COOKING ITALIAN

Amalfi Coast Lemon Cake Recipe

FAMOUS LEMON CAKE

“MAMMA AGATA”

MAMMA AGATA’S Famous “LEMON CAKE” Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 & 1/3 Cups Sugar
2 Sticks Butter (1/2 Pound) Plus An Additional 1.5 Tablespoon To Grease The Pan
4 Large Eggs
Grated Zest of 2 Large Lemons, or 4 If Small
Pinch of Sea Salt
1 & 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Hazelnuts

LEMONADE Mixture for Top of CAKE

1 & 1/3 cups Water

Juice from 3 LEMONS

8 tablespoons Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius or 320 degrees fahrenheit.
Whip the butter in a mixing bowl on high speed for at least two minutes.
Add the sugar and continue to whip until a soft cream forms.
Add the following to the mixing bowl, one at a time, and blend after each; eggs (one at a time), salt, grated lemon zest.
Alternate adding and blending the flour, baking powder, hazelnuts and milk into the mixing bowl.
Continue to mix the ingredients on medium speed until the texture of the batter has a light and airy consistency (similar to mousse).
(Note: Do not beat the batter for too long after adding the baking powder.)
Coat the surface of the fluted pan with butter before dusting it with flour, then shake off any excess flour before adding the cake batter to the pan.
Pour the batter into your greased and floured pan.
Bake the cake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. While the cake is baking prepare your lemonade mixture by first squeezing the lemons into a pitcher or other container from which you can easily pour the mixture later.
Add the sugar to the lemon juice, and mix until the sugar is fully dissolved in the lemon juice.
Add the water and mix well.
Once the cake has finished baking, let it sit for two hours outside the oven to bring it to room temperature.
Slowly pour a little bit of the lemonade mixture all over the cake in the pan every 10 minutes (three times total) for 39 minutes to allow the cake to absorb the lemonade mixture very slowly.
After the first 30 minutes, tip the cake onto a serving platter and add the remaining lemonade to the top of the cake, distributing it evenly all over the cake.

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And CAPRI

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Venetian Pasta with Duck Ragu Recipe – author Daniel Bellino

BIGOLI with DUCK RAGU all VENENZIANA

BIGOLI in SALSA

BIGOLI with DUCK RAGU

PASTA with DUCK RAGU

Duck ragu with bigoli is a traditional dish here in Veneto where I live. In fact, if you visit the region you are bound to find it in many restaurants. It is also often cooked by the Venetians on holidays or feast days.

Bigoli looks like a very thick spaghetti and is often eaten with various fat-rich sauces; the most well-known bigoli recipe is with duck ragu. In the past, the traditional recipe for this dish involved cooking the pasta in a fatty broth in which a young duck had been boiled.

The Venetians then made a sauce with flavored butter and the offal of the duck, which they ate with the bigoli. The duck itself was eaten after.

DUCK RAGU Recipe :

Ingredients :

1 whole Duck

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil, and 1 tablespoons Butter

1 Carrot & 2 Clery Stalks, and 1 small Onion

2 Bay Leaves and I bunch fresh Sage

3 tablespoons Tomato Paste, and 1 cup Tomato Pasta (puree)

3/4 teaspoon Salt, and 3/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

3/4 cup dry Red Wine

1 pound fresh Bigoli Pasta, or Spaghetti or Bucatini

Cut the Duck into 4 pieces, and place on a large baking pan. Season with a little salt and black Pepper. Place in a 350 degree oven and roast for 16 minutes.

Take the Duck out of the oven and pour off excess fat that has rendered out of the duck. You can save the fate to use for roasting potatoes at another time.

Place the duck back in the oven to cook more.

Place the olive oil, carrots, onions, and Celery in a large pot and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes. Sprinkle on a little Salt and Black Pepper, and continue cooking on low heat for 7 minutes.

Add the Tomato Paste to pot and cook on high heat for 4 minutes. Add the wine, and cook on high heat for 7 minutes, until the wine half reduced by half its original volume.

Add the tomato paste and sage and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes start to bubble.

Remove the Duck from the oven after it has cooked for a total of 30 to 35 minutes. Drain the fat off the Duck.

Place the Duck pieces in the pot with the Tomatoes. Cook on low heat for about 1 and 15 minutes. Make you stir the bottom of the pot from time to time with a wooden spoon, to keep the sauce from burning on the bottom.

Remove the Duck from the pot and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Also remove the burn of Sage and Bay Leaves from the pot and discard.

Once the Duck has cooled, remove the meat from the bones. Place the duck meat back into the sauce pot and cook on a very low flame for 20 minutes.

Cook your pasta of choice as the duck is simmering.

Take a half cup of pasta water from the pot and set aside. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the pasta in a colander. Place the pasta back in the pot it cooked in, add about 2 cups of the Duck Ragu to the pot, with a knob of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix.

Divide the pasta among 4 to 6 plates, in equal portions. Add about 3 tablespoons of the Duck Ragu on top of each portion of pasta and serve.

Serve with grated Prmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano Cheese on the side.

Enjoy !

RECIPE by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

SUNDAY SAUCE

AMERICA’S FAVORITE ITALIAN COOKBOOK

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

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When Nonna Makes Sauce – Sunday Sauce Gravy Recipe

NONNA GINA PETITTI

NONNA Makes SAUCE

NONNA GINA Makes SUNDAY SAUCE

Recipe – Nonna Gina

MEATBALLS :

2 lbs. Ground Beef

2 Extra Large Eggs

1/2 cup chopped Fresh Parsley

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon powdered Garlic

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Cheese

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

Sauce/Gravy:

3 quarts Tomato Puree

1/4 cup Fresh Basil

1/4 cup Fresh Parsley (optional)

Olive Oil

1/2 cup sliced Onion

2 cloves Garlic

4-6 Pork Neck Bones

4-6 Pork Ribs

6 Sweet Italian Pork Sausage

Meatballs (from above)

Salt & Pepper to taste

NONNA GINA PETITTI

Gina Petitti was born in 1935 in Faeto, Italy. Her family ran a farm in Italy and she met her husband, Vito, in the same town. In 1970 Gina, Vito, and her 4 children immigrated to America. Gina’s husband passed away in 2012, but she is surrounded by a large family, which includes 9 grandchildren, and lives 5 minutes away from her eldest daughter in New Jersey. Gina spends her time cooking, gardening, and being an active member of her local Church.

Some More GREAT SAUCE !!!

SUNDAY SAUCE

alla BELLINO alla PACINO

CLEMENZA’S GODFATHER SAUCE

JOE DiMAGGIO’S Mom’s GRAVY

MEATBALLS – BRACIOLE

And MUCH MORE

AMERICA’S FAVORITE ITALIAN COOKBOOK

SUNDAY SAUCE by DANIEL BELLINO

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Sauce or Gravy – What do You Call It – Red Sauce Debate

“GRAVY” !!!

Or is it SUNDAY SAUCE ???

Whatever You Call It ???

Do You call it “REDSAUCE” ?

It’s The Most SUPREME DISH of ITALIAN-AMERICA

And The ITALIAN-AMERICAN Peoples

SUNDAY SAUCE

The DEFINING BOOK on The SUBJECT

The SUBJECT of SUNDAY SAUCE

“SOME CALL IT GRAVY”

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SAUCE, GRAVY, SUNDAY SAUCE, “RED SAUCE” or SUGO ? What is it. It can be a couple different things. It depends on who you are talking to, if they are Italian-American or not, where their family comes from in Italy, and what Italian Enclave in America they grew up in : New York City, Boston, New Jersey, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, or wherever?

Some, when they say Sauce, Sugo, or Gravy, they can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with or without meat in it. They can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with Meat in it, and the Sauce is served, dressing Maccheroni, but with the Sauce removed, for the Meat ( or Meats) to be served later in the meal, or put aside, refrigerated and served at another time.

Usually, when someone says “Gravy” they are referring to a sauce made with Tomatoes that meats, such as Italian Sausages, Braciola, Pork Ribs, Meatballs, and or Pork or Beef Neck, maybe chicken parts, Beef Chuck, or veal, in which the sauce is cooked with any combination of some of these meats mentioned, and possibly other meats, such as Lamb or Beef Short Ribs, whatever?

There is no one right answer to what is Italian-American Gravy, “Sauce” Sunday Gravy, Sugo, or Sunday Sauce. Again, it just depends on who is talking and their family background and history. There is now one standard answer, “No Right or Wrong.” The main and most important thing is that the dish taste good.