How to Make Stuffed Artichokes

    

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

     Stuffed Artichokes are another of my very first remembrances of Italian food. We are of Sicilian ancestry and Artichokes (Carciofi) along with Eggplant (Melanzane) are a very prominent part of the Sicilian Table. And as far as Italian-Americans go, when it comes to Artichokes and their preparation, stuffing them was the preferred way to go. Yes, every now and them we might have a Artichoke Frittata, or Pasta con Carciofi, but 98% of the time, when Italian-Americans get Artichokes at the market, you’re going to get them stuffed. There’s a reason for that, it’s the tastiest and most whimsical way to go. Yes whimsical, or so I always thought so, especially as a young boy, whenever my mom made them, I’d get quite excited, there’s nothing quite like a Stuffed Artichoke. All my life I’ve always viewed them as a very special treat. Stuffed with breadcrumbs that are flavored with garlic, oregano, parsley, and grated Pecorino or Parmigiano, yes these crazy looking vegetable are always a special treat, for eating a stuffed artichoke is unlike eating anything else. When making a stuffed artichoke you have to cut the spikey tips on the end of the leaves, and remove the center choke that you fill them with the tasty a breadcrumb stuffing, which also goes in-between the leaves. You then cook them with garlic and olive oil and a bit of water until done, and then the fun really begins, eating it.    Eating your Stuffed Artichoke is a great adventure, and there’s nothing quite like it in the whole wide culinary world. These baby’s look like some sort of Medieval Weapon or something, spirally with layers and layers of thorny tips. And now you’re going to dig into it. You have your Artichoke before, all hot and steamy and stuffed with that tasty breadcrumb filling in the middle, stuffed and overflowing between the leaves. You pull off you first leave, that’s cooked tender and juicy and has a bit of the stuffing upon its surface. You put the artichoke leave in-between you upper and lower teeth and the bite down onto the leave. Then you must pull the leave from back to front, all the time biting down on the leave and this way you will scrape that little bit of artichoke meat on the leaf, along with the breadcrumbs into your mouth for that little savory treat of one leaf of your stuffed artichoke. You will continue the process of eating the leaves one at a time until they are all gone. Well, you don’t actually eat the whole leaf, but you are scraping off that little bit of the edible flesh of each leaf, and breadcrumbs one-by one until they are all gone. That was quite fun and tasty to boot, and now your are left with the special prize of the Heart of the Artichoke, and any breadcrumb stuffing that is left. There’s some braising liquid as well. You’re in for the last special treat of your prized Artichoke and yes it is oh so very good. Better than good, it fabulous. This is the story of Stuffed Artichokes and the memories of eating them. Have you any? If not, then you should do so soon, and you’re in for a special treat.    A Stuffed Artichokes is a special treat Italian have been eating for years. Italian immigrants to American have been eating them for more than one hundred years now. They are one of our most prized items and are especially beloved in Italian-American enclaves all over the country. We love them in New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Baltimore, but no more so than in the great southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana where the popularity of the Stuffed Artichoke is at its zenith. Why? Well, there are no Italians who love and eat Stuffed Artichokes more than the Sicilians. The Stuffed Artichoke is mostly of the south of Italy, around Naples and Puglia, but at its strongest in the great region of Sicily, where artichokes were most likely imported into Sicily by the Arabs and later spread through other parts of Italy.    Yes, if you go down to New Orleans you’ll see Stuffed Artichokes all over the place. They are a popular deli item, especially if the owners are Italian-Americans you might see a tray of Stuffed Artichoke at the counter, cooked and ready to go. They are so popular in New Orleans that they have spread to the whole populous, becoming favorites of not just the Italians, but all other ethnic peoples of the great city of New Orleans. Artichoke, stuffed, they’re a special indulgence. If you’ve had them you know why. It’s time to indulge in one of your own.     Excerpted from Daniel Bellino's newest forthcoming cookbook ; Mangia Italiano   RECIPE : Ingredients: 4 large, full-size artichokes 1 lemon, halved 1 3⁄4 cups dried breadcrumbs 1 cup grated pecorino 1⁄3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped 10 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Using a serrated knife, cut off artichoke stems to create a flat bottom. Cut top quarter off artichokes, pull off tough outermost leaves, and trim tips of leaves with kitchen shears. Fill a large pot with water and 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to the boil. Put artichokes in the pot. Once the water comes to the boil, cook the artichokes in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove artichokes from water and set aside. Open artichoke leaves with your thumbs to make room for stuffing; set aside. Heat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine garlic, breadcrumbs, 3⁄4 cup pecorino, parsley, salt, pepper, half the olive oil, and 6 tablespoons of water. Take each artichoke and spread leaves apart in order to fill with breadcrumb stuffing. Working with one artichoke at a time over bowl, sprinkle one-quarter of breadcrumb mixture over each artichoke and work it in between leaves. Once all the artichokes are filled with the bread stuffing, transfer the stuffed artichoke to a shallow baking dish. Drizzle each artichoke with 1-tablespoon oil. Pour in boiling water to a depth of 1" .. Cover pan and artichokes with foil. Bake Artichokes until a knife easily slides into the base of an artichoke, about 35- 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle tops with remaining cheese. Turn heat up to 400 degrees and bake for 8 minutes more.

        

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

LEARN HOW To 

MAKE LUCIA'S STUFFED ARTICHOKES

SICILIAN STYLE

.

How to Make Stuffed Artichokes

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

   Stuffed Artichokes are another of my very first remembrances of Italian food. We are of Sicilian ancestry and Artichokes (Carciofi) along with Eggplant (Melanzane) are a very prominent part of the Sicilian Table. And as far as Italian-Americans go, when it comes to Artichokes and their preparation, stuffing them was the preferred way to go. Yes, every now and them we might have a Artichoke Frittata, or Pasta con Carciofi, but 98% of the time, when Italian-Americans get Artichokes at the market, you’re going to get them stuffed. There’s a reason for that, it’s the tastiest and most whimsical way to go. Yes whimsical, or so I always thought so, especially as a young boy, whenever my mom made them, I’d get quite excited, there’s nothing quite like a Stuffed Artichoke. All my life I’ve always viewed them as a very special treat. Stuffed with breadcrumbs that are flavored with garlic, oregano, parsley, and grated Pecorino or Parmigiano, yes these crazy looking vegetable are always a special treat, for eating a stuffed artichoke is unlike eating anything else. When making a stuffed artichoke you have to cut the spikey tips on the end of the leaves, and remove the center choke that you fill them with the tasty a breadcrumb stuffing, which also goes in-between the leaves. You then cook them with garlic and olive oil and a bit of water until done, and then the fun really begins, eating it.    Eating your Stuffed Artichoke is a great adventure, and there’s nothing quite like it in the whole wide culinary world. These baby’s look like some sort of Medieval Weapon or something, spirally with layers and layers of thorny tips. And now you’re going to dig into it. You have your Artichoke before, all hot and steamy and stuffed with that tasty breadcrumb filling in the middle, stuffed and overflowing between the leaves. You pull off you first leave, that’s cooked tender and juicy and has a bit of the stuffing upon its surface. You put the artichoke leave in-between you upper and lower teeth and the bite down onto the leave. Then you must pull the leave from back to front, all the time biting down on the leave and this way you will scrape that little bit of artichoke meat on the leaf, along with the breadcrumbs into your mouth for that little savory treat of one leaf of your stuffed artichoke. You will continue the process of eating the leaves one at a time until they are all gone. Well, you don’t actually eat the whole leaf, but you are scraping off that little bit of the edible flesh of each leaf, and breadcrumbs one-by one until they are all gone. That was quite fun and tasty to boot, and now your are left with the special prize of the Heart of the Artichoke, and any breadcrumb stuffing that is left. There’s some braising liquid as well. You’re in for the last special treat of your prized Artichoke and yes it is oh so very good. Better than good, it fabulous. This is the story of Stuffed Artichokes and the memories of eating them. Have you any? If not, then you should do so soon, and you’re in for a special treat.    A Stuffed Artichokes is a special treat Italian have been eating for years. Italian immigrants to American have been eating them for more than one hundred years now. They are one of our most prized items and are especially beloved in Italian-American enclaves all over the country. We love them in New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Baltimore, but no more so than in the great southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana where the popularity of the Stuffed Artichoke is at its zenith. Why? Well, there are no Italians who love and eat Stuffed Artichokes more than the Sicilians. The Stuffed Artichoke is mostly of the south of Italy, around Naples and Puglia, but at its strongest in the great region of Sicily, where artichokes were most likely imported into Sicily by the Arabs and later spread through other parts of Italy.    Yes, if you go down to New Orleans you’ll see Stuffed Artichokes all over the place. They are a popular deli item, especially if the owners are Italian-Americans you might see a tray of Stuffed Artichoke at the counter, cooked and ready to go. They are so popular in New Orleans that they have spread to the whole populous, becoming favorites of not just the Italians, but all other ethnic peoples of the great city of New Orleans. Artichoke, stuffed, they’re a special indulgence. If you’ve had them you know why. It’s time to indulge in one of your own.    Excerpted from Daniel Bellino's newest forthcoming cookbook ; Mangia Italiano RECIPE : Ingredients: 4 large, full-size artichokes 1 lemon, halved 1 3⁄4 cups dried breadcrumbs 1 cup grated pecorino 1⁄3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped 10 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Using a serrated knife, cut off artichoke stems to create a flat bottom. Cut top quarter off artichokes, pull off tough outermost leaves, and trim tips of leaves with kitchen shears. Fill a large pot with water and 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to the boil. Put artichokes in the pot. Once the water comes to the boil, cook the artichokes in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove artichokes from water and set aside. Open artichoke leaves with your thumbs to make room for stuffing; set aside. Heat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine garlic, breadcrumbs, 3⁄4 cup pecorino, parsley, salt, pepper, half the olive oil, and 6 tablespoons of water. Take each artichoke and spread leaves apart in order to fill with breadcrumb stuffing. Working with one artichoke at a time over bowl, sprinkle one-quarter of breadcrumb mixture over each artichoke and work it in between leaves. Once all the artichokes are filled with the bread stuffing, transfer the stuffed artichoke to a shallow baking dish. Drizzle each artichoke with 1-tablespoon oil. Pour in boiling water to a depth of 1" .. Cover pan and artichokes with foil. Bake Artichokes until a knife easily slides into the base of an artichoke, about 35- 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle tops with remaining cheese. Turn heat up to 400 degrees and bake for 8 minutes more.


   

SEGRETO ITALIANO

LUCIA'S SICLIAN ARTICHOKE Recipe

and More ..

MANGIA ITALIANO

Look for Daniel's New Book

.

.

    .   .

Greenwich Village Italian Steaks

Greenwich Village Newport Steak, French & Italian Wine Dinner on Thompson Street in           "The Village."  My buddy Chris B. and I had another nice little Wine-Dinner this past Sunday with his girlfriend Maria ... It was quite the dinner ... We had some really nice wine to drink, with cheese a Steak-House Salad, and the famed Newport Steaks of Greenwich Village ... Chris gave me a call on Wednesday and said we where on for dinner this coming Sunday Night (Jan. 12, 2014) .. We were both quite excited for a nice dinner and the prospect of drinking some great wines and The Newports, our favorite steaks. "A little Cote de Beaune" Chris uttered, immitating Miles in the greatest wine movie of all-time "Sideways" And so it was to be "a little Cote de Beuane" from Michele Bouzereau  2001 and  Sancere from Les Mont Damnes 2012, both wines quite lovely and very good examples of their prospective zones ... Chris always picks out nice White Burgundy's and the Bouzwereau was no exception, it was wonderful ... Anyway, let me get back to the Newports and the order of things as concerned the dinner which was awesome as usual, and maybe a bit more awesome than usual ...  So Friday I called Chris and asked hwo many we were gonna be for dinner as the butcher shop is closed Sunday and I was going to get the steaks on Saturday for Sunday .  We agreed on the 3 of us so I was set with the number of Newport Steaks I needed to pick up ... Oh yes, and the butcher shop in question was none other than the butcher shop where the Newport Steak was invented by one Italian-Butcher named Jack Ubaldi way back in 1947 ..  Jack wanted to able to sell his cuts of Tri-Tip Sirloin more readily, so instead of selling 

  

  Our THREE NEWPORTS From FLORENCE MEAT MARKET,  GREENWICH VILLAGE


continued Tri-Tip in one piece which didn't sell as well, Jack cut the Tri-Tip Sirloin into 3-4 individual Steaks from the one triangular cut of beef .. He named the Steak after the Nike-like logo on a box of Newport Cigarettes and the rest is history as they say .. Florence Prime Meat Market is still open on Jones Street in Greenwich Village and that's where I get my Newports, either there or at Pino's Prime Meats on Sullivan Street which cuts a Great Newport and makes tasty home-made Italian Sauages as well .. Pino's is great, but I prefer and give an edge to Florence Market as they are the originator of the Newport and they look of the shop is much "Cooler" with all its original old fixtures ... 

 

Our Line-Up of WInes For The Night

                                                           NEWPORTS In THE PAN

NEWPORTS COOKING on 2nd SIDE

So I go to Florence and ask them to cut me 3 nice Newport Steaks .. One of the butchers goes to the walk-in (Refrigerator) and comes out with a nice fresh looking Beef Tri-Tip .. He puts it down on the thick wooden butcher block and starts trimming the tri-tip of some of its fat .. He then cuts me off three nice 2 1/2" thick Newports and wraps them in butchers paper .. The counter lady tells me it $18.99 for the Newports (about $6.50 a piece for 3 Prime Steaks). "A Bargain." I pay the lady, get my steaks and walk the 3 blocks back to my apartment, where I 
put my Newports in the frig to the next day.   

The Hearts of Romain with Tomato Onion & Bleu-Cheese Dressing 

"A STEAK HOUSE SALAD"

So I get to Chris's house and as I'm climbing the stairs to his apartment I can hear some great Jazz playing . It was Dexter Gordon and quite fine . I was tired from walking up 5 flights of stairs, so I told Chris to crack open a bottle of wine, "I need to relax." Chris cracked open the Cote de Beaune Bouzereau, and it was quite nice and everything you'd expect from a nice mid-road White Burgundy. We both loved it .. Chris broke out some nice Brie Cheese and we sipped the wine, ate cheese and relaxed listening to some nice tunes before I started on the dinner; prepping the salad, the mushrooms, potatoes, and onions for our dinner to come .. 

 

FLORENCE MEAT MARKET GREENWICH VILLAGE "HOME of THE NEWPORT STEAK"[/caption] Learn How To Make GREAT STEAKS, SUNDAY SAUCE MEATBALLS and More in SUNDAY SAUCE When Italian-Americns Cook by DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE 

 

NEWPORTS on The PLATE With MUSHROOMS & ROAST POTATOES ...

.  

 .     .

REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS "THE PERFECT DESSERT"

by DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

LEARN HOW To MAKE GREENWICH VILLAGE NEWPORT STEAKS

HOW to COOK a GREENWICH VILLAGE NEWPORT STEAK

.

 The ROLLING STONES, NEWPORT STEAKS, ITALIAN WINE, 

& REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS   

Yummmmm !!!!!!

.

.

How Make Clemenza 's Godfather SUNDAY SAUCE

LEARN HOW TO MAKE SUNDAY SAUCE

alla CLEMENZA - ITALIAN GRAVY

AMAZON.com

1. GET A COPY of SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN AMERICANS COOK

by DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

CLEMENZA'S SUNDAY SAUCE RECIPE

Is In THERE .. IT'S AVAILABLE

on AMAZON.com .. Just CLICK LINK ABOVE ..

"THAT'S STEP 1 .. FINITO !!!"

2. GO To YOUR LOCAL PORK STORE and or GROCERY STORE

For SAUSAGES, Gorund Beef, Veal, Pork, etc., BRACIOLE,

OOLIVE OIL, TOMATOES, PASTA, etc..

CLICK HERE !

3. ASSEMBLE INGREDIENTS, POTS and EVERYTHING

YOU NEED To MAKE The "SAUCE"

4.  SAUTE GARLIC & MINCED ONIONS in OLIVE In 

A LARGE POT.  ADD TOMATOES.

5.  BROWN BRACIOLE, THEN ADD To POT With TOMATOES ..

6.  IF USING PORK RIBS or PORK NECK, BROWN COMEPLETELY

THEN ADD TO POT With TOMATOES .. 

If NOT using PORK RIBS, SKIP THIS STEP.

7.  LET SAUCE With THE MEATS (Except MEATBALLS)

SIMMER At VERY LOW HEAT For 1 HOUR.

8.  BROWN SAUSAGES THEN ADD To SAUCE.

CONTINUE SIMMERING.

9.  AFTER YOU ADD The SAUSAGES TO SAUCE, MAKE THE MEATBALLS

by MIXING GROUND BEEF, PORK & VEAL with SALT, PEPPER, GARLIC,

FRESH PARSLEY, and GRATED CHEESE. FORM INTO MEATBALLS.

10.  PLACE MEATBALLS in a LIGHTLY OIL PAN and SLOWLY COOK in A

350  DEGREE OVEN For 12 MINUTES.

11.  REMOVE MEATBALLS FROM OVEN and PLACE in POT 

With SAUCE. The SAUCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SLOWLY COOKING 

With THE BRACIOLE and OTHER MEATS For 2 1/2 HOURS by Now.

YOU Will JUST COOK The MEATBALLS in THE SAUCE For 15 

MINUTES on VERY LOW HEAT. 

BE CAREFUL WHEN STIRRING NOT To BREAK MEATBALLS.

WHEN THE MEATBALLS HAVE COOKED In THE SAUCE

FOR 15 MINUTES, The "SAUCE" IS DONE.

12.  COOK RIGATONI or WHICHEVER 

MACCHERONI YOU LIKE and SERVE

WITH THe "GRAVY"

PASS GRATED CHEESE

and

BUON APPETITO !!!

SUNDAY SAUCE 

Is AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK

And KINDLE on AMAZON.com

CLICK HERE !

SUNDAY SAUCE

alla CLEMENZA all BELLINO alla PACINO

AMAZON.com

SUNDAY SAUCE alla BELLINO

alla PACINO

AUTHOR DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

MANGIA BENE !!!

How Make Pasta Fazool Soup

Learn How to Make PASTA FAZOOL

aka  PASTA FAGIOLI

PASTA FAZOOL RECIPE

in

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Z

.

.

Tony Sopranos Gabagool Italian Sandwich

Gabagools

TONY SOPRANOS GABAGOOL SANDWICH

1. Gabagool

This is an addition to the previous definition, which is half right. "Gabagool" is slang for "capicola." It is not a mispronunciation, but is instead in Napolitan dialect, which is what the Sopranos and many Italian-Americans use.The rule in this dialect is to chop off ending vowels and to voice unvoiced consonants. Ricotta-"rigot"

2. Manicotti-"manigot ...  gabagool= Capicola Ham.

 "My wife sends me here to shop because they got good gabagool." 

 3. Gabagool

The Sicilian pronunciation for the spicy deli ham "Capicola". 

"Do you want provologne on your gobagool sandwich?"

4. Gabagool - The americanized version of the Italian word "Capicola" made popular by Tony Soprano and other ignorant 2nd & 3rd generation Italo-Americans who have forgotten how to speak italian properly. Capicola is a spicy deli meat similar to ham or salami.

READ ABOUT TONY SOPRANOS GABAGOOL SANDWICH 

in DANIEL BELLINO'S SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN-TALIAN-AMERICANS COOK

Available on AMAZON.com ... CLICK HERE !

.

.

Pasta Gagootz

 Growing Cucuzza in your backyard .. An Italian-American time-honored Tradition ..


PASTA con CUCUZZA    Pasta & Gagootz !!!  


Pasta & Gagootz is a long time favorite with the Bellino Family. Cucuzza, a.k.a. Gagootz is oh so Sicilian, and third only to Eggplant (Melanzane) and Artichokes, as the most popular and loved vegetable of all. Well yes there’s tomatoes and we love cauliflower quite a bit too, but Gagootz? Yes Cucuzza is the big Italian Squash eaten mainly by Italian-Americans, and mostly those of Sicilian and Neapolitan origins.  Even in the Italian-American community, still not many  know of this amazing Baseball Bat sized vegetable that most Sicilians do. So yes Cucuzza is ours, we Sicilians and other Southern Italian peoples, but not everyone you see. Hey, we love to share, but once in a while we like to keep a few things to ourselves. Doesn’t everyone? My mom used to make this often, along with Zuppa di Cucuzza from her mothers traditional recipes from Lercara Friddi. The recipe is oh so Sicilian, tasty and whimsical too. If you make it, you and your guest are sure to love it, as we Bellino’s have for more than 100 years now. Mangia Bene!    


RECIPE : PASTA GAGOOTZ 1 large Cucuzza (Italian Squash) 1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped ¼ cup Olive Oil 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and sliced 1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes 1 pound Green Beans, cleaned and cut in half ¼ cup fresh Basil leaves torn in half 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese


Peel the Cucuzza with a vegetable peeler and scoop out an large seeds if there are any and discard. Cut the Cucuzza (Gagootz) into 1 ½” pieces. Place Cuccuzza and olive oil in a 6-quart pot and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes more. Add garlic and cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute while stirring. Add tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. While the sauce is simmering cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander and put in the pot of sauce after it has been simmering for 12 minutes. Continue cooking for a total cooking time of 40-45 minutes for the sauce. Add basil and cook two minutes. Cook pasta according to directions on package. When finished cooking, drain the pasta in a colander, reserving about 7 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Put the pasta back in the pot it cooked in. Drizzle on a little olive oil and mix. Add 1/3 of the sauce to the pot with the pasta and mix. Divide the pasta among four plates. Top each plate of pasta with a little more of the sauce. Give a plate to each guest, pass the grated cheese and enjoy.

 

Pasta Gagootz ... 

Excerpted from GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK 

by Daniel Bellino Z

       

PASTA GAGOOTZ

This and other Great Sicilian Recipe

in GRANDMA BELLIO's ITALIAN COOKBOOK

by Daniel Bellino Z

Stewed CUCUZZA

a.k.a. GAGOOTZ

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