"RED SAUCE"
CARBONE
"GET a FINE ART PRINT'
From FINE ART AMERICA
SUNDAY SAUCE
"RED SAUCE"
alla CLEMENZA
Do YOU OWN SUNDAY SAUCE ?
Monday, September 22, 2025
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Another Great FLACIANELLO -2014
FLACCIANELLO 2014
FONTODI VINEYARDS
PANZANO, ITALY
Yes, another great vintage of Flacianello. The 2014 to be exact. We had a couple bottle of Flaccianella last night. We were at Mont'es Trattoria in Greenwich Village. We had a wonderful meal from Chef Pietro Mosconi, who makes fabulous homemade pasta among other things.
We ordered the Flaccianello and some antipasti - Artichokes, Burrata & Prosciutto di Parm, with Baked Clams, and Asparagus. The wine was opened, tasted, and poured into our glasses. My first thought was "Wow! This is amazing" ! Another great vintage of standard bearer wine from my pal Giovanni Manetti, who owns Fontodi Vinetards in Panzano, Italy, in the heart of The Chianti Classico wine zone. Speaking of Chianti, Giovanno makes amazing Chianti as well.
Giovanni makes three different Chianti wines, which are all made of 100% Sangiovese. The offerings are Chianti Lamole, Fontodi Chianti Classico, and Fontodi "Vigna del Sorbo" Chianti Classic - Gran Selezione. All wonderful wines.
I met Giovani at his vineyard in 1997, and have been drinking his wonderful wines ever since. I have tasted ever single vintage of Flaccianella since the 1995 vintage, that I drank at the source - Fontodi Vineyards, with Giovanni. That 95 Flaccianell was a mind blower. And we drank Vigna del Sorbo, Vin Santo, and Giovanni's Syrah as well. All wonderful. Giovanni also produces Olive Oil on the estate, and his family has also produces high-quality Terracotta at their fattoria Cotto Manetti, in Ferrone Italy. The Manetti's have been making Terracotta since 1780. They started making wine in 1968, and are one of Tuscany's top wine produces estates, as well as the whole of Italy.
Now, let's get back to that Flaccianello 2014, one of the best wines I've had all year long. The wine is a delight to drink, being in perfect balance of fruit flavours, acidity, and wight. Yes this wine was perfect in every respect, exhibiting intense flavours of Dark Cherry and Chocolate, with some nice spice, and a hint of Almonds. This is serious Sangiovese that will take your breath away if you're lucky enough to drink some. It reminds me of another amazing vintage, the 2010 that I drank a couple of years ago. That wine really rocked, and was much like the 2014, perfect in every way, and an absolute pleasure to drink.
"Basta" !
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
September 17, 2025
New York City
POSITANO The AMALFI COAST
TRAVEL GUIDE - COOKBOOK
With COUNT SEBASTIANO CAPPONI (L)
ANd GIOVANNI MANETTI (R)
NEW YORK
100 ANNIVERSARY of The CHIANTI CONSORZIO
2024
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Sinatra Sauce - The Cookbook
FRANK SINATRA
COME FLY WITH ME
SUNDAY SAUCE and SINATRA
COME FLY WITH ME
SUNDAY SAUCE and SINATRA
It's an old tradition in my family, that most Sunday the Bellino Family gathers together and we eat Sunday Sauce Italian Gravy. The whole family gets together and Grandma House, or Aunt Helen's, but mostly at Aunt Fran's House in Lodi, New Jersey. It's a wonderful all day affair, starting with a little antipasto, followed by the star of the show, Sunday Sauce. Aunt Fran or Aunt Helen usually make the Sauce (Gravy), which is the most supreme dish of all. It's a long simmered tomato sauce laden with special meat treats, that include: Sausages, Meatballs, and Braciole. We eat it with short maccheroni, usually rigatoni. "It's the Best Thing ever," we all just love it, and who wouldn't, it's so damn tasty, it is.
After the Sunday Sauce, it's on to dessert and coffee, which is a 3 or 4 hour affair, as the grownups sit around the table drinking Espresso (with Anisette) and eating all the tasty desserts that's made of a whole array of sweet treats, like: Aunt Fran's Ricotta Cookies, Cannoli, Sfogliatelle, and whatever sweets that other visitors might bring. And there's a whole lot of talking about this that and every other thing: sports, politics, gossip and what not, all as Frank Sinatra records play softly in the background. Always. Aunt Wanda loves Jerry Vale, and Dino has his turn too. Those were warm and wonderful days spent with loved ones, and sadly all of the older generation is gone, and we miss them dearly. But me, I think of them often, and especially when it comes to Sundays, eating all day long, cahtting and having fun, eating maccheroni, sausage, Meatballs, and Braciole, listening to Sinatra, and loving it all. My cousins Joe, Tony, and I keep it going. We try to organize as many get-together s as we can, always centered around food, whatever it may be: fresh fish, pasta, Steak, and our all-time favorite Sunday Sauce. And don't forget Sinatra, Francis Albert that is. Or just simply Frank.
Basta !
Frank Sinatra
The SUMMER WIND
A Pot of SUNDAY SAUCE
"GRAVY"
FRANK and FRIENDS
At GILLY'S
NEW YORK
.
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Authentic Ragu Bolognese Recipe and Rules
This is The OFFICAL RECIPE for BOLOGNESE RAGU of BOLOGNA, ITALY
This RECIPE CRITERIA for a Properly Made "RAGU" (of Bologna) according to
AGRICOLTURA Di BOLOGNA (The Agricultural Commission of BOLOGNA)
This is the renewed recipe for the real ragù alla bolognese:
INGREDIENTS AND DOSES (FOR 6 PEOPLE)
Coarsely ground beef: 400 g; Fresh sliced pork belly, 150 g; half an onion, about 60 g; 1 carrot, about 60 g; 1 stick of celery, about 60 g; 1 glass of red or white wine; Tomato puree: 200 g; Double concentrated tomato paste: 1 tablespoon; 1 glass of whole milk (optional); Light meat or vegetable broth (also stock cube); Extra virgin olive oil: 3 tablespoons; Salt and pepper.
400 grams Ground Beef
150 grams Pork Belly
1/4 cup minced Onion
1 stalk Celery, minced fine
1 small Carrot, peeled and minced
8 ounce dry Red or White Wine
1-2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 cup Tomato Puree
1 glass Whole Milk
1 cup Beef or Vegetable Broth or water
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt & Black Pepper to taste
PROCEDURE
In a non-stick saucepan (of excellent quality, heavy) or made of aluminum or enameled cast iron (once upon a time the earthenware pot was very popular) of 24-26 cm in diameter, melt the minced or chopped bacon with 3 tablespoons of oil. Then, add the finely chopped herbs on the cutting board (do not use the mixer) and slowly fry the mixture over medium-low heat, always stirring with a wooden spoon (the onion must absolutely not take on a burnt flavor). Raise the heat and add the minced meat and, always stirring carefully, cook it for about ten minutes until it "sizzles".
Pour the wine and let it evaporate and reduce completely, until you no longer smell the wine and then add the concentrate and the puree. Continuing to mix well, pour a cup of boiling broth (but you can also use just water) and cook slowly, with the container covered, for about 2 hours (even 3 hours depending on your preferences and the meats used) adding the hot broth as needed.
Halfway through cooking, according to an advisable ancient tradition, you can add the milk that must be reduced completely.
Finally, once cooking is finished, season with salt and pepper. The ragù should be a nice dark orange color, enveloping and creamy.
NOTE :
Traditionally in Bologna they used the "cartella", that is the diaphragm of the beef, today difficult to find. In its absence, or in addition, the front cuts rich in collagen are to be preferred such as the muscle, the shoulder, the under-shoulder, the belly, the brisket. Mixed cuts can be made. According to a modern processing technique, the meats are browned well separately, alone, and then mixed with the chopped herbs, also already browned.
VARIANTS ALLOWED :
1) Mixed meats: beef (about 60%) and pork (about 40%) (loin or neck);
2) Minced meat;
3) Rolled or flat pork belly instead of fresh bacon;
4) A scent of nutmeg;
VARIANTS NOT ALLOWED
1) Veal pulp;
2) Smoked bacon;
3) Only pork;
4) Garlic, rosemary, parsley, other herbs or spices;
5) Brandy (in place of wine);
6) Flour (to thicken).
BOLOGNESE RAGOUT CAN Be ENRICHED With :
1) Chicken livers, hearts and gizzards;
2) Peeled and crumbled pork sausage;
3) Blanched peas added at the end of cooking;
4) Soaked dried porcini mushrooms.
The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK
AMERICA'S FAVORITE RECIPE
TAGLIATELLE BOLOGNESE
“Over the years, the recipe registered in 1982 has been reported in books, magazines, newspaper articles and websites in Italy and the rest of the world, constituting a clear and reliable point of reference; however, after four decades, a study of the changes that have occurred in the creation of this symbolic dish of Italian cuisine, loved throughout the world, was required.
There have been improvements in ingredients, in the quality of containers and in heat sources, as well as changes in eating habits which have had partial effects on the way ragù is prepared.
The three Bolognese Delegations have therefore set up a "Study Committee" for the updating and improvement of the recipe for Ragù alla Bolognese and, in order to obtain a current and complete overview, the Committee has consulted, through a specific questionnaire: the best restaurants in the city, custodians of tried and tested recipes; families with ancient traditions; expert gastronomes.
Ragù alla Bolognese, like all long-standing recipes, is made in families and restaurants in ever-changing ways, as demonstrated by the fact that the recipes received during the study are all different from each other, often in small details but, at times, also with substantial differences.
The "Study Committee", making a reasoned synthesis, has therefore drawn up a new version of Ragù alla Bolognese which is very detailed in the procedure, with variations (allowed and not allowed) and advice on the cuts of meat and on possible "enrichments".
The three Bolognese Delegations of the Italian Academy of Cuisine have thus decreed which recipe currently adheres most closely to the formula that guarantees the classic and traditional taste of the true Ragù alla Bolognese, which is what is made, cooked, served and enjoyed today in homes, in restaurants and in bars.
trattorias and restaurants in learned and fat Bologna.
The registered recipe is not intended to be the only possible one, but rather to be a safe guide to the creation of an excellent dish that does not betray traditional customs and establishes some fixed points, with the awareness that, as with musical scores, the true art lies in the execution”.
The notarial deed of the recipe is now jealously guarded in the Palazzo della Mercanzia. It completes the collection of thirty-four recipes of the Bolognese gastronomic culture deposited. All the result of the collaboration between the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna and the Italian Academy of Cuisine that began on April 16, 1972 with the deposit of the golden measure of the authentic tagliatella alla bolognese.
MORE on BOLOGNESE
Thursday, August 21, 2025
ROCKY MARCIANO Eats Pasta
ROCKY MARCIANO
Rocky Marciano of the 150th Combat Engineers: World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Rocco Francis Marchegiano, the son of Italian immigrants, was born and raised in Brockton Massachusetts. Rocco, a natural athlete, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to help support his family. Rocco would go on to be professionally known as Rocky Marciano - the only heavyweight professional boxer to have finished his career undefeated.
According to the Department of Defense: "On March 4, 1943, at the age of 20, Rocky enlisted the Army in Boston, Massachusetts and was sent overseas to Europe. Marciano was assigned to the 150th Combat Engineers and stationed in Swansea, Wales where he helped ferry supplies across the English Channel to Normandy. The 150th went on to receive service stars for Normandy, North France, Rheinland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe."
"Marciano first took up boxing in the service, reportedly as a way to get out of kitchen duty. While awaiting discharge, Marciano, representing the Army, won the 1946 Amateur Armed Forces boxing tournament. After the war ended, he completed his service in March 1946 at Fort Lewis, Washington where he received an honorable discharge from the Army with the rank of Private First Class. Rocky returned home to Brockton, Massachusetts and continued to box as an amateur" -US Department of Defense
"On September 23, 1952, Marciano took on the World Heavyweight Champion Joe Walcott in Philadelphia. In round 13 Marciano knocked out Walcott to become the new Heavyweight Champion. Rocky was 29 years old. The two would meet again the following year with Marciano ending the match in the first round."
"Rocky Marciano would go on to dominate the Heavyweight Division. On May 16, 1955, in San Francisco, Marciano went up against Don Cockell from the United Kingdom, who was also the boxing champion of Europe. Marciano knocked him out in round 9."
"On April 27, 1956, Marciano announced his retirement at age 32, finishing his career at 49-0."
On August 31, 1969, Rocky was a passenger in a private plane that crashed due to bad weather at a private airfield near Newton, Iowa. There were no survivors. Rocky Marciano was 45 years old at the time of his passing. He would have turned 46 years old on September 1.
Private First Class Rocky Marciano lies in rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Lest We Forget
ROCKY'S MOM COOKING PASTA
ROCKY'S MOM
And ROCKY
MAMA MARCIANO TAKING CARE of HER BOY
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Author Daniel Bellino - Italian Cookbooks
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
Author DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE
Daniel Bellino Zwicke is a
New York City-based author known for his cookbooks focused on Italian and Italian-American cuisine. He is recognized as a best-selling Italian cookbook author on Amazon Kindle, even surpassing the popularity of celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich. Key highlights about Daniel Bellino Zwicke:
- Cookbooks: He has written numerous cookbooks including "Sunday Sauce", "La TAVOLA", "The Feast of The 7 Fish", "Segreto Italiano (Secret Italian Recipes)", "Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook", "The Ragu Bolognese Cookbook", "Got Any Kahlua? The Collected Recipes of The Dude (The Big Lebowski Cookbook)", and "Sinatra Sauce: Music Meatballs & Merriment",.
- Expertise: He is considered a leading authority on Italian Wine. His cooking reflects a blend of Italian and Italian-American traditions.
- Influences: Zwicke's work is influenced by his experiences in Italy, particularly the Amalfi Coast, and Italian-American New York culture, including references to films like "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas".
- Career: He has worked in the restaurant industry for over 25 years and created Bar Cichetti, known as "America's First Venetian Wine Bar".
- Writing style: His cookbooks combine recipes with anecdotes and stories, providing a cultural context for the dishes. He also writes essays, articles, and short stories.
In essence, Daniel Bellino Zwicke is a prolific author who shares his passion for Italian food, wine, and culture through his popular cookbooks and engaging writing style.
BESTSELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOKS
BOOKS by DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE
SINATRA SAUCE
The COOKBOOK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)