Daniel Bellino Zwicke has just announced he's finished his latest, Sunday Sauce "When Italian-Americans Eat" Daniel is the author of such titles as La Tavola, Got Any Kahlua? and popular Christmas Time book The FEAST of The 7 FISH Italian Christmas .. The book is in final preparation for publication and will be available on Amazon on December 7, 2013 ..... Daniel Bellino Zwicke is a renowned author of the food, wine, and travel genres. We llok forward to Sunday Sauce this his latest.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
JACK DANIELS alla SINATRA
Labels:
Dean Martin,
Dino,
Frank Sinatra,
JACK DANIELS,
SAMMY DAVIS Jr,
Sinatra,
SINATRA JACK DANIELS,
The RAT PACK
Saturday, November 16, 2013
The FEAST of The 7 FISH ITALIAN CHRISTMAS DINNER
Christmas Eve Fish Dinner is, without question, the most important, the most festive, the most familial, the warmest and most memorable family gathering. For me, Christmas Eve Dinner surpasses every other holiday, As important and delightful as Thanksgiving of Easter or even Fourth of July might be, nothing approaches the ineffable depth and richness of Christmas Eve Fish Dinner offered a table unlike that of any other holiday.
But before I go further, let's consider the name of this dinner. Among some Italians that I have questioned it is called "Feast of the Seven Fishes," for other families, including my own, it was simply Christmas Eve Fish Dinner. There was no specific number of fish involved. Carol Field' Celebrating Italy, a most thorough study of Italian holidays, notes that Christmas Eve dinner calls for fish but makes no mention of the number of fish dishes. Moving my investigation of the Christmas Eve dinner to Google Italy, I found that it is generally called "Il Cenone della Vigilia" (The great dinner of the Eve.) No Italian site I found made mention of the number of fish. I have the sense that the notion of seven fish may be Italian American and even here only among certain families.
The next question I considered was the type of fish. Almost every reference I found and all the people I interviewed had numerous variations. Among most Italians sites two fish appeared most often, baccalà and eel. Among traditional Italian Americans the two most common dishes were baccalà (usually in a cold salad recipe) and fried smelts. In many younger and less traditionally bound Italian Americans all the old time fish were gone. The new fish platters now included shrimp and fried fish and even fish sticks. Italian Americans are not alone in modernization. It seems that even in Italy the younger generations recoil at the notion of such fish as eel.
While what this dinner is rightly called and which fish are those to be presented seems to vary from region to region and family to family a few things about Christmas Eve fish dinner, go unquestioned. Christmas Eve fish dinner was the one dinner no one missed. Christmas Eve fish dinner was at the home of the patriarch or matriarch. Every child and grandchild was present. The power of the Italian American Christmas Eve dinner overwhelmed all other cultural influences. While the fish dinner may have been rooted in Italy it spread its branches to include and embrace not only those non-Italians who had married into the family but all those of other ethnic backgrounds who were friends beyond the family. Everyone with any association to the family was invited to the Christmas Eve fish dinner.
While all other holiday dinners gathered the family while there was still light in the sky, Christmas Eve Fish Dinner began sometime after sunset. It was and is, the only festive dinner in the Italian American tradition that is shared in darkness. All other holidays in the Italian American tradition are celebrated at the table sometime shortly after noon. Christmas Eve Fish Dinner always began sometime after six in the evening.
Christmas Eve Fish Dinner differs from all other dinners by its lack of structure. Other dinners, whether Sunday Gravy or Easter Sunday follow a certain formality. For other dinners there is always a soup course, an antipasto, the pasta, the main course and then the dessert. The Christmas Eve Fish Dinner was quite different. The Christmas Eve Fish Dinner had courses, but the courses were not single dishes. For the Christmas Eve fish dinner each course was composed of several offerings. And the whole dinner was preceded by a cold table of finger foods that allowed mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews to chatter for an hour or so before dinner began. The finger foods were set on small tables in the living room. The platters included olives, slices of celery and broccoli, and a dish of crackers. There were also plates of cooked shrimp with sides of shrimp cocktail sauce. The olives were from cans and the children liked to slide the pit wholes over their fingers as they chomped on the olives. I would guess that the shrimp and the horseradish based cocktail sauce was an influence from the fashionable restaurants of the time.
After at least an hour of nibbling on the side platters the dinner bell called us to the tables. Yes, tables. In our family there were three. In our center hall style house, the dining room table was turned towards the center hall. A second and third table were butted up to the main table. The three tables continued through the center hall into the living room. Seating was determined by age. The oldest sat in the dining room section; the younger the child the closer to the living room.
There was no soup on Christmas Eve. When we sat at the table we first saw a small bowl of whiting salad with lemon and a serving of "scungilli," conch. When I was small there was a cold baccalà salad with tomato. These cold fish salads were followed by the pasta. Of course, we never heard or used the word "pasta." For us the "pasta" dish was one of three possibilities. It changed from year to year. It could be either "Clams and Spaghetti," "Mussels and Spaghetti," or "Squid and Spaghetti." The spaghetti were always the very thin "angel hair" ("capellini.")
The next course is always a serving of several varieties of fried fish. My Irish background mother prepared several fish offerings in different ways. There are three central dishes. First, she made a tray of plain American fish sticks for the children and for those at the table of a less than Italian heritage. Then, as a middle ground, my mother makes the most exquisite crab cakes that would appeal to Italian traditionalists as much as to the non- Italian in-laws. For the old timers there is always the most wonderful finger food, fried smelts with lemon. There are also fried scallops, fried shrimp, fried calamari and fried oysters.
Following the fried dishes, the table is covered with several trays of broiled scallop, shrimp and clams. Then comes the main fish platter. This platter has no Italian precedent that I know of. My mother introduced this dish about thirty years ago: stuffed orange roughy papillote. The orange roughy papillote is made by splitting the fish into two pieces and filling with a layer of spinach with tomato, garlic and olive oil. The fish is wrapped in parchment and baked.
After a rest and an interlude of conversation the Christmas Eve Fish dinner is crowned by the dish everyone waits for, my mother's tray of Christmas cookies. We began at five in the evening. After the cookies it is after 11. The culmination of the Christmas Eve Fish Dinner is Midnight Mass. Following Christmas Midnight Mass the family came home to a wonderful breakfast of eggs and bacon and, in Philadelphia, of scrapple. The special delight of the breakfast was the Christmas Bread, a wonderful brioche-like pastry shaped in a ring and decorated with multi-colored sprinkles. But Christmas bread is another page.
by TONY D MORINELLI
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_D_Morinelli
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7394063
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7394063
Friday, November 15, 2013
WORLD'S GREATEST HOT DOGS at RUTT'S HUT Where "BABE RUTH" ATE
A Couple RIPPERS
DEEP-FRIED HOT DOGS
at RUTT'S HUT
RUTT'S HUT
FAMOUS
HOUSE-MADE RELISH
The COUNTER
The BAMBINO !!!
BABE RUTH
ATE DOGS
at RUTT'S HUT
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Guy Fieri Mac N Cheese Burger Recipe
- 4 brioche hamburger buns
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 4 (6-ounce) premium blend ground beef burger balls
- Kosher salt
- 8 ounces Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese (recipe below)
- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese slices
- 8 ounces crispy crumbled bacon bits
- 4 tsp. garlic panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup crispy Maui onion straws
- 3 tbsp. Donkey Sauce (recipe below)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced sweet onion
- 1 Kosher dill pickle, thinly sliced
- 1 Beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce (dressed with 1 tsp. red wine vinegar)
1. Combine the melted butter with minced garlic. Slice each bun in half and brush the garlic butter on each side. Toast each half in a hot skillet or grill pan, about 20 seconds; flip and toast the second side as well.
2. In a cast-iron skillet over high heat, add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Season burger balls with salt and add to pan. Sear for 30 seconds. Using a firm spatula, flatten each into a patty, about 1/3’’ thick. Cook for approximately 1½ minutes to develop a crust on the first side.
3. Flip over, add 2 ounces of mac and cheese to each patty, and top with one slice of cheddar. Cover with a dome and pour 1 tablespoon of water into the skillet to create steam and melt the cheese. Cook for 1 minute. Remove the dome; the cheese should be completely melted. Cook an additional 30-45 seconds so any cheese spilling over the burger gets crusty.
4. To assemble, spread donkey sauce on each half of the bun. Cover the bottom bun with thinly sliced onion, three slices of pickle and one slice of tomato. Top with the hamburger patty, top with bacon crumbles, garlic panko, onion straws and a heaping tablespoon of dressed lettuce. Add top bun and skewer to hold together. Serve immediately.
Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Makes 12 cups
- 8 ounces small elbow pasta
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil, as needed
- 16 slices applewood smoked bacon
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups whole milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese
- 3 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 ounces fontina cheese, grated
- 2 ounces parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 ounces Parrano cheese, grated
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 2-3 grates fresh nutmeg
- Freshly ground black pepper
1. In a skillet over medium heat, add the bacon. Render the fat and cook until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon from the skillet to a paper towel lined dish and set aside. Once cooled, chop into small pieces. Reserve fat.
2. In the leftover bacon grease, melt butter. Gradually add in the flour and whisk until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden color and is the consistency of wet sand, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add in milk, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, add the bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, whisking frequently.
3. Add in cheeses, one at a time, and whisk until each is fully incorporated into the sauce. Add in yellow mustard, nutmeg, cooked pasta, bacon, and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a gratin dish and allow to cool, so you can scoop it onto burgers.
Donkey Sauce
Makes 1¼ cups
- ¼ cup minced roasted garlic
- 1 cup prepared mayonnaise
- 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. yellow mustard
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 4 turns freshly ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Monday, November 11, 2013
ROBERT PARKER Jr. "The WORLD'S WORST WINE CRITIC"
Robert Parker
To DRINK BETTER WINE
DO NOT LISTEN To PARKER
HOW ROBERT PARKER ALMOST DESTROYED WINE
Most Wine Drinkers may not know this, but they'd be well advised not to ever listen to Robert Parker and his ill-advised wine news-letter The Wine Advocate. Not if they want the best wine drinking experience possible and they want to choose a good wine to go with their meal, they will not follow the terrible advice and reviews that Robert Parker gives on wine. The kind of wines Parker loves the most are overly oaked, Overly-Rich, heavily concentrated wine that are crafted to be Heavy Thick Full Bodied Oaky Fruit-Bomb Wines. Wines that clash with food instead of complimenting it. If it was up to Robert Parker he'd have all the wines in the World tasting like over-manipulated, big, fat powerful wines like California Cabernets and Meritage Blends instead of wonderful food complementary wines like; Chianti, Barolo, Brunello, Beaujlais, some Bordeaux wines and the like. Wines that go well with food instead of clashing with it as many of the so-called Parkerized Wines do. The man has ruined the publics perception to what good wine is and should be. The public thinks because he is a famous wine writer, that he knows best and what he's talking about. Maybe he does, but the style of wine he likes, well?
If the general public wants the best wine drinking experience possible, they'd be wise to steer clear of The Wine Advocate and any wine advice dished out by Parker.
If the general public wants the best wine drinking experience possible, they'd be wise to steer clear of The Wine Advocate and any wine advice dished out by Parker.
Robert Parker's advice on wine is advice that steers and influences peoples perceptions of what great wine is, into a quite a bad, almost one-dimensional place of homogenized overly thick un-natural wines. People should stop taking advice of Robert Parker, the World of Wine would be a much better place, a place of real wine that is It SUCKS! Robert Parker's advice reviews, and Ratings of Wine that is.
If you want to is true to the local terroir of whereever any particular wine might come from. In other words, Chianti should taste like Chianti, Barolo like Barolo, and Bordeaux like Bordeaux and not like a "Big Fat" California or Autralian Cabernet or Meritage Blended Wine and such.
People should drink Wonderful Wines that go great with food and are "Real Natural Wines" the kind of Wines that were made for 100 of years and still are except for those wines made by owners who have fallen into to whole Robert Parker "Spin Doctor" realm and make "Overly-Concentrated Wine" that taste fake and un-natural, they are manipulated and are the kind of wines that Parker likes and gives High 90 Plus Ratings to.
People should drink Wonderful Wines that go great with food and are "Real Natural Wines" the kind of Wines that were made for 100 of years and still are except for those wines made by owners who have fallen into to whole Robert Parker "Spin Doctor" realm and make "Overly-Concentrated Wine" that taste fake and un-natural, they are manipulated and are the kind of wines that Parker likes and gives High 90 Plus Ratings to.
Drink real Chianti (not any that contain Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot), drink Barolos that have been aged in large gentile Slovenian Oak Cask instead of small 225 liter Barrique Barrels that make many wines taste more of Wood (the way Parker likes them) than beautiful unadulterated with natural fruit (Grapes). Wines like; Brunello, Cote du Rhones, and just about anything other than overly-concentrated, overly Oaked, minipulated overly-oaked wines from Australia and over-powering Californian and Australian monsters and you'll be doing OK.
"Just DON'T Listen to anything ROBERT PARKER and his highly popular but we say awful newsletter "The Wine Advocate" has to say or Write about Wine." The man almost single handily Destroyed what Good Wine "is" and should be.
Be "Anti-Parker" you'll be glad you did. "Do."
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
"Mr. Parkers "illigitimate" reign as wine-oracl and suprem arbiter of taste and quality has not only addicted a generation of Yuppies to his mythical 100- Point rating annoucements, but has played a major role of leading many of the world's great winemakers to compromise "their art" to make wines to suit the ratings, in order to sell, rather than making wines that will do poor early in early tastings but will mature into masterpieces over decades."
NO BARRIQUE
NO BERLUSCONI
NO ROBERT PARKER
Sunday, November 10, 2013
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