT'S THE BEST in THE CITY"

 

 

MICHAEL NEVER ATE HIS SPAGHETTI AGLIO OLIO

 

BUT SOLLOZZO GOT HIS

 

 

MICHAEL GETS HIS REVENGE

 

 

 

 

 

GET THIS RECIPE AND MUCH MORE

 

in

 

GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

 

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN GRANDMOTHER

 

by Daniel Bellino "Z"

 

 

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

GIUSEPPINA SALEMI BELLINO

AMAZON.com

 

 

 

 

 

ONE LEAST PICTURE of AL

 

 

Al Pacino

 

as 

 

Bobby Deerfield

 

1977

 

 

HE'S a HANDSOME FRIGGIN DEVIL

 

ISN'T HE ???

 

 

 

ALSO by DANIEL

His # BEST SELLING

SUNDAY SAUCE

SUNDAY SAUCE

AMAZON.com

ITALIAN NATIONAL TEAM

SOCCER - FUTBOL

TEE SHIRT

 

 

New SICILIAN COOKBOOK

GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK  -  RECIPES From MY SICILIAN NONNA by Daniel Bellino

 

This Is The WORKING COVER

MEANING NOT THE FINAL COVER

 

 

 

 

OK !  Here's The NEW COVER !!!

 

Best Selling Italian Cookbook Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke has a new cookbook. It's not out yet, but is due for a April or May 2015 release. Daniel is the Best Selling Author of such favorite Italian Cookbooks as; SUNDAY SAUCE, La TAVOLA, SEGRETO ITALIANO

Secret Italian Recipes, and THE FEAST of THE 7 FISH  - ITALIAN CHRISTMAS, as well as one non-Italian Cookbook GOT ANY KAHLUA ? The COLLECTED RECIPES of THE DUDE, aka THE BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK.

Daniel says his latest book Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook is a collection of recipes of his Maternal Granmother Josephina Salemi Bellino ... He says, the book is made up mostly of his grandmother recipes that are mostly of Sicilian or Sicilian-American origins, but not completely ... Though more than 80% of the recipes are from his Nonna Josephina Bellino, some are from other family members like the authors sister Barbara, his mother Lucia, Uncle Tony, Aunt Fran, AUnt Helen and others. And as many of the recipes are Sicilian, some are Neapolitan, Roman, and other regiosn of Italy as his grandmother got recipes from some of her new neighbors who had immigrated to New York and New Jersey from other regions of Italy, mostly from the South.

There are recipes for; Pasta e Gagootz, Caponatina, Timballo di Agneletti, and Melanzane Beccaficio (all Sicilian) as well as Mussels Marinara, Stuffed Artichokes, Spaghetti Pomodro, all made all over Italy, as well as Spaghetti Meatballs and other Italian-American creations.

ALSO by DANIEL BELLINO "Z"

 

 

SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook

 

 

SEGRETO ITALIANO

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

 

 

 

THE FEAST of THE 7 FISH

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

"And Not Just Chrtistmas"

 

 

La TAVOLA

Italian-American New Yorkers

Adventures of The Table