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Q). Recently, I
tasted a braciole you made for your neighbor, Joe Cricchio. How did you
make it?Your other neighbor,
Monterey
A). Folks, did I ever tell you the story of
my parents moving here from New York in 1940? Well, my parents, two
sisters and myself (just a little squirt), move to Monterey because the
weather in Syracuse was terrible and my Dad's sister, husband and
cousins lived here. My Dad was a good old, country-trained tailor and
Monterey was in need of one. Our first house was at the end of Clay
Street and next door lived the Cricchio's and, on the other side were
the Murray's who were nice to us, however, the Cricchio's were extra
nice and I always remember my Mom and Dad saying, "Francis and Joe were
our first friends on the peninsula and never forget it,
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Johnny." Well guess who lives next
door to me now? That's right, Joe Cricchio. What goes around, comes
around. Joe is a senior citizen now (and so am I, pretty soon anyway),
always upbeat and cheerful and as friendly as ever. He loves watching my
shows, especially the ones from Sicily. Now and again I can help him out
a bit by cooking something for him. He loves pasta, so the other day I
cooked some soup, short ribs and pasta with braciole (rolled flank steak
cooked in the "gravy" meaning tomato sauce). Preparing braciole takes
some work, but it is well worth it.
Braciole Recipe
Start with a piece of flank steak. Pound the hell
out of it and spread it out. Rub it with olive oil and season with salt
and pepper. Next put down one layer
of either prosciutto, salami or mortadella, then some long, pencil-sized
slices of carrot, sliced hard boiled eggs and
cover
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with seasoned breadcrumbs that have been dampened with water. Now, roll
up carefully, secure the ends with twine and roll up and tie (my mom
used thread). Next, brown in some olive oil and salt and pepper. Remove
after browning then add to the pan some diced celery, carrots, onions,
garlic, parsley, basil and crushed red pepper. Cook for 10 minutes on
medium heat and then add some red wine (no rot-gut), heirloom tomatoes
that have been passed through a food processor and a dash of cinnamon
sugar. Cover and cook on medium-low for two hours. Remove the braciole
and take off the string. Slice into 3/4 -inch slices and place on a
plate. Cook some penne pasta, drain and mix
with the sauce. Serve the pasta with the meat as a second course and
don't forget the pecorino. Oh, and one more thing - get well fast
neighbor! |
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Whenever I see a fabulous new product
I love sharing it with you. The new product is a baby iceberg lettuce.
It's the size of a softball and is very sweet tasting. Boggiatto
Produce, Inc. in Salinas is the producer of this next great idea in the
produce field. These "little babies" (great name boys!) are perfect
portion-controlled pieces of lettuce. They can be used as a cup,
or spread out like a lotus. and they divide
easily for use in sandwiches.
Tanimura & Antle brought us "little gem" (small crunchy baby romaine);
D'Arrigo Bros. brought us broccoli |
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rabe; Mills Family Farms brought us packaged
whole leaf lettuces; and now Boggatto has brought us
these baby icebergs which we are now serving in all of our
restaurants. Way to go boys! They're only available in food service
establishments right now, but are coming to your grocery stores soon.
John's food tips: Love tomato and red
onion salad? Buy only the flat Italian reds, they are the sweetest - the
round ones are too hot! Corn off the cob - Use a sharp knife and cut the
corn loose. Heat up with a little |
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water, sweet butter and fresh pepper.
Great for people with dentures or those who don't like corn up their
nose! Last October someone threw a
pumpkin in the street near my house and some of the seeds and flesh were
scattered all around. Guess what? A giant pumpkin plant has now grown in
the middle of our street with big, giant flowers and already two
basketball-sized pumpkins. I'll keep watering it and maybe it will start
growing upward.
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Now is the time for dipping all of these
wonderful seasonal vegetables in your best olive oil. In Italy, this
custom of eating raw vegetables dipped in oil is called "Pinzimonio" Try
all of the tender, fresh vegetables you can get your hands on and
remember to season your oil with a little salt and pepper.
Speaking of vegetables, a delicious sleeper
is cabbage. Here's a favorite recipe of mine featuring: |
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Braised
Savoy Cabbage and Anchovies. Serves 6. |
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2 1/2 pounds of Savoy cabbage |
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3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil |
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3 cloves garlic |
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1 cup water |
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2 cans of anchovies |
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salt and freshly ground pepper |
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Remove the hard stalks from the cabbage
leaves and slice into strips about 3/4 of an inch wide. Bring a large
saucepan of water to a boil. Add the cabbage and boil for 2 minutes.
Drain and immediately |
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transfer to a bowl of iced water so that the
leaves remain green. Drain and set aside. Warm the olive oil in a heavy
pot over low heat. Add the garlic and fry gently until translucent,
about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and the 1 cup of water. Cook over low
heat until the water evaporates, about 30 minutes. Add the anchovies to
the cabbage during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Season the cabbage
lightly with salt and pepper, arrange on a platter and serve hot.
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