Ziti and Meatballs

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

"It's Really Italian" !!!

For years now, many so called food Experts who thought they knew more than they actually did wrote disdainfully of the famed Italian dish Spaghetti & Meatballs, saying "it was not authentic Italian food," and is Pseudo Italian. Well, "oh Contraire." Guess what? Spaghetti & Meatballs is Italian. Or should I say Pasta & Meatballs. Yes, pasta with meatballs is a dish eaten quite often in southern Italy and the regions of Puglia, Sicily, and Abruuzo, a native dish is Pasta, (usually short Maccheroni) dressed with Meatballs as a special treat .. The names pf these dishes are called Pasta Seduta, meaning Seated Pasta and Maccaroni Azzese .. Yes Pasta w/ Meatballs, "It's really Italian."   I myself have written about this in my book SUNDAY SAUCE -When Italian-Americans Cook, where I stated at the time that I had hear of certain areas serving Meatballs along with their pasta. And even before I heard this I surmised that out of so many millions of poor Italians over the years it was most certain that in poor familys not wanting to wash more than 1 dish per person eating that momma would not serve pasta and meatballs in separate courses but together on one plate of Pasta & Meatballs (Spaghetti Meatballs). And so as stated before Pasta with Meatballs is an authentic dish served all over Southern Italy, it's reall Italian Food and has names for it, again Pasta Seduta and Maccheroni Azzese .. So there, "In your face Food Snobs," snubbing our beloved Spaghetti & Meatballs, no it's not just Italian-American, which is not a bad thing, it's really Real Italian and the mystery and controversy is now settled, it's Spaghetti & Meatballs, millions love it, and billions of plates have been served over the years. Why? People love it, as simple as that ..

.

. LASAGNA CARNEVALE alla NAPOLETANA Has Little Meatballs Inside

.

Mangia Bene !!!

 

Sicilian American Wedding Dinner

Pasta Seduta from Puglia

 are Ziti (Zite) Baked with Meatballs & Mozzarella

In Sicily Zite used to be the Riguer at Weddings Maccarrune di Zita was served with stew pork or Meatballs and was made in large quanities as it was the tradition to bring a hearty plate of pasta as a gift to neighbors both rich and poor. Today in Sicily the word Zite means Bride. Maccheroni di Zita got its name from its role in wedding banquets, the name meant Maccheroni della Sposa, "of the Bride." A little before my time, most Italian-American Weddings were helf in family homes at local club or in a church basement or similar circumstance and the food was made by friends and family and not a caterer. By the time I was a child often at birthday parties, baby christenings or wedding rehearsals, the family would make it's own food for the event and not have it catered. And I remember at all these Christening and what-not, the spread of food was usually Mixed Antipasto Platters and trays of Eggplant Parmigiano and Baked Ziti, along with all sorts of sweet treats like Cannolis, Cookies, and cakes for the dessert course.

Ah, "the Good Old Day," those dishes cooked by my Aunts Helen and Fran along with my Uncle Tony who was quite a good cook as well, were better than any catered wedding or other party I've ever been to. No comparison. Basta !

.

RECIPES in GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

.

.

SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook

The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

by Danny Bolognese

.

.

Old School Italian New York

 

FRANK SINATRA

 

Gone

 

CELEBRATING The 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of HIS BIRTH in 2015

 

Frank Sinatra Born 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey

 

Frank Spent a Lot of Time in New York

 

 

 

PATSY'S

 

Sinatra's Favorite Italian Restaurant

 

STILL HERE !  West 56th Street, New York, NY

 

ROCCO'S

 

THOMPSON STREET GREENWICH VILLAGE

 

GONE

 

Now It's CARBONE

Inside the former Rocco's

 

Now The Most Expensive Red Sauce Joint Around

 

It's CARBONE

.

.

.

.

JOHN'S of 12th STREET

 

Since 1908

 

STILL HERE !!!

 

. 

 

 

GINO'S

 

Above and Below

 

GONE !!!

 

 

 

A Waiter and the Famous Zebra Wallpaper at GINO'S

 

No Longer With Us

 

 

 

 

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner Dine at Patsy's

MONTE'S TRATTORIA

Macdougal Street, GREENWICH VILLAGE

MONTE'S is One of The Few OLD SCHOOL INEW YORK ITALIAN RESTAURANTS

Still Standing, SINCE 1918

.

.

CHEF PIETRO MOSCONI & one of Many Fans

Not the Old School Cash Register behind the Bar

Chef Pietro is the man behind Monte's and the main reason along with his

son Peter why Monte's Trattoria is so loved by New Yorker's as well as the many people from all four corners of the Globe make it to and love Monte's, for the wonderful Italian Food, friendly service, and a warm friendly atmosphere that includes the sounds of Sinatra, Dean Martin and Andrea Bocelli and the like.

.

.

The Famed Veal Osso Buco at MONTE'S

and

One of The BEST CHICKEN PARMS in TOWN

CHICKEN PARM at MONTE'S

 

 

 

 

 

Rafetto's Past Shop, Greenwich Village New York

SINCE 1906

STILL GOING STRONG

 CAFFE REGGIO  

 

SINCE 1927

 

STILL GOING STRONG on MACDOUGAL STREET

 

GREENWICH VILLAGE NEW YORK

 

 

 

 

FERDINANDO'S SICILIAN SPECIALTIES

 

SINCE 1904

 

STILL With US on Union Street, Carroll gardens, Brooklyn, New York

 

"The Only Place left to get a good Vasteddi (Beef Spleen Sandwich) in NY

 

 

 

 

JOHN'S PIZZERIA

 

Bleecker Street greenwich Village, NEW YORK

 

SINCE 1927

 

STILL with US !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Ferdinando's Brooklyn

 

Get The VASTEDDI SANDWICH

 

 

 

 

PIEMONTE RAVIOLI

 

SINCE 1920

 

Grand Street LITTLE IATALY,  NY NY

 

STILL with US !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read About Italian-American New York

in Daniel Bellino's Best Selling SUNDAY SAUCE

Recipes and Stories of Italian-American New York

.

.

 

.

.

SOPHIA

 

"JUST BECAUSE"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make Spaghetti Carbonara

 

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

.

.

.

.

HOW to MAKE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

GENNARO CONTALDO  

.

.

SUNDAY SAUCE

by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

HOW to MAKE PERFECT SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

ANTONIO CARLUCCI

.

.

WHER to GO For The BEST CARBONAR in ROME, ITALY

Da Danilo

Vaunted as the best carbonara in Rome, this was the first good carbonara I ate here. Beautifully presented with crispy bacon shards placed on top and swirled throughout the spaghetti, this carbonara is neither too heavy, nor too light, neither too rich, nor too eggy. A little bit goldilocks, this carbonara is just right. The spaghetti is cooked al dente, at first it might seem too much so, but they know what they are doing. Booking is essential.

Via Petrarca, 13. Esquilino area. Tel: 06 772 00111 trattoriadadanilo.it

Da Enzo

Busy and bustling you couldn’t get a more Roman trattoria. The service is brisk but fun, “Why are you in Rome? English teachers? Can we have lessons?” The last time I went, we were early enough and lucky enough to get a table without a reservation, and by the time we left the queue outside was enormous. Another rigatoni alla carbonara, this pasta dish is cheesy and peppery with the eggy sauce left at the bottom to mix in yourself. Crunchy strips of salty guanciale (just how I like them) completed the dolce/salato, or sweet and savoury, effect. Yum!

Via dei Vascellari, 29. Trastevere Tel: 06 581 2260 daenzoal29.com

Da Sergio

Recommended by my friend Silvia as her especial favourite, Da Sergio is a smallish trattoria hidden away in the side streets around Campo dei Fiori. For those of you who like your food a little more on the rustic side, this is the sort of carbonara for you. Homely and rich with less attention paid to the presentation and more focus on the flavours. Maybe the pasta sauce isn’t quite as silky smooth as some of the others, maybe the spaghetti is not so al dente, but overall a carbonara here is a dish that tastes of home.

Vicolo delle Grotte, 27. Campo dei Fiori area. Tel: 06 686 4293 

Flavio al Velavevodetto

Rigatoni alla Carbonara is served in this Testaccio institution. Generous strips of crispy bacon in a seemingly too bright yellow sauce that reflects the quality of the eggs. With a good balance of flavours, this carbonara was voted the 2nd best in the city, and the best pasta of the day by my fellow diners. Don’t worry about the big portion size in the photograph: it was taken of a large communal bowl!

Via di Monte Testaccio, 97. Testaccio Tel: 06 574 6841 flavioalvelavevodetto.it

L’Arcangelo

The food here is something finer and offers a little more than the average trattoria. However, for their carbonara they stick with tradition. The rigatoni are cooked to perfection and slicked in a silky, glossy sauce. Italian friends who dined with me agreed that this was the real thing. So good, none could possibly go to waste; one friend even fare la scarpetta – wiped his plate clean with bread (literally, “do the little shoes”). What better endorsement could there be?

Via Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli, 59. Prati Tel: 06 321 0992

SOPHIA LOREN

"Everything You See I Owe to SPAGHETTI" !!!

PERFECT SPAGHETTI CARNONARA

Da DANILLO

ROMA, ITALY

.

.