Tomato Sauce Coming in Mangia Italiano

 

The following piece : TOMATO SAUCE is excerpted from MANGIA ITALIANO !

Coming Soon on AMAZON.com

 

TOMATO SAUCE

  Tomato Sauce? Yes from the very beginning tomato sauce is a big part of our lives. In fact, quite a “Huge” part. We’re Italian and we eat a lot of it. We start at an early age, as soon as we’re able to eat solid foods. As you’ve already learned, we’re weaned on Pastina, those tiny little star shaped pasta, coated with a little butter. After that, besides pureed fruits and vegetables, and then mommy will give you some spaghetti that she’s cut up and coated with a little bit of your first tomato sauce, something you will eat for the rest of your life, “let’s not forget you’re Italian.” With all the wonderful dishes we have available to us, sometimes there’s nothing I want more than a nice simple plate of perfectly cooked Spaghetti Pomodoro, topped with a sprinkling of Olive Oil and grated Parmigiano or Pecorino on top, “there’s nothing better.”    Ok, now whatever you call it; Sauce, Salsa di Pomodoro, Sugo di Pomodoro, or Tomato Sauce, it’s just that Tomato Sauce. So here we go. Without question Italian Food is the undisputed King of ethnic foods in America. Yes we love Chinese Food, which runs second to Italian, and Mexican, French, Thai, and all the rest, but Italian Food beats them all. What are the most popular foods consumed in America? You’d have to say Burgers, Pizza, Pasta, and Sandwiches are in the lead as concerning dishes eaten by most Americans. Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce is in the top ten for sure. Unfortunately, a lot of it is not very good. We’re talking about jar-sauce here, something “no self-respecting Italian ever eats.” You can actually say, when people eat Spaghetti in this manner, with not-very-authentic jarred tomato sauce, this so-called sauce (the Jar Kind) is not Italian or even Italian-American, it’s American, and bad American food at that. Please “Please” don’t associate it with Italian-America and the fine food we eat, “please don’t.” So if you eat pasta that is over-cooked, and mushy spaghetti with massed produced commercial Tomato Sauce from a jar? Then “you are not eating Italian,” nor Italian-American, but regular American (not Italian-American) home-convenience food, that’s quick, easy, and economical to make, and not very good at that. Just don’t call that kind of pasta Italian, ”It’s Not,” it’s American, OK, so don’t forget it. Do you get the point?    So when we talk about Tomato Sauce (Salsa Pomodoro) we’re talking about fresh made tomato sauce, made with tomatoes, olive oil, fresh Garlic, Pepperoncino, and fresh Basil, cooked at home by you or some family member. And when I say fresh, that doesn’t mean that the tomatoes have to be fresh tomatoes, which are only in season about 8 weeks a year. The rest of the year fresh-tomatoes are inferior to the great product of canned tomatoes, or jarred Passata di Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Puree in glass jars) especially San Marzano Tomatoes that come from the environs in and around Naples, Italy. And there are many great brands of tomatoes canned in the U.S.A as well. One of the best ways of all to make a good homemade tomato sauce at home is if you have your own homemade Passata di Pomodoro from tomatoes grown in your own garden to full ripeness, or Passata that you made from fresh tomatoes that you bought in bulk at an inexpensive price when tomatoes are at the peak of the season. Many Italian-Americans make Passata di Pomodoro (Tomato Puree) from tomatoes they have grown in their backyard and picked at the height of perfect-ripeness perfection. Some people, if they don’t grow them will buy fresh tomatoes in bulk in season and make the passata. Some make the passata with a combination of tomatoes they grew in the garden, and along with a box or bushel of fresh tomatoes from a farm, farmers market, or wholesaler. This practice of growing your own tomatoes and canning them (actually in Glass Jars) is one of Italian-America’s great time-honored traditions, which many families still do to this day, along with another wonderful Italian-American family ritual of making your own homemade wine. But don’t fret if your family doesn’t do this, you can make some great sauce with many of the fine canned and jarred tomato products from America or imported from Italy.  

     Tomato Sauce is quite a wonderful thing. You can do many things with it; top a Frittata with a bit of your homemade sauce and grated Parmigiano and you’ve got a tasty little meal in no-time. You need a cup or so of tomato sauce to make Caponata and to add to so many Italian recipes as well. When you have a Tomato Sauce already made, you can make many other Pasta Sauces simply by adding different ingredients. You can make Pasta with Zucchini or Cucuzza (Googootz) by simply sautéing Zucchini or Cucuzza (large Italian Squash) in olive oil with garlic, salt, and pepper, adding some tomato sauce and you have a couple new sauces right there. Sauté some Mushrooms, add tomato sauce and you can make Spaghetti con Funghi (Spaghetti w/ Mushroom Sauce). To make the famous Sicilian dish Pasta alla Norma you sauté Eggplant in olive oil with garlic, add “yes, you guessed it,” Tomato Sauce, cook your pasta of choice, toss it with the eggplant and tomato sauce, grate some Ricotta Salata Cheese over the top, and you’ve got a classic plate of the famed Sicilian dish, Pasta alla Norma. Sauté some chopped anchovies with capers and olives, add your tomato sauce, and just like that you have Puttanesca Sauce for Spaghetti al Puttanesca, the sauce of the Neapolitan Ladies of The Night. All these tasty dishes because you’ve learned how to make Tomato Sauce, catch my drift, Capece? And that’s not all. When you have some tomato sauce on hand, you have the base for such wonderful Italian dishes as Eggplant Parmigiano, Veal Parm, or Chicken Parmigiano and more. You’ve got your tomato sauce, you can make all these things, and more. “The World is Yours Chico!”   Excerpted from "MANGIA ITALIANO"                                                                                        ... Due for December 15 , 2017 Publication Release   

MANGIA ITALIANO !

My Latest !

Due for Decmeber 15 , PUBLICATION

MANGIA ITALIANO will be Available in PAPERBACK on AMAZON.com

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PASTA con CUCUZZA

As I say in MANGIA ITALIANO in the chapter TOMATO SAUCE, which you can read above, once you have a Tomato Sauce made, besides making SPAGHETTI POMODORO , you can make many other dishes like Pasta con Cucuzza , simply by adding different ingredients in with the tomato sauce. The recipe for Tomato Sauce and other recipes and stories of Italian Food, are in Mangia Italiano, coming in December 2017. Just in time for Christmas. Buon Natale Tutti!

Italian Grandma Makes Sunday Sauce Gravy

 

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NONNA GINA Making MEATBALLS

for Her SAUCE

"GRAVY"

Browning The MEAT

GRANDMA MAKES SAUCE

Watch This ITALIAN GRANDMA

Make SUNDAY SAUCE ITALIAN GRAVY

The MEATS on a PLATTER

and The Finished SAUCE

WANT THE RECIPE ???

IT's in SUNDAY SAUCE

SUNDAY SAUCE alla CLEMNZA

RECIPE In SUNDAY SAUCE 

The BOOK

Available on AMAZON

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How to Say GABAGOOL

TONY SOPRANO'S GABAGOOL

HOW to Say CAPICOLA

"GABAGOOL" !!!

DELI GIRL

Slices GABAGOOL

CAPICOLA

SUNDAY SAUCE

How to make a GABAGOOL SANDWICH

Daniel Bellino "Z"

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Old New York Italian Butcher Shops

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PINO PRIME MEATS

Sullivan Street , GREENWICH VILLAGE , New York

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Pino's Italian Butcher Shop

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Pino is the proprietor of Pino's Prime Meats, a butcher shop on Sullivan Street in lower Manhattan. Pino's establishment, with its hand-lettered signs and 19th-century fixtures, is a little piece of old New York, and sometimes it feels like a little piece of the Old World, too, as friends passing by the door sing out "Ciao, Pino!" (More Italian is spoken at Pino's than in certain quarters of Florence or Venice.) Pino has been carving up sheep, pigs and cattle since he was a teenager in the Sicilian town of Castrofilippo, and you might say that meat is in his blood. When I asked him about his family, this was his answer: "My grandfather was a butcher. My father was a butcher. My brothers are butchers. My brother-in-law. My sister-in-law. My nephew and my other nephew—butchers. My son is a butcher." And I, fool that I am, thought I could spend an afternoon at Pino's side and learn how to take apart a steer. I might as well have tried to master rocket science by watching an episode of Lost in Space.

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Picture of AL PACINO in CORLEONE SICILY

The GODFATHER

The SOPRANOS as Well

In the window at PINO'S

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To watch Pino in action is to see an uncanny blend of brute strength and magic. With an unerring pass of his knife, he separates a thick layer of fat from the ribs as easily as if he were cutting a deck of cards. Moments earlier, though, when he took a hacksaw to those ribs, he leaned into it with a force that made me understand why he'd spent the morning in physical therapy. His shoulder has been bothering him since December, when night after night he stayed up late, sawing through bones to meet 182 orders for Christmas roasts.

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FLORENCE PRIME MEATS

ITALIAN BUTCHER SHOP

Jones Street GREENWICH VILLAGE , NEW YORK

"HOME of The NEWPORT STEAK"

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Our THREE NEWPORTS From FLORENCE MEAT MARKET,  GREENWICH VILLAGE

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A piece of Tri-Tip Sirloin in one piece didn't sell well in Jack Obaldi's butcher shop so 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 Sausages 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 ... 

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Inside Florence Italian Butcher Shop with all its original equipment and decor.

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ALBANESE MEAT MARKET 

 

Elizabeth Street ..NEW YORK  NY

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OLD SCHOOL ITALIAN BUTCHER

Where Catherine Scorsese Shopped for Meat

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ALBANESE MEAT MARKET SCORSESE FAMILY BUTCHERS

Across the street from The Scorsese Family apartment on Elizabeth Street, Little Italy       New York was the Scorsese family Butcher.

READ MORE on The ALBANESE MEAT MARKET

GRANDMA BELLINO'S SICILIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

FAICCO'S PORK STORE / ITALIAN BUTCHER

Bleecker Street , GREENWICH VILLAGE

Fresh Italian Sausages and House-Made Sopresseta are Famous at FAICCO'S

Great Italian Sandwiches Too !!!

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SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN AMERICANS COOK

RECIPE For GOODFELLAS PRISON SAUCE

INSIDE

ALBANESE BUTCHER SHOP

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The Albanese Meats and Poultry Market had its humble beginning in New York City's famous "Little Italy" in 1923.

Started by Moe-the-Butcher's father and mother, Vincenzo and Mariannina (Mary), the Albanese Family has been serving the very finest meats and poultry for nearly 85 years.

In a part of the city overrun with butchers, pork stores, and Italian deli's, Albanese Meats and Poultry distinguished itself by catering to their customers and exclusively serving many of the specialty meats and holiday favorites desired by the mostly Italian immigrant community at that time. Then in the early 50's, Moe, after finishing college, joined the family business, as the success of the store on Elizabeth Street allowed them to expand their footprint on the Lower East Side with another store near the Williamsburg Bridge.

With his father close by his side, this is where Moe learned the trade and honed his skills as a Master Butcher- excelling in the art of skinning and butchering while formulating a keen eye for buying only the finest cuts of meat.

Then with the untimely passing of Vincenzo in 1954, the new shop was closed and Moe put aside his aspirations of attending medical school to join his mother on Elizabeth Street. He's been there ever since. Mary and Moe worked together on Elizabeth Street for nearly 50 years until her passing at the age of 97 in 2002. Now, Moe carries on the business and the great family tradition- serving only the finest cuts of meat with the same enjoyment and enthusiasm as the old days.

The LOBEL'S of LOBEL'S PRIME MEATS

Better Have a THICK WALLET THOUGH

A PORTERHOUSE STEAK will set you back $120 or More at Lobel's

A LOBEL'S PORTERHOUSE STEAK

Ottomanelli & Sons

Italian Butcher Shop that specializes in WILD GAME as Well as STEAKS and all the Usual Suspects ... BLEECKER STREET GREENWICH VILLAGE , NEW YORK

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THE RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

 

by DANNY BOLOGNESE

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PICTURE of SINATRA

 

with TONY

 

owner of The Marechiare Bar

 

aka TONY'S NUTHOUSE

 

on MULBERRY STREET

 

Now it's The MULBERRY STREET BAR

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