Sauce or Gravy ?

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The Great Debate, is it GRAVY Or SAUCE ???

What do you Call it?

 

CHARLIE SCORSESE Makes SAUCE

GOODFELLAS

  GIA Says : It’s interesting to me that people who call it “gravy” believe that the people calling it “sauce” must only be those who came as immigrants later and that “sauce” is a newer term. Not in my estimation. My grandparents from Italy only spoke Italian, came over in the 20’s and their families called it “SAUCE” no matter if there was meat in it or not. Sundays was always meat in it the “sauce” and on Weds, leftovers, less meat or no meat at all. They lived in the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn and Park Slope respectively as the children (my Father) became adults. We NEVER said “gravy” and I never heard the term “gravy” until I was much older and it became grounds for a silly argument. I am a second generation Italian American and all my Aunts and Uncles called it “Sauce” regardless if it had meat in it or not. Sometimes it was just a marinara w/out meat but it was always referred to as Sauce on Sundays and Weds. Sundays were characteristically special when you had the relatives over and there was plenty of meatballs and sausage and lets not forget the cheese!! In our house it was always ROMANO on the table. Left overs were eaten on Weds and the meat was either gone or a bit more was added to it usually in the form of ground beef. Many times we ate it without meat due to budget or just not being able to get to the butcher in time. Again, in my mind “gravy” has a completely different smell, consistency and color and sometimes has onions in it and is usually very salty. It;s usually white or brown flour based and goes over mashed potatoes, biscuits, liver etc.  

Cooking a Pot of SUNDAY SAUCE

or is It GRAVY ???

What Do You Call It ???

  ANDREA ANTANUCCI says :

  I’m “really” Italian-American and I get extremely annoyed when Italian-Americans call it gravy instead of sauce. Even more irritating is when the pretend to know how to speak Italian and pronounce Italian words incorrectly, almost always chopping the vowel off of the end. I feel Italian is the most beautiful of the romance languages and they make it sound horrible :-(   JAMES PASTO : Hi Andrea, thanks for your comment. I get your point, but as I see it, “gravy” is a term that somehow emerged as the preferred term for a lot of Italian immigrants to America. The usage is very widespread so it is ‘correct’ as far as they see it. We always called it “gravy” and to me this was one of the ways we distinguished ourselves as “Italians.” On the pronunciation of words: I don’t think it is a matter of pretense but of language adaptation in a new setting as well as the fact that many of the “Italian” words that resulted were originally dialectical forms and not standard Italian. I agree that Italian is a beautiful language and it is too bad many if not most Italian Americans lost it, but I think there is a certain charm to the Italian American “Italgish” that emerged. I don’t see it as a detriment to the Italian language but rather as its survival in a majority English environment under great pressure to give up all non-English forms. But that is my view….   CHELLE says : I agree, Andrea. I’m first generation US born, 1/2 Italian, who has been to Italy a handful of times. My grandmother born and raised in Italy, living there until her mid-20’s, called it sauce. I find it annoying when people here call it gravy. My grandmother made lovely gravies, from creams and wines, that were truly gravies. I dislike, even more, that I’m always corrected with “gravy” every time I say I’m making my grandmother’s sauce. The people correcting me have never been to Italy, let alone their parents and sometimes even their grandparents…they are 3rd and 4th generation to the US.  

We Know What New York Italian-American Author Daniel Bellino "Z"

Calls It ... GRAVY !!!

  JR in Rhode Island says :

  By my standards in good ol’ Italian-America Rhode Island, a gravy is a tomato sauce with meat, but not like a bolognese. The base of this gravy is made with braciole, pork, sausage, meatballs, and my favorite, chunks of pepperoni. Getting some color first on the braciole, pork, and sausage is a must, meatballs can be fried or baked separately then tossed in the gravy to finish cooking, and the pepperoni can just be tossed in as well. In addition, a proper gravy must cook for a solid 2-3 hours, then simmer for another couple hours. It needs that time to properly cook the tomatoes and get all that flavor out of the meats… so delicious. Also, it is typically made in big batches and freezes pretty well. Buon Appetito!  

NONNA'S MEATBALLS

JULES ZUFFOLETTO says :

  Growing up an Italiana-Americana, my family always called pasta with marinara, “sauce.” Ours always had some form of carne or meat: meatballs and sausage for sure, and sometimes we would add ribs or make Braciola. No matter what, there usually wasn’t much left after dinner and we all had to retire to the living room to crash on the couch and digest for awhile. My late Grandmother, Carmella, made our Sunday Sauce dinners most of the time since we would then be visiting both her and Grandpa, Nunzio. Later, I learned how to make it and my Dad began calling me, “the meatball machine,” when I was in high school. I usually made mine a bit larger than my Grandma’s, and near softball size. The mo’ the better, right?! Plus, they did look quite impressive on the plate, if I do say so. Nowadays, I make them smaller or maybe NYY baseball size. It helps with the waistline and there’s more to go around if there are a few peeps dining. So, God Bless Sunday Sauce and my Angels (my Grandparents) up in Heaven from Abruzzi (Italia) that taught me how to make it and create a special connection with family and friends, while enjoying a deliziosoa feast. Mangiare! Mangiare!   ANDREA TAVOMINA from BROOKLYN says : Hi, My Nonna & Nonno & my Pop’s were all in Brooklyn, NY and we have always called it sauce. This gravy thing is so strange to me as that’s the brown stuff you put on a turkey at Thanksgiving.I know there is no right or wrong answer here but some get very upset over this “Gravy” thing and consider those if us who were raised using sauce to be “not true Italians”. That is what upsets me, my last name is Tavormina and it’s due to it getting a “V” added at Ellis Island (or so my Pop’s was told and then I was told) my nonno being from Taormina and Nonna from Palermo. So weather your a sauce or a gravy italian…please remember just because some of us are Sicilian and say sauce doesn’t make us any less a true Italian! Mille Grazie


ANTHONY says :

  It’s called gravy only by Italian Americans in South Philly??? Oh I don’t think so. Its Gravy…. for most of New England (North East United States) at least is true for Massachusetts and Connecticut Italian-Americans I grew up with. We actually call it gravy, Sunday Gravy, Sunday Sauce and Sauce. My Italian grandmother, grandma Salerno called it gravy and my mom calls it gravy. I have an Italian-American Recipe website and I have talked with a LOT of Italian-Americans of the past 15 years on this subject and the term “Gravy” for the pasta sauce is definitely confined to the northeast United States. You can see much discussion about this and many other things Italian-American food related ...   ROBERT from da BRONX says : Good morning James! Great story. My family is from the The Bronx and we were raised to call it gravy. We still call it gravy. I don’t believe that there is a right or wrong here. Both sets of my grandparents are immigrants from Italy and when they arrived here, they called it gravy. Another issue is that some folks only called it gravy when there was meat cooked in the tomatoes. Now that is made up here in the U.S. Someone tried to calm the powers to be and come up with something in the middle…..Ours was always gravy no matter what or how it was being cooked. There was a comment above about how she was a “real Italian American” and could not stand how some people spoke Italian and would chop off a vowell at the end. The truth be known is that there are hundreds of dialects in the Italian language and some were real proper and some were somewhat slang. It also depended on where you lived….for instance if you were living in the mountains, it was somewhat slang. The folks that lived in the hills were mostly farmers and schooling was not that important. Different story if you were living in the flatlands or in the cities.

SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook

AMAZON.com

ANTOINETTE SAVIANI of CHICAGO says :

Hi, just want to say as a 2nd generation Italian from Chicago (mama’s family from Calabria /pa’s from Abruzzi) that we call it Sunday Gravy. All of my 24 aunts and uncles and 27 cousins did the same.We put it on before mass, went to Visit Nonna/grandma at my aunts house, came home, boiled the water and put the pasta /macaroni on and ate. It was loaded with meatballs, sausage, etc. On Fridays we didn’t eat meat but we had datalini with sugo (meatless gravy). I’m in my 60’s now and I have about 22 +/- people over almost every Sunday’s for “pasta Sunday’s” my older sister, her children and grandchildren and my own. We crowd around the table(s), adults and kids.A table cloth and real dishes just like Mama taught me. I will make several pots of gravy with a lot of meat and pounds of pasta. We pass the pasta,gravy and freshly grated cheese around, eat,talk, laugh and enjoy. The youngest are 1 year old twins and the oldest …well older then me. It is getting harder to do but even the little ones ask in the middle of the week, is it almost “pasta Sunday”. It doesn’t matter what you call it gravy/sauce, it’s the heritage and link to our past. Keep the traditions going and pass the recipes down. There’s always enough to give every family leftovers with extra “gravy” LOL

Robert from Harlem, New York says :

My Sicilian Grandmother called it salsa and she cooked it every Sunday for the whole family gang of aunts, uncles and cousins. We lived in Italian Harlem in New York City. My aunt from Queens called it gravy but we all ate with the same gusto.

TIM SANTUCCI says "

There are Italians in the south. lol…I know not many but we are here. Both my mom’s and dad’s family came from italy straight to the south!!! Mississippi delta to be exact. The first italians here. No influence on us from previous italians here. There are other italians here too. Most of us call it gravy. Some call it sauce. I personally have witnessed the birth of the word “gravy” being used once Italians started learning english here. My mom and other italians here called it gravy because it was thick like a “type of gravy”. It was not thin like a salsa or sauce. So the war goes on here in the south too!!!! Tooooo funny. As I grew up what I noticed was white southern americans calling anything red was a sauce. Especially because their gravy was brown. We knew nothing about that stuff. So to them the only gravy in the whole world was brown so they called our “Sugo”, “Ragu'” “Condimento” etc. a sauce. I see it being called sauce more now. As with anything involving food and language nothing is right or wrong. To me it was just a matter of how they wanted to translate or “find” an english word that would describe it. Our “Sugo” is pretty thick so I guess that’s why we call it gravy. Such an interesting subject. Please don’t think the only italians that came to america only live in the north east. Many of us in the south came in through New Orleans!!!!!!! 

All I know is that whatever you calll it, it is sure good!!!! 

Ciao tutti!!!

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Jersey Shore Crab Sauce Recipe

JERSEY SHORE CRAB SAUCE

 

There are plenty of Maryland Blue Crabs down on the Jersey Shore, as well as plenty of Italian-Americans. The two go together, and this Crab Sauce for pasta is a specialty of Jersey Italians who love seafood, along with their Brooklyn and New York neighbors. They all love it! So will you. 

RECIPE 

12 Hard Shell Blue Crabs 12 tablespoons Olive Oil 12 Cloves Garlic

1 for each Crab, peeled and chopped 1 Small Onion, peeled and chopped fine 

 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes 

 1 – 28 oz. can whole San Marzano Tomatoes 1 – 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes 

 1- 16 oz. can Tomato Puree 

 ½ teaspoon dry Basil 

 ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley 

 1 pound Lump Crab-Meat, fresh frozen or canned 

 1 pound imported Italian Spaghetti or Linguine 

 Put olive oil in a large pot and heat to high. 

Place the Crabs in the pot and sauté at high heat for 10 minutes. 

 After browning the crabs, remove from pan and set aside. 

 Put onions in pan and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. 

 Add the garlic and red pepper to pan and cook on low heat for 3 minutes. 

Add whole tomatoes to pan and cook on high heat for 4 minutes whole stirring with a wooden spoon. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato puree. 

Add the Crabs back to the pot. Cook for 90 minutes on low heat. 

 Remove the crabs from pan and let cool on the side. 

Remove all the meat from the crabs and discard the shells. 

Add crab-meat to sauce with your extra pound of lump crab-meat and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. 

Cook pasta according to directions on package. 

Drain pasta and put back in the pot it cooked in with 8 tablespoons of reserved pasta cooking water. 

Sprinkle pasta with a little olive oil and mix. 

Add 2 cups of crab sauce and half the parsley to pasta and mix. 

Plate the pasta with sauce on 4 plates in equal portions and top with some more sauce and some parsley. 

 Notes: Do not serve with cheese! Italians never have cheese with Seafood Pasta. This is enough sauce for 2 to 3 pound of pasta, or about 12 portions, so after you make this Pasta with Crab Sauce with 1 pound of pasta, you still have plenty left over for another day.

 

The Finished Sauce

"Yummm" !!!

 

 

 

Pasta with Jersey Shore Crab Sauce

JERSEY CRAB SHORE SAUCE

and Other Great Recipes

in

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Z

AMAZON.com

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Godfather Fans Christmas Gift Ideas

 

The GODFATHER

Mario Puzo

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

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The GODFATHER

Mario Puzo’s classic saga of an American crime family that became a global phenomenon—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

A #1 New York Times bestseller in 1969, Mario Puzo’s epic was turned into the incomparable film of the same name, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the original classic that has been often imitated, but never matched. A tale of family and society, law and order, obedience and rebellion, it reveals the dark passions of human nature played out against a backdrop of the American dream.

With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld.

The GODFATHER

Don Vito Corleone

NOTEBOOK - JOURNAL

SUNDAY SAUCE

alla CLEMENZA

CORLEONE RECIPES

CLEMENZA MOB WAR SUNDAY SAUCE

ITALIAN GRAVY - MEATBALLS

And More ...

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The GODFATHER Movie

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5oth ANNIVERSARY Deluz Edition 

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50 YEARS

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BOX SET

Celebrating 50 years, this deluxe limited edition set offers, for the first time in one collection, the essential, definitive saga of the Corleone family, overseen by director Francis Ford Coppola and based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo. A global cultural touchstone captivating fans across generations, the enduring cinematic legacy of THE GODFATHER has immeasurably influenced popular culture, and rightfully earned its legacy as one of the greatest in the history of motion pictures. Remastered and restored in 4K UHD with HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, this collection includes Best Picture Academy Award winners for Best Picture THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II, alongside the acclaimed conclusion MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE. Includes both the Theatrical and 1991 cuts of THE GODFATHER PART III, as well as a special features Blu-ray featuring all-new content.

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CLEMENZA

CLEMENZA

The GODFATHER

"DON't FORGET The CANNOLI"

TEE SHIRT

Homemade Pizza and Dough Recipe

Make Pizza at Home

"Yes You Can" !

PIZZA

    

Italian all over Italy, as well as their Italian-American cousins in America,love to make this tasty homemade pan pizza at home. It’s absolutely delicious, and a lot easier to make than you’d think. This is the basic recipe for a Pizza with Tomato & Mozzarella, and you can add other toppings like; Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, and / or Sweet Peppers if you like. You can even make some delicious Rosemary Focaccia by eliminating the tomato and mozzarella, and adding fresh Rosemary instead. Once you know how to make this basic pizza, you can do a lot of things with this recipe. so give it a shot. Make it a few times and you’ll become a pro, and a hit at the Friday Night Pizza Party, or anytime at all. Buon Apettio!

Enjoy.

Ingredients for the Dough :

1 packet Dry Yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 cup Warm Water  (about 110 degrees)

3 cups Bread Flour

2 tespoons Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil for dough & more for pan

You will need a Food Processor to make this dough.

Place the water, Sugar, and Yeast in a small bowl, stir it a little, then let it rest at room temperature until it starts to foam (about 10 minutes).

If your food processor has a plastic dough hook use that. If it doesn’t, then insert the metal cutting blade onto your processor.

Add the Flour and Salt to the food processor and pulse for 2 seconds.

Add the water / yeast mixture and 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil to the processor.

Turn the processor on and let it run until the dough starts to form a ball, and is pulling away from the processor bowl. Then turn the processor on again, for exactly 30 seconds and stop.

Get a large glass or ceramic bowl and lightly coat the whole inside with some Olive Oil. Place the dough in the bowl and move it around so it gets coated completely with olive oil. If you need it, add a bit more olive oil.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave the dough to rise for one hour, in a draft-space. Usually somewhere on the kitchen counter is fine.

After one hour to 1 hour & 15 minutes, your dough should have risen to double its original size. The dough is ready ro roll out and make pizza.

PIZZA TOPPING :

A jar of Italian Passata di Pomodoro (Tomato Sauce)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

½ pound whole milk Mozzarella Cheese (Polly-O)

¼ cup grated Pecorino Cheese

8 Basil Leaves, torn by hand

Note : Passata di Pomodro is puree of Italian Tomatoes, aka Tomato Sauce. I recommend getting a good quality Italian product like, Mutti, or anything labeled San Marzano for best results.

MAKING THE PIZZA

You will need a half sheet pan (16.5” x 11.5” ) to make the Pizza.

Turn your oven on to 400 degrees.

Place 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in the sheet-pan, and spread with your fingers so the whole bottom surface of the pan has a thin coat of oil.

Remove your dough from the bowl and place it in the center of the sheet-pan. Pussh the dough down with your hand, and push and stretch the dough until it forms into the size of the pan, and is completely covering the bottom of the pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest inside the pan for 10 minutes.

Take a spoon and spread enough of the tomato passata (tomato sauce) over most of the pizza dough, leaving a half inch around all sides without tomato, as a border that pizzas always have. 

Drizzle a couple tablespoons of Olive Oil over the pizza. Sprinkle a little Salt over the whole pizza. 

Sprinkel the grated Pecorino Romano Cheese evenly over the whole pizza. 

Evenly spread all the torn Basil over the pizza. 

Then evnenly spread shredded mozzarella evenly over the pie. Don’t over do it with the cheese. There should be spots where ther is just tomato and no cheese over it. You don’t want the cheese to completely cover the pied or it will be out of balance.

Place the Pizza in the oven and bake for about 16 to 20 minutes, until the crust looks nicely browned. Serve and enjoy.

Note : Naturally you can add other toppings to this basic tomato pizza, such as Pepperoni, Sausage, or Mushrooms, whatever you like.

You can make tasty basic focaccia by not adding the tomato and cheese as the toppings on the dough. Instead, add a little more olive oil, some extra Kosher or Sea Salt sprinkled on top. Then add some chopped fresh Rosemary on top, throw it in the oven and bake, and you’ll have some tasty Rosemary Foccacia.

RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

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CAPONATA - ZUPP -PASTA

ARANCINI (Rice Balls)

And More ... 

Sicilian Pizza 

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New Orleans Triple Header on Decatur Street

CENTRAL GROCERY

DECATUR STREET

 

"My Decatur Street Triple Header New Orleans" what is it, you ask? It's quite a wonderful thing and one I suggest you do if you find yourself in the fare city of New Orleans, Louisiana. I've been going down there for some time now, and know a thing or two about this, one of America's great cities, and certainly the most unique. As most people know, New Orleans is renowned for its food and restaurants, along with wonderful architecture and of course great music. But, you got to know which restaurants and other eateries are best, and the same goes for the music. 

Now, down to the food and drink, and my Deccatur Street Triple Header. OK, you still want to know, "what the Hell is It?" Well I first discovered that great sandwich, the Muffuletta at Central Grocery, along with the wonderful ritual of Beignets and Cafe Creme (Coffee) at Cafe du Monde on my first trip to the Big Easy with my Brother Michael, way back in 1995. We went to both these places, as well as the 3rd spot in my Triple Header, when we went for dinner at Tujague's after my sister-in-law Eileen won a little money on a Slot Machine on the Paddle Boat Casino that we took a ride on. "Thanks Eileen," we had a great time there at Tujague's, all having their famous Table d' Hote Dinner.

Now back to My Decatur Street Triples Header. First off, the first thing is heading over to the Central Grocery for their World Famous Sandwich, the Muffuletta which was invented there over 100 years ago by the Sicilian immigrant owner Salvatore Lupo. The sandwich is made, first off we start with the bread which the sandwich gets its name from, a large round loaf Sicilian "Muffoletta Bread" is a large flat loaf of bread. The bread is cut in half horizontally, then stuffed with Italian Provolone Cheese, Mortadella, Ham, and Salami and topped with the famous Olive Salad, made with large Green Sicilian Olives, Celery, Roast Peppers, and pickled Vegetables dressed in olive oil and Oregano. The Sandwich is one of the World's Great Culinary Delights and the perfect way to start my cherished Decatur Street Triple Header.

I must warn you that the current owner of Central Grocery who married into the Lupo family is one "Miserable Bastard," who has the personality of a Dead Fish. Just Horrible. Don't worry, the sandwich makes up for it. Order your sandwich, give the miserable bastard the money for the sandwich, don't let his "Horrible Attitude" bother you, get your sandwich, take it to the counter and eat it in delightful Bliss.

 

My MUFFULETTA

And a Barq's ROOT BEER

CENTRAL GROCERY

READ More About The MUFFULETTA

 

Cafe Du Monde

Decatur Street

 

Cafe Creme & Beignets

CAFFE du MONDE

NEW ORLEANS

LOUISIANA

 

The next stop on my Triple Header of Decatur Street New Orleans, is to me, one of the greatest places, not just in New Orleans, but of all of Gods Good Earth, "seriously, I Love this place." Why's it so great? Well it's one of those places were everybody and anybody who goes to New Orleans goes here, to do what you do, when you got to the Cafe du Monde, and that's to eat Beignets covered with tons of Powdered Sugar every day 24/7, 365 days a year, "Cafe du Monde never closes." And to go with your tasty fresh fried French Beignets, you get a Cafe Creme chicory coffee, that taste so good. And it's all cheap enough for everyone to partake. This is my # 2 in my New Orleans Triple Header.

 

TAJAGUE'S

No. 3 on "My DECATUR STREET TRIPLE HEADER"

NEW ORLEANS

   

Now on to # 3, as we head back down Decatur Street to the oldest restaurant in New Orleans, "Tujague's" and their stand-up bar for a Grasshopper Cocktail. Yes, I said a Grasshopper Cocktail. And you're wondering why a Grasshopper(? Well, the drink was invented right here in 1918 by bartender Philip Guichet. Most people who go to the "Long Bar" at Tujague's have no idea the drink was invented here, and the 3 times I came here and ordered one, and everyone started to ask me what I was drinking, and after I told them, everyone in the bar started ordering Grasshoppers too. "I love doing this."

   

Having a GRASSHOPPER COCKTAIL

with a Friend at "The LONG BAR"

at TUJAGUE'S

MARDI GRAS

2006

 

Me & My MUFFULETTA

CENTRAL GROCERY

2009

NEW ORLEANS

LOUISIANA

ITALIAN AMERICAN ... WHAT IS IT?

There has long been a debate, fights, and Mud-Slinging in regards to Italian and Italian-American
food served in restaurants in New York and the rest of the U.S.. Culinary Snobs, people who "Think" they know what they are talking about and what not. I can set the record straight, being an
 Italian-American who has been eating Italian and Italian-American food for more than forty years, who has been professional Chef and someone who has eaten all over Italy on some 15 trips to the great peninsular. In addition to studying Italian Food in Italy for some 25 years, I am constantly reading all sorts of articles , cookbooks, and historical facts on this subject, in addition to being one of the countries foremost authorities on Italian Wine.
   Anyway, let me tell you. I myself was once a uninformed Food Snob who badmouthed and was slightly disdainful of unauthentic Italian food being served in restaurants all over the city. That's just in restaurants. Of course I Loved eating Sunday Sauce, Eggplant Parmigiano, and Meatballs that my aunts made at our frequent family get together s. And on the occasions that we weren't at one of the family's homes but in an Italian restaurant in Lodi or Garfield, I usually ordered Chicken  or Veal Parmigiano. Yes I loved it, but these dishes, for me at the time (1985-1993) had their place, and it was not in the kitchen or on the plates of any serious Italian Restaurant in Manhattan.
   Eventually as I learned more of the history of food in New York, Italy, and the World, I realized that there was actually a real true Italian-American Cuisine and that it was completely valid.
  Do you realize that if you think there is not a true valid Italian-American Cuisine, then you also must concede that there is No True French Cuisine, because the origins of what we now know as French food and Cuisine is really Italian. Yes, I said Italian. For the food and cuisine of French was quite primitive and did not begin to form into what we now know as French Food and French Cuisine until Caterina Medici of the Noble Florentine Family of the Medici married the King of France and brought her Florentine Chefs with her to the French Court way back in the 15th Century. So there. Many dishes which most people think of as French in origin, like Duck ala Orange, Bechamel, and others, are really Italian. "So there!"
   Anyway, back to Italian-American food. Food and cuisines are constantly changing and evolving. This is how Florentine Chefs of Italy, went to France with the newly crowned French Queen who was of the Italian Peninsular in one Katherine Medici  and taught the French how to cook. Thus Italians immigrating to the United States in the early 20th Century brought their ingredients and techniques from mother Italy to cook the dishes from their homeland, with some modifications do to financial issues (being poor) and the unavailability of certain ingredients, and started forming what would one day be known as Italian-American  food (Cuisine).




"to be Continued"


Daniel Bellino Zwicke

FRANK SINATRA

ONE of THE GREATEST

ITALIAN AMERICAN'S of ALL