Vino Vongole & Lemonade in Positani Capri & Amalfi

CAPRI

View From The TOp of Monte Solario, Capri, Italy

with Faroglionni Rocks below …

My Favorite Lemonade Stand in Italy

Behind the famed Quississana Hotel

Across From CAESAR AUSUSTUS GARDENS, CAPRI

Also right by a Wonderful Little Hotel I Used to Stay At,

La TOSCA, a lovely little Hotel with the most Spectacular Views

of Capri and The Faralognni Rocks (most Iconic Symbol of Capri)

The Hotel is lovely and very affordle. I stayed ther in 1988, but stayed

in Anacapri this time at The Hotel Carmencita

Me at My Favorite Restorante in Positano

Da VINCENZO

With My ANtipasto of Polpo al Griglia e Carciofi Fritte

and a Nice Glass of Greco di Tufo local wine …

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

al Solotaria, Anacapri

SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-americans Cook

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Carbone

CARBONE

Greenwich Village, New York

photo : Daniel Bellino Zwicke

What Wine For The ITALIAN CHRISTMAS FEAST of THE 7 FISH

“SO? WHAT WINE For THE FEAST of THE 7 FISH” ???

What
wine for the Feast of 7 Fish? A good question. Well for one thing, your
favorite wine that you like best will always do. But if you are looking for
suggestions and what are so-called expert pairings, then you would most likely
want some good white wine, and some Italian white at that. My own number one
personal favorite would be a nice Greco di Tufo from Campania, the region of
Italy where the Festa di Sette Pesci is in its greatest realm. The Italian
Christmas Feast is quite a big thing in Sicily and other parts of the South of
Italy. But when it comes to great wines of Southern Italy, no region can beat
Campania with wines like; Fiano di Avelino, Falanghina, Lacryma Christi Bianco,
and Greco.

So Greco di Tufo for your Feast of Seven
Fish? Greco di Tufo has good acidity which makesit a clean/crisp wine that’s
just perfect for fish. The wine usually exhibits Lemon Citrus flavors along
with good hints of pear fruit for a nice flavor profile. So, I for one love to
serve Greco with my Feast of The 7 Fish meal as it goes so perfectly with all
fish and shellfish and that is from Campania, the capital region of this wonderful
feast of seven fishes, and a place of charming beauty.

Another great wine from Campania to contemplate
for your meal is Lacryma Christi. Now considering the religious aspects of The
Feast of The 7 Fish, Lacryma Christ is a wine that has very special meaning, as
the wine is intertwined with Biblical History. According to legend, God cried
when he found a corner of Heaven stolen by Lucifer, and where his tears fell,
there grew the grapes that make Lacryma Christi, which translates to “The Tears
of Christ.” Lacryma Christi Bianco is made mostly of Coda di Volpe grapes. It’s
also a nice clean crispy white that usually shows flavors of White Peaches and
Pineapples. Consider its taste and historical significance, Lacryma Christ
makes a perfect wine for the Festa di Sette Pesci. Also not, that there is also
Lacryma Christi Rosso (red wine), made from Piedirosso grapes that makes a
wonderful wine for this feast if you want to drink some red.

You may also want to consider a wine from
Friuli, as this region is Italy’s # 1 region for great white wines, as well as
in my opinion the greatest single white wine region in all the world. Yes, it
is. They make wonderful whites like; Sauvignon Blanc, Friuliano (formely known
as Toacai), Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Riballa Gialla, and more. Great
Friulian wine producers to look for are; Jermann, Venica, Colterenzio,
Teifenbrunner, Marco Felluga, Livio Felluga, Zamo, and Villa Russiz.

I particularly love all the wines from my
friends Gianni and Gianpaulo Venica, especially their Friuliano (Tocai) and
their great Sauvignon “Ronco d’ Mele.”

As I’ve said, the wines from Friuli are
some of the best in the world, but considering that when making a really fine
meal you usually want to pair wine from the same region the food comes from. So
considering that Campania and the south of Italy is where the Festa di Sett
Pesci is most prevelant and at it greatest heights, you

want
a wine from the south for your Feast of The 7 Fish, and Campanian white wines
are without question the best way to go.

If you want some red wine for your Feast,
of course Italian reds are the natural bet. I suggest you do not get anything
to big or of heavy weight. Get a nice lighter red like; Chianti, Barbera, or
one of the lighter Etna Rosso wines. I particularly love Chianti from my good
friend Luigi Cappellini of Castel Verrazzano in Greve. Yes it’s not from
Campania, but I just love Chianti, especially Luigi’s. Though, often with this
Christmas meal, I love drinking Lacryma Christi Rosso from either
Mastroberadino or Feudi San Gregorio. Both of these wine producers make
wonderful wines, and you can get; Greco, Falanghina, Fiano, Lacryma Christ
Bianco or Rosso from either of these winemakers and you’d be doing very well.
Basta.

LEARN HOW To MAKE THE FEAST of THE 7 FISH

THE FEAST of THE 7 FISH

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

The DEFINING BOOK of THE GENRE

Recipe Baked Clams Oreganata

The FEAST of The 7 FISH

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

New Cover

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s book THE FEAST of The 7 FISH is getting a New Cover … The Feast of The 7 Fish, Italian Christmas by Daniel Bellino Zwicke is the # 1 Best Selling Book on Amazon of this genre of The Feast of Seven Fish Italian ritual Christmas Meal, known in Italy as La Vigilia or Feste di Sette Pesci ..

The Feast of The 7 Fish is a wonderful Italian Christmas Tradition wereby you sit down to a meal (Feast) of 7 different fishes that represent The 7 Sacraments of The Holy Roamn Catholic Church .. This is a wonderful old tradition of The South of Italy which has been carried on by many Italian-Americans with Southern Italian roots, in particular families whose ancestry is from Naples (Napoli) and its invirons of Benevento and Avelino, as well as those Americans with Sicilain roots in their ancestry.

Yes, some have caried on this great tradition. Some make seven fish for the feast while some may make Baccala for the main course, and maybe some Baked Clams or Stuffed Calamari for an apetizer (antipasto). Some may just make the Baccala or some other fish for the main course and no other fish. Some make the whole seven fish fish, and some even make up to 11 different fish, though this is a rare meal. And it’s perfectly fine to make just once fish, as long as you are having fish, you need not make a big elaborate meal but whatever you like, as long as you have a good time. And Daniel gives hints on how to make an easy seven fish feast without going through so much work, unless you really want to. It’s all up to you.

BAKED
CLAMS OREGANATA

Baked Clams are an All-Time Italian-American
favorite, and for good reason, they are tasty as can be. There are two
different styles of Baked Clams that we Italians love to eat, mostly at restaurants
but at home as well. The two most famous baked clam dishes are; Clams Casino
that have bacon, butter, garlic parsley, and minced Bell Peppers baked on top
and Baked Clams Oreganata. The Clams Casino are quite good, but we will include
the other Baked Clam dish, Baked Clams Oreganata for the Christmas Eve Fish
Dinner as they do not contain any meat.

INGREDIENTS:

2 dozen
Littleneck Clams

1 cup
Bread Crumbs

5 cloves
garlic, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons
dry Oregano

1/8 Olive
Oil

¾ cup
water

½ teaspoon
Black Pepper

2
tablespoons fresh parsley, washed, dried, and
minced fine

1. Wash Clams in cold running water. Place in a large pot with water and 2 of the
garlic cloves. Turn heat on to high. When water comes to the boil, add clams
and cover pot. Let cook about 3 minutes, just until the clams start opening. We
do not want the clams to cook here, but just to open.

2. Remove clams from pot and let cool, reserving the cooking juices.

3. In a mixing bowl, add all remaining ingredients and stir to mix. When the clam
cooking liquid has cooled down, add little by little to breadcrumb mixture
which should already by slightly moist from the olive oil. Add clam broth a
little at a time. You want the breadcrumbs to be moist, but “Not Watery.”

4. Pry the top half-shell of the clam off, leaving the calm in the bottom shell
and discarding the top shell. Place about 1 tablespoon of breadcrumb mixture
over each Clam covering them all completely with the bread-crumbs.

5. Place the Clams on a sheet-pan and bake in a preheated 400 Degree oven for 6 or
7 minutes. Then place calms under a broiler for 20 to 30 seconds being careful
not to let the breadcrumbs burn. They can have a slight char but not burned.
The Clams are now ready for serving.

Note:
Two to three clams will be sufficient per person if serving the full Seven Fish
Dinner. If you are making this for another meal and serving as an appetizer, 5 to
7 clams is the preferred serving size. At a cocktail party, two clams per
person is good.

PS..
You can also make Mussels Oreganata in the same exact preparation, substituting
Mussels for the Clams.

OLD COVER

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

SUNDAY SAUCE

Famous OLD NEW YORK BARS

Grand Daddy of All Old New York Bars

1. McSorley’s Old Ale House .. East 7th Street, East Village, New York

2. Old Town Bar … East 18th Street, Union Square, New York

3. Pete’s Tavern … Irving Place, Gramercy Park, NY, NY

4. White Horse Tavern .. Hudson Street, Greenwich Village

5. PJ Clarke’s … 3rd Avenue at 55th Street, Midtown, NY NY

6. Ear Inn …. Spring Street, Soho

7. Fanelli’s Cafe … Prince Street, Soho

8. Peter McManus … 7th Avenue at 18th Street, Chelsea

9. Minetta Tavern .. Macdougal Street, Greenwich Village

PJ CLARKE’S

photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

WAVERLY INN

photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

WHITE HORSE TAVERN

PETE’S TAVERN

Gramercy Park

NEW YORK, NY

Since 1864

photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

OLD TOWN BAR

FLATIRON NEW YORK

Inside The OLD TOWN BAR

18th STREET

between BROADWAY & PARK AVENUE

A Beautiful Watercolor Painting of FANELLI’S

FANELLI’S

Prince Street, Soho, New York, NY

Since 1847 ???

MINETTA TAVERVN

Macdougal Street & Minetta Lane

GREENWICH VILLAGE

photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

PETER McMANUS

CHELSEA

New York, NY

La TAVOLA is NEW YORK ITALIAN

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

The COLLECTED RECIPES of The DUDE

by Daniel Zwicke

Great Italian Bakeries New York

VESUVIO BREAD BAKERS

PRINCE STREET … Soho / GREENWICH VILLAGE New York

Note: Vesuvio’s Bakery has closed, however the Beautiful Piece of Italian New York History remains in its Landmark Status Storefront ..

PARISI BAKERY, Little Italy, New York

Bread Bakers

Caputos Bake Shop, Carrol Gardens, BROOKLYN

Mario Fortunato, FORTUNATO BROTHERS BAKERY

BROOKLY NEW YORK

SFOGIATELLE

Fortunato Bros. Bakery

KEITH McNALLY Downtown & Greenwich Village

The Keith McNally Empire

# 1

The ODEON

When all is said and done, Keith McNally will go down as the Greatest Restauranter in the history of New York City .. Just about everyplace Kieth ever opened would turn out to be uber hot and the Hottest restuarant of it’s time .. From his very first venture, The Odeon, then Cafe Luxenbourg, then Nell’s, Pravda, Balthazar, Schillers, Pastis, Pulino Morandi, Minetta Tavern, (The only place to fail), Cherche Midi, Balthazar London …

BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY

by Jay McInerney

THE GREAT PATRICK CLARKE

Patrick Clarke

Executive Chef

Sadly Passed

The GIRLS of CAFE LUXENBOURG

Cafe Luxenbourg Advertisement

Cafe Louxenbourg

# 2

# 3

NELL’S

KEITH HARRING at NELL’S

KEITH HARRING & ???

At NELL’S

Sometime in The 80’s

# 4

PRAVDA

Layfayette Street, Noho

# 5

BALTHAZAR

Spring Street at Crosby

Noho / Soho

# 6

SCHILLERS

Lower East Side

NEW YORK

# 7

PASTIS

Keith McNally

was The Major Force

with

His Opening of PASTIS

Along with Eric Goode (Maritime Hotel, Chelsea)

Creating The Meatpacking District

KEITH CREATES NEIGHBORHOODS

He Did So For TRIBECA and Later with The

MEAT PACKING DISTRICT

# 8

MINETTA TAVERN

MINETTA TAVERN .. photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke .. Coyrighted 2010

Minetta Tavern

Macdougal Steet, GREENWICH VILLAGE

NEW YORK

photo by DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE

# 9

PAULINO

Bowery, NEW YORK

KEITH Only Failed Project

# 10

CHERCHE MIDI

Cherche Midi

On The BOWERY

The Former Paulino Space

# 11

BALTHAZAR LONDON

CONVENT GARDEN

LONDON

SUNDAY SAUCE ITALIAN GRAVY

Italian-American

SUNDAY SAUCE

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

SEGRETO ITALIANO

Rare & Secret Italian Recipes

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

GOT ANY KAHLUA?

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Secret Italian Recipes Daniel Bellino

SECRET & RARE ITALIAN RECIPES ???

SEGRETO ITALIANO

SECRET RECIPES INSIDE !!!

SECRET RECIPES? CLICK HERE !

Secret & Rare Italian Recipes? Yes, Secret & Rare Italian Recipes, are the main premises of Italian Cookbook Author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s latest book SEGRETO ITALIAN, from Broadway Fifth Press, New York …

Daniel has fast become America’s Hot New Celebrity Chef Cookbook Author, with 4 Best Selling Cookbooks in Amazon.com Top 100 Cookbooks at this very moment ( September 14, 2014) … His book Sunday Sauce – When Italian-Americans Cook has been the # 1 Best Seller Italian Cookbooks for more than 5 months, and there is no sign of it relinquessing its # 1 Spot at The Top any time soon .. Daniel’s La TAVOLA – Italian-American New Yorkers Adventures of The Table has made its way back into the top 40, The FEAST of THE 7 FISH is in the Top 100 Best Sellers, and Segreto Italiano is # 7 on Amazon’s Best Seller List Italian Cookbooks on Kindle and the # 1 Hot New Best Seller for September 2014 Italian Cookbooks. Wow !!!

Not bad!

So, Segerto Italiano? Yes, the main themes of the book, of which there are 3 are; #1 First and foremost, The Secret Recipes, # 2 Rare Recipes, after all, many times you llok in a cookbook and you might see many things over and over again. You need something new, thus the rare recipes. And # 3, Favorite Italian Dishes, some of the most love and popular dishes of what we know as Italian-America.

Now, a little about the Secret Recipes was the the first spark that ignited Daniel’s mind and idea for this cookbook Segreto Italiano .. Daniel saide that he was just thinking (one day) about dinners he had had over the years at one of his favorite of all Italian Restaurants in New York, Gino’s up on Lexington Avenue, across the street fromt the world famous Bloomingdales’s department store … Sadly Gino’s had closed its doors a few years ago, due to high rent and high insurance and other cost to the union employees .. Expenses were too high and they decided to close their doors and shut the place down … Very sad. I wish they would have gotten a better ideas and raised all the prices of the entrees 2 or 3 dollars, drinks by $1.00 and a couple or few buck on each bottle of wine .. This probably would have cover the rent increase and other cost over the course of a month, and me and the many devoted fans of Gino’s would still have our beloved Ginot’s to go to. I’m quite certain that not one person would have complained about the prices being raised if it meant saving Gino’s .. Wel maybe a few?

GINO’S SECRET SAUCE

Inside Our Beloved and Sorely Missed GINO’S

A Waiter Chats Up a Table

NOTE The FAMED ZEBRA WALLPAPER

Gino’s was a wonderful little restaurant with many loyal regular customers, the likes of;

Gay Talese, Joe Dimaggio, and one Francis Albert Sinatra. There were many other celebrities and very well heeled customers. You had to loved the crowd at Gino’s …

Anyway, Daniel said he was remenising about Gino’s and meales he had with his cousin Joe, sisiter Barbara, brothers Michael and Jimmy and others. He said he used to go to Gino’s once or twice a month with cousin Joe who loved the joint as well, especially Gino’s famous and secret Salsa Segrete, pasta of your choice with Gino’s Secret Sauce, it was oh so yummy Daniel says … Daniel talks about the first time he and cousin Joe went there. The ordered a nice bottle of Chianti, some Baked Clams and Veal Milanese. In-between the Clams and the Veal they ordered a dish that intrigued them. A dish called Tagiolini con Salsa Segrete (Secret Sauce) .. The boys both love pasta, but none more so than cousin Joe who had to have a bowl of pasta (maccheroni) with every meal. So they ordered a bowl to split in-between the first and second courses .. Well, when it came out, they went nuts. They loved it. Of course they did, the sauce is awesome;y delicious … Daniel and Joe never had a meal at Gino’s without getting a bowl of Pasta with Salsa Segrete, and it was too long before Daniel figured out the Secret Ingredients and how to make it … The recipe is in the cookbook, Segreto Italiano and Daniel promised us not to print it. We obliged, so if you want to learn how to make Salsa Segret, Dannny’s Bolognese, Clemenza’s Mob War Sunday Sauce and a whole bunch of other Secret Recipes, rare dishes, and favorite Italian Food, you’re just gonna have to get yourself a copy of this fine book, Segreto Italiano, Secret Italian Recipes, stories and more .. We just Love it! We’re sure you will too.

by James Abruzzese

Available on AMAZON.com

Secret Recipes

CLICK HERE For SECRET RECIPES !

Segreto Italiano is FREE on KINDLE UNLIMITED

Vesuvio Bakery

VESUVIO BAKERY, Prince Street, NEW YORK, NY

Artwork
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

A Sad Goodbye to Once Upon a Tart

ONCE UPON A TART

Soho / Greenwich Village, New York

It was sad goodbyes at The Tart today. That’s Once Upon a Tart in Soho (Greenwich Village) for those of you who may not know. After 23 years on Sullivan Street in what is technically known as Soho, but truly for those of us who really know, this charming little block of Sullivan Street between W. Houston & Prince Street will never be Soho, but The Village …

Anyway this is where Jerome Audureau opened a lovely little bakery / cafe some 23 years ago .. This was even before Starbucks was even a twinkle in its evil fathers eye, there were none. Well not in New York anyway. Back then, the only cafes for that matter were a few Italian Caffes in The Village (Dante, Reggio, & Borgia), a few in Little Italy, a couple in the East Village, one or two on the whole Upper East Side, and not a one cafe in the whole Upper West Side of

New York.

Jerome and his partner opened this wonderful little bakery Once Upon a Tart which over time became a second home to neighborhood people like me and others who could go for a nice morning cup of coffee, and a muffin or scone for breakfast, or at lunch for a sandwich, salad, soup, or one of the signature Sweet or Savory Tarts as the name implies. Yes the Tart was a wonderful haven for people like me and others in the neighborhood as well as a great little pit-stop for countless tourist roaming the streets of Soho in search of a quaint little cafe to sit and rest, have a coffee, Tart or little bite to eat.

I loved the Tart. It may sound cliche, but it isn’t when I say it was a second home and like family to me .. I’d go each and every morning for my morning coffee and a sweet hello and morning greeting from; Cleo, Anna, Kanae, Samena, and Emmit and a score of girls who worked there over the 23 years that I went there. That’s all I needed, my coffee, a greeting from Cleo and a seat at The Tart and I was as happy as can be. I was content with these simple little pleasures of life.

But now they have been taken away, and it truly saddens me. I actually broke down as I got all choked up and started shedding tears as I said goodbye to the girls, saying I’ll see you around as that’s the thing to say, but knowing full well that was the last time I met ever see their sweet faces again. Yes I cried, I get emotional that way. And then I composed myself, we talked a couple minutes more, I said goodbye again and then I left. I walked out of the door where Jerome was. I gave Jerome a hug to and thanked him for the 23 years he opened his doors to us and brought joy and naturalness in a business to our little neighborhood.

I said goodbyes and walked away, and as I walked up Sullivan Street I had such an awful feeling, the kind you get when you breakup with a great love of your life. A deeply sad, sick to your stomach, the kind I felt when the-love of-my life Iris split up with me, or the day my father died. I felt a great loss. This is how I feel today, I lost something great in my life, something I cherished and may never have or see again. It may sound sappy, I’m sorry but it’s true. Goodbye my dear and sweet friends; The Tart itself, Jerome, and especially, Cleo, Anna, Kanea , and Samena. Thank you girls. Thank you and goodbye.