Ode to The Artichoke – Pablo Neruda

ARTICHOKES

Original Painting by ELISABETH FRASER

A POEM to The ARTICHOKE by PABLO NERUDA

ODE to The ARTICHOKE

The artichoke
With a tender heart
Dressed up like a warrior,
Standing at attention, it built
A small helmet
Under its scales
It remained
Unshakeable,
By its side
The crazy vegetables
Uncurled
Their tendrills and leaf-crowns,
Throbbing bulbs,
In the sub-soil
The carrot
With its red mustaches
Was sleeping,
The grapevine
Hung out to dry its branches
Through which the wine will rise,
The cabbage
Dedicated itself
To trying on skirts,
The oregano
To perfuming the world,
And the sweet
Artichoke
There in the garden,
Dressed like a warrior,
Burnished
Like a proud
Pomegrante.
And one day
Side by side
In big wicker baskets
Walking through the market
To realize their dream
The artichoke army
In formation.
Never was it so military
Like on parade.
The men
In their white shirts
Among the vegetables
Were
The Marshals
Of the artichokes
Lines in close order
Command voices,
And the bang
Of a falling box.

But
Then
Maria
Comes
With her basket
She chooses
An artichoke,
She’s not afraid of it.
She examines it, she observes it
Up against the light like it was an egg,
She buys it,
She mixes it up
In her handbag
With a pair of shoes
With a cabbage head and a
Bottle
Of vinegar
Until
She enters the kitchen
And submerges it in a pot.

Thus ends
In peace
This career
Of the armed vegetable
Which is called an artichoke,
Then
Scale by scale,
We strip off
The delicacy
And eat
The peaceful mush
Of its green heart.

Thanks to Emiko and Marco for bringing this to my attention.

An Artichoke

Oil on Board

Artist Unknown

PABLO NERUDA

MANGIA ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

RECIPE For SICILIAN STUFFED ARTICHOKES

in GREENWICH VILLAGE ITALIAN

Fava Beans n Artichoke Stew – Friteddi

If you’re in the southern hemisphere get to the markets quickly before the spring ends and some crucial ingredients disappear. This dish is a classic Sicilian plate originating in the west of Sicily. Late in the artichoke season throughout Italy, you will find fave beans being sold right next to artichokes, so it’s inevitable that they will find themselves in some recipes together. The further south you make your way in Italy you will see an increasing abundance of both artichokes and fave beans. The dish photographed above is from Trattoria Piccolo Napoli in Palermo A Slowfood listed restaurant specializing in seafood with a generous offering of vegetable antipasti and side dishes.

You may know fave beans as broad beans where you come from. Once they are removed from their pods they need to have their skins removed. (This is not absolutely essential and certainly wasn’t done in the past when every little morsel counted.) The easiest way to remove the skin from each bean is to toss them into boiling water for half a minute. Remove and refresh under cold water. You will notice the skin wrinkle and lift off the bean, which then can be easily removed with a knife or your fingers. You can also make this with dried fave beans which will need soaking overnight. It’s not the same as the fresh experience but the flavor is unmistakable. It’s also ok to use frozen peas but remember to halve the weight indicated in this recipe (in Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook).

FRITEDDI alla SICILIANA

aka

FRITELLI

RECIPE in GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN GRANDMOTHER

by DANIEL BELLINO Z

AVAILABLE on AMAZON.com … CLICK HERE

FRANK SINATRA Eats !!!

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner dine out at Patsy’s in New York.

Frank’s favorite restaurant. Frank Sinatra’s family, on his father’s side

is from the Sicilian town of Lercara Friddi Sicily south of Palermo … Frank’s father

Severio Anthony Martino Sinatra was born in Lercara Friddi in 1892 and immigrated to

New York City in 1903 … The famed Mafia Kingpin Charles “Lucky” Luciano was also born

in Lercara Friddi in 1897 … His family immigrated to The Lower east Side of New York

when he was just 9 years old … Best Selling Italian Cookbook Author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s

Maternal Grandparents Giuseppina & Phillipo Bellino were born and married

in Lercara Friddi Sicily and immigrated to New York City in 1904 and later relocating

to the Italian conclave of Lodi, New Jersey where Phillipo opened a Shoemaker Shop

on Main Street where they raised their 4 children Lillian, Frank, Anthony, and Daniel’s mother

Lucia …

SALVATORE LUCIANO

aka

CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO

Lercara Friddi, Sicilia

ITALY

MANGIA ITALIANO

Coming Soon !

Check Out Daniel’s other Books

on AMAZON.com

The Devine Amalfi Coast – Capri – Italy

POSITANO .. Classic View … photo by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Positano, Italy

The POSITANO COOKBOOK

SORRENTO

View of CAPRI From ANACAPRI

photo Copyright DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Marina Picolo CAPRI with FARAGLIONI ROCKS in Distance

photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

FIAT CINQUACENTO 500

photo Copyright Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Amalfi

photo by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Minori with Ravello Above

View of Minori from Villa Maria Agro Lemon Farm

“WORLD’S BEST BREAKFAST”

My BREAKFAST Villa Maria, Minori Italy

photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

;

Me & Vincenzo the Owner of Villa Maria Agroturismo

My Lunch at Villa Maria .. PACCERRI FRUTTA di MARE

CAPRI Looking Down On The FRAGLIONI

with SORRENTO in The Distance

SFOGLIATELLE in NAPOLI

PIZZA in NAPOLI

at Da GAETANO PIZZERIA

“MOLTO BUONO”

PASTA

at a SHOP in NAPOLI

View of Mt. VESUVIO from Sorrento

ALTRANI The AMALFI COAST

CAPRI

LEARN HOW to Make SUNDAY SAUCE alla CLEMENZA

Catherine Scorsese Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Joe Pesci kisses Catherine Scorsese

GODDFELLAS

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese’s mother Catherine, who was born on Elizabeth Street, appeared as Tommy (Joe Pesci)’s mother, and she famously cooked for the cast and crew of her son’s movies. When Jimmy Kimmel asked Martin Scorsese about shaving garlic with a razor—that’s what Paul Vario (played by Paul Sorvino) does in prison—the director said, “My mother made a dish called chicken with lemon and garlic and if you go to Francis Coppola’s restaurant he has it on the menu… It’s pretty good, pretty close… The garlic was cut so thin and she would put it on the chicken and the chicken would be roasted… and the garlic would blacken and then disappear into the lemon juice. It was delicious.” Mmmm.

Catherine Scorsese died in 1997, at age 84. Martin Scorsese published a book of her recipes, and his famous friends remembered her cooking: Robert DeNiro said, “She made the best pizza I’ve ever eaten. I always wanted to serve it at TriBeCa Grill,” while Harvey Keitel said, “In my memory, Catherine was the epitome of a warm, loving Italian mother. She enjoyed watching me eat as much as I enjoyed eating her cooking.” And Pesci said, “Katie was one of the sweetest ladies I ever met. She was a true innocent. She never did anything bad; she never knew anything bad. In terms of her cooking, it’s a toss-up as to who’s a better cook, Katie or my mother.“

CATHERINE and The BOYS

From R to L : Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Catherine Scorsese, Rober DeNiro

Late Night Eating Scene in in Goodfellas …

Italianamerican

THE SCORSESE FAMILY COOKBOOK

by Catherine Scorsese

The Pasta Sauce

The recipes in Catherine Scorsese’s cookbook, ”Italianamerican” (Random House, 1996, $21), range from pasta e fagioli to ricotta pie. The book, also by Georgia Downard, contains the standbys of thousands of southern Italian immigrant households that, by adding or withholding specific ingredients, intensely personalized each recipe.

The pasta sauce recipe, below, was included in the credits of a 10-minute Scorsese film, ”Italianamerican,” which recorded a visit by the director with his parents at their home. The movie was shown at the New York Film Festival in 1974.

Catherine Scorsese’s

Pasta Sauce

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

1 large onion, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in thick puree

2 cans (16 ounces each) tomato sauce

2 cups water

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 carrots, peeled

1 all-purpose potato, peeled

5 tablespoons minced fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried

5 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

6 ounces ground pork

6 ounces ground veal

6 ounces ground beef

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan.

1. In a 6-quart, or larger, saucepan or casserole, cook the onion in the oil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

2. In a blender or food processor, puree tomatoes and sauce. Add tomato mixture to pan along with water, tomato paste, garlic, carrots, potato, 3 tablespoons of basil, 3 tablespoons of parsley, salt and cayenne to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and, stirring occasionally, cook, partly covered, for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the milk until softened.

4. In a large bowl, combine bread-crumb mixture with meat, egg, Parmesan, remaining 2 tablespoons basil and parsley, salt, cayenne and 1/2 cup of sauce. Gradually shred and add meat mix to sauce, a little at a time. Partly cover, and bring sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Before serving, remove garlic cloves, carrots and potato.

5. Use about 2 cups of sauce for each pound of pasta.

Yield: about 12 cups.

Martin Scorsese’s Father CHARLIE Makes GRAVY in GOODFELLAS

Famed prison scene in GODDFELLAS where Charles Scorsese plays Vinny

making GRAVY (aka SUNDAY SAUCE) in Prison …

FRANK PELLIGRINO of RAO’S East Harlem, cooks STEAK

in GODDFELLAS Prison Scene as CHARLIE SCORSESE makes SAUCE …

ROOFTOP WEDDING SCENE in RAGING BULL

this scene was shot on the rooftop of Martin Scorsese’s Parents Apartment

on ELIZABETH STREET in Lower Manhattan ….

Catherine Scorsese Cooked all the Italian Food for the Wedding Party Scene,

as she cooked the Food that was on the Table in the Goodfellas late night eating scene

and all of Martin Scorsese Films when Italian Food is required in a scene. Basta!

Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

by Daniel Bellino “Z”

Sinatra Bellino Luciano n Cappuccino

Best Selling Italian Cookbook Author

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke and Frank Sinatra

Family’s are from LERCARA FRIDDI, SICILY

FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA

ROOTS Are From LERCARA FRIDDI, SICILIA, ITALIA

Best Selling Cookbook author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke has some things in common with the late-great Francis Albert Sinatra and famed Mafia Kingpin Charles “Lucky” Lucciano … What? Their families all hail from the town Lercara Friddi, Sicily in the Provence of Palermo in Italy … Lucciano was born there in 1897 and immigrated with his parents in 1907 to New York and the United States. Sinatra’s father Martino Sinatra was born in there in 1892 and his parents immigrated to New York in 1903 … Bellino’s maternal grandparents Josephina and Philipo Bellino were born in Lercara Friddi and immigrated to the United States to New York City in 1904, and later settled in the Italian Conclave of Lodi, New Jersey where Daniel’s grandfather set up a Shoemaker shop on Main Street … Take note that Sinatra’s grandfather was also a shoemaker in Lercara Friddi, and it is certain the these two grandfathers must have known each other in the small Sicilian town.

More on LERCARA FRIDDI

Lercara Friddi is a commune (municipality) in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily , located about 45 kilometers (28 mi) southeast of Palermo .

Founded in 1595 by local feudataries, it is on the slopes of Madore Hill, between the valleys of Fiumetorto and Platani rivers. In the past it was an important mining center, the only one in the province of Palermo where sulfur was excavated.

On December 25, 1893, eleven people were killed in the massacre Lercara Friddi During The Fasci Siciliani

uprising after a rally of peasants and sulfur miners That asked for the abolition of taxes and better working conditions.

Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile (1878-1964), politician

Mauro Picone (1885-1977), mathematician

Anthony Martin Sinatra (1892-1969), professional boxer and father of singer, Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)

Lucky Luciano (1897-1962), gangster

Pietro Scaglione (1906-1971), magistrate

Nicolo Nicolosi (1912-1986), football player and manager

Pietro Lo Forte (1920-2004), musician

Frédéric François (b. 1950), singer-songwriter

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke (b. 1958), cookbook author

GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES From My SICILIAN GRANDMOTHER

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Based on Sicilian Recipes from Daniel’s Maternal Nonna Giuseppina Bellino ..

The Recipes are mostly Sicilian as well as Neapolitan dishes from Giuseppina’s friends who hailed from Napoli, Salerno, and the surrounding cities and towns of Naples.

RECIPES : ARANCINI (Sicilian Rice Balls), CAPONATA, STUFFED ARTICHOKES, BRACIOLA, ZUPPA LENTICHE (Lentil Soup) SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS, PASTA LENTICHE, and More ….

CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO

Charles “Lucky” Luciano, born Salvatore Lucania November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-American mobster and Crime Boss. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of the first Commission. He was the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family. He was, along with his associates instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.

Luciano was tried and successfully convicted for compulsory prostitution in 1936 after years of investigation by District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. Luciano was given a thirty-year prison sentence, but was allowed to live his life freely outside the United States when he struck a deal with the government during World War II while still imprisoned.

Sunday Sauce

When Italian-Americans Cook

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Recipes :

SINATRA SUNDAY SAUCE

PASTA FAZOOL

SPAGHETTI MARINARA

and More …

SOPHIA LOREN

Spaghetti Agli Olio

SATCH EATS SPAGHETTI

IMPORTED ITALIAN SPAGHETTI

COOK The SPAGHETTI

Prepare The SAUCE

Fry Garlic with Pepperonini

OLIVE OIL

SPAGHETTI AGLI OLIO

Spaghetti with Garlic & Oil

Mangia Bene !

The RECIPE:

4 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/3 cup Italian Olive Oil

1 pound imported Italian Spaghetti

5 tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley (Optional)

Bring 6 Quarts of salted water to the boil and add spaghetti.

Add Olive Oil and the minced Garlic to a large saute pan and cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Add Red Pepper and cook just until the garlic starts to brown.
Add Parsley.

Cook the Spaghetti according to directions on package.

Once finished cooking remove from the heat and drain spaghetti in a colander, leaving about 4 tablespoons of the cooking water behind in the pot the spaghetti cooked in.

Add the spaghetti back to the pot it cooked in and add the garlic and olive oil. Mix all together.
Serve with or without grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano on side.

RECIPE : SPAGHETTI AGLI OLIO

in SEGRETO ITALIANO

Available in Paperback & Kindle

on AMAZON.com

Jersey Shore Crab Sauce Pasta

Jersey Shore Crabs

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

Ingredients :

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” !!!

Screen Shot 2016-08-09 at 1.34.15 PM.png

Pasta with Jersey Shore Crab Sauce

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JERSEY CRAB SHORE SAUCE

and Other Great Recipes

SEGRETO ITALIANO

by Daniel Bellino Z

Ragu Neapolitan

BRACIOLE

The meats inside any given Neapolitan Ragu or Sunday Gravy will vary depending upon who is making the sauce and their family’s recipe .. Many Italian-Americans make it with; Suasage, Meatballs, & Braciole, others may make it with just Meatballs & Sausages, and some will make it with Meatballs, Sausages, & Pork Spareribs .. You can also put in chicken thighs, Pig Skin Braciole (Coteca), beef or pork neck and other various meats.

Rigatoni e Ragu

zzzzzzMeatballs

Meatballs

“Always a Prized Item of the Italian-American Table”

GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

by Daniel Bellino Z

. zzzzzzzSophiaa

Sophia Loren making Neapolitan Ragu

aka Sunday Sauce

aka Gravy

Recipe in Daniel Bellino-Zwicke ‘s SUNDAY SAUCE

available in Paperback and Kindle on AMAZON.com

DaSilvano Closed after 40 Years

screen-shot-2016-12-21-at-12-41-58-pm

A shuttered DaSilvano December 21, 2016

THE END of an ERA

It’s a sad day in Greenwich Village today, for lovers of good Italian Food and dining out. Famed restaurant to the stars Da Silvano has closed its doors after 40 years in business. Silvano Marcheto of Florence Italy moved to the great city of New York and worked as a waiter at the now defunct Derby Restaurant on Macdougal Street in New York’s Greenwich Village before going out on his own in 1976.

Silvano acquired a small storefront that was formerly a laundromat and turned it into a place that would one day become the top celebrity spot in the of New York City. Silvano knew how to churn out great Italian Food, Tuscan in particular and to take good care of his customers. His customers besides us mere mortals would turn out to be a whose who of Hollywood, the Fashion and Art Worlds, Publishing and Media Big Wigs, and all sorts of celebrities under the Sun which include the likes of; Paul McCarteny, Sting, Keith Richards, David Bowie, Richard Gere, Gwyneth Palthrow, Anna Wintour, and on and on, everbody who was anybody dined at Da Silvano and I myself witnessed the throngs of celebrities that I myself took care of as a Maitre’d / Manager at Da Silvano in its heyday as Celebrity Central of New York.

Da Silvano had quite a good run doing a brisk busines for about 30 years until a string of events that began to bring less and less business to the onced packed-every-night restaurant. The first thing that started the slow down turn of business and the great luster of this once booming restaurant was when Grayden Carter the famed Editor in Chief of the celebrity powerful Vanity Fair Magazine went and opened his own restaurant the Waverly Inn. This was the beginning of what would become the end of Da Silvano in December of 2016. Carter who dined at Da Silvano 5 night a week where he had his own regular table opened the Waverly Inn in 2008 and things at Da Silvano immediately began going south. Pracitcally the entire Celeb Crowd that frequented Da Silvano on a nightly basis for years simply Jumped Shipped to Carter’s Waverly Inn and Silvano had lost most of his Celebrity Crowd. The US and World economy took a tank and this didn’t help things either. I who lived in a building very close to Da Silvano noticed an immediate decline in the restaurants business which I estimated at somehere around 40 to 50 percent until the current situation we now see, the sad day of Silvano Marchetto closing the days of his beloved namesake restaurant Da Silvano in December 2016, it’s the end of an Era.

screen-shot-2016-12-21-at-1-16-44-pm

SILVANO MARCHETTO

screen-shot-2016-12-21-at-1-16-21-pm

SILVANO in Better Days

with Art Dealer Tony Shafrazzi (L)

and Publisher Peter Brandt (R)

screen-shot-2016-12-21-at-1-14-30-pm

Silvano Marchetto with one of His Beloved Ferrari ‘s

The Frank Sinatra Willie Moretti Connection of The GODFATHER

Frank Sinatra

Guarin “Willie” Moretti was the notorious Underboss of The Genovese Crime Family in New Jersey. He was born in Bari Italy in 1894. Moretti was shot dead Gangland Style (Whacked) at Joe’s Elbow Room in Cliffside Park, New Jersey on October 4, 1951 …

In the mid – 1930’s Willie Moretti’s name came to light when he became friends with an unknown singer named Frank Sinatra. Sinatra’s then wife Nancy Barbatp was related to John Barbato who was a soldier in Moretti’s crew. At the time SInatra had a tough time booking singing ingagements so Moretti helped him book New Jersey Clubs in return for a percentage of his earnings. By 1941 Sinatra was known throughout the United States and was on the verge of signing a lucrative contract with a national promoter. However years earlier he had signed a contract with band leader Tommy Dorsey who was reluctant to let Sinatra out of the contract. With the help of Moretti, Frank was able to get out of this contract. Moretti shoved aPistol down Dorsey’s throat and threatenedto Kill Dorsey if he didn’t release Sinatra. Sinatra was then free to sign a lucrative Record Deal as well as the contract with the national club promoter.

Around the same time Moretti also became acquainted with up-and-coming comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis who performed several nightclubs he frequented. Jerry Lewis and Dean Martina s well as Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra all performed at the Wedding of Moretti’s daughter in Hasbrouk Heights New Jersey. That wedding was the inspiration for the wedding scene of Don Vito Corleone’s daughter Connie in Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo’s The Godfather.

Willie Moretti lies dead on the floor of Joe’s Elbow Room

Cliffside Park, New Jersey

October 4, 1951

MARIO PUZO’S Best Selling Novel

The GODFATHER

It is without question that Frank Sinatra is the inspiration for Frankie Fontaine and Mob Boss Vito Corleone threatening to Kill band leader if he didn’t release Frankie from his contract they had together . Frank Sinatra would never admit this, but all those close to him at the time, know that it is the factual truth.

“You can act Like a Man” !!!