NEGRONI

THE NEGRONI

    The Negroni? A question? A question to some? Most of America probably. Many so-called sophisticates have been drinking this “The Negroni” quite a bit in the past 4 years or so. The truly sophisticated, worldly folks have known about them far longer. Me? I’ve been drinking this great Italian-Cocktail for some 28 years now. Yes, I’ve been drinking Negroni’s ever since my first at a Bar in la Bella Roma back in the Summer of 1985. Rome, “The Eternal City” is where I had my first, on that marvelous first trip to Bella Italia. I was quite a young man, and that trip was completely magical, discovering real Italian “Italian Food” for the very first time, I had my first true Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara, Coda di Vacinara, Bucatini Amatriciana, Gelato, and a true Italian Espresso, “Oh Bliss!” Yes it was. I saw The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s Moses at San Pietro en Vincole (Saint Peter in Chains), I saw the Coliseum, The Roman Forum, The Duomo in Florence, Venice and The Grand Canal, Positano, Capri, Napoli, and so much more. Yes the trip was magical. It was magical hanging out at a Bar in the Piazza Popolo drinking my first Campari, and that first of a thousand Negroni’s, or more. Many American’s are just discov-ering its charms, “me and the Negroni,” we go way back; in Rome, Venice, Capri, Positano, Capri, Verona, Bologna, I’ve had Negroni’s all over. And many in New York in restaurants and bars all over Manhattan, and Staten Island where I drink some of the best Negroni’s I’ve ever had, certainly in New York, at my buddy Pat Parotta’s house in Staten Island. Pat pours an awesome Negroni, better than any bartender in the city. He makes them with love and when I go to one of his wonderful little dinner parties, that’s the first thing I have. It’s tradition for us now. Leaving my house in Greenwich Village, I hop on the 1 Train and take it down to the Battery to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. I hop on the ferry, ride across New York Harbor, passing the gorgeous Lady Liberty (The Statue of Liberty) along the way.  I get off the ferry. Pat picks me up at the terminal on the Staten Island side. We go to house, and I’m not through the door two minutes and he’s mixing up a nice one. A Negroni that is! Well 2 that is, one for me, and a Negroni for himself. We drink great Italian Wine at those dinner parties, and some of Pat’s tasty food. But we always start it off with our ritualistic Negroni’s alla Patty “P” and you should too.

THE NEGRONI

Basic Recipe:

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1 ounce Gin

Ice

Orange

1. Fill a Rocks-Glass or Highball Glass with Ice.

2)  Add Campari, Sweet Vermouth, and Gin.

3) Stir ingredients. Garnish with a piece of Orange Peel or slice of Orange.

Note: Orsen Wells after discovering the Negroni while writing a screenplay in Rome, wrote in a correspon-dence back home that he had discovered a delightful Italian Cocktail, “The Negroni.” Welles stated, “It is made of Bitter Campari which is good for the liver, and of Gin which is bad. The two balance each other out.”

photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

 THE BELLINO NEGRONI

    For me, this is the Perfect Negroni. The basic Negroni recipe calls for 3 equal parts(1 oz.) each of Camapari, Sweet Vermouth, and Gin in a glass filled with ice, and garnished with an Orange Peel.

    For the most perfectly balanced Negroni, I put in slightly less Campari  (3/4 oz.),  ¾ ounce of Gin, a little more Sweet Vermouth with 1 ¼ ounces, over Ice,  add  a tiny spalsh of Club Soda and Garnish with a good  size  piece of Orange. Voila! The Perfect Negroni. Enjoy!

THE NEGRONI is Excerpted From Daniel Bellino-Zwicke 's  SUNDAY SAUCE

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SUNDAY SAUCE alla CLEMENZA

CLEMENZA TEACHES MICHAEL

HOW To MAKE MOB WAR SUNDAY SAUCE 

alla CLEMENZA

CORLEONE STYLE

Richard Castellano

and AL PACINO

in

Francis Ford Coppola's

The GODFATHER

Adapted from Mario Puzo's Novel

“Hey come over here kid. Learn something. You never know when you’re gonna have to cook for 20 guys some day. You see, you start out with a little oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it, you make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil. You Shove in your Sausage and Meatballs, Hey? Add a bit of Wine, a little sugar, you see? And that’s my trick.”

                   Peter Clemenza,

               ….. The Godfather

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For CLEMENZA'S RECIPE

The INGREDIENTS

From My Latest SUNDAY SAUCE

Braciole

Sausages

Garlic

Onion

Pork Neck

Ground Beef

(Not Pictured)

San Marzano Tomatoes

Barbi Brunello

To Drink with Dinner

                                                        

PASTA PRIMAVERA ALFREDO TOO

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO 

 Excerpted from Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's "SUNDAY SAUCE"  When Italian-Americans Cook

   In the 60’s and 1970’s Fettuccine Alfredo was one of  the great favorite dishes on Italian restaurant menus throughout the country. It was in the late 80’s that the popularity of the dish started to wane for a couple of  reasons,  one being  the Genesis of the health movement in  The United States and two being the start towards more authentic Italian dishes and  the almost  total  disdain of the so-called cliché dishes, Fettuccine Alfredo being one of them.

    Being in the restaurant business, I have people request this dish to me several times a week. Let me tell  you, “this is the sign of a great dish, regardless of  what  anyone thinks otherwise.” Fettuccine is quick and easy to make. Once you know how to make the sauce,  you  will be able to make  a number of  other  dishes simply by changing or adding different ingredients.

    You can make Tortellini Panna by substituting tortellini for the fettuccine, add a few cooked veget-ables like mushrooms, peas, carrots, and broccoli florets and you have another hugely famous dish of the 70’s and  80’s,  “Pasta  Primavera”,  supposedly invented at Le Cirque by Sirio Maccione and still a popular dish there.

    It’s not on the menu and you have to be an insider to  order it. When I was a Sous Chef at Caio Bella Restaurant, one of the hot trendy restaurants of the late  80’s,  I used to make a dish called “Fettuccine Lemone” that only the regulars knew about. It was not on  the menu,  but if you were in-the-know  you could get it. I used to make this dish for a rich Oil Baron’s daughter from Kuwait and you can make it too simply by adding the zest from a couple lemons to the basic Fettuccine Alfredo recipe, and a few leaves of Fresh Basil is nice addition as well. Buon Appetito!

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

 RECIPE for FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

1 lb. fresh Fettuccine

1 pt. heavy cream, ½ stick butter

1 cup grated Parmigianno

2 egg yolks, salt & pepper

1. Put the cream in a large frying pan. Bring to the boil,  lower the flame and let  the cream cook. Season the cream with salt  and pepper to taste.  Reduce volume by One-Third, this will thicken the sauce.

2. Cook the fettuccine and drain it. Put the fettuccine in to the pan with the cream. Add butter and stir.

3. Turn the flame off. Add egg yolks and Parnigianno and stir. Serve and pass around extra Parmigiano.

Note: You can make Fettuccine Lemone by adding the zest of two lemons to this recipe. Fresh basil is also another nice addition for the Lemone Sauce.

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LE CIRQUE'S ORIGINAL SPAGHETTI PRIMAVERA 

3/4 cup heavy cream
1 - 10 oz. Box Frozen Peas
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese or more heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 cup white mushrooms, caps only, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup zucchini, split lengthwise then sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup very small broccoli florets
12 pencil-thin asparagus, green part only, cut in 1-inch segments
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, peeled and finely chopped
10 to 12 leaves basil, chopped or shredded
1 cup canned, peeled plum tomatoes in 1/2-inch dice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add a teaspoon of salt. Add the peas and boil for 3 minutes. Drain in a strainer. Run under cold water. Set aside.

In a small pot over low heat, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir well and let the sauce bubble gently until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In an 8 to 10-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the pine nuts, toss them in the oil, and toast until very light brown. Be careful not to burn them.

Add the sliced mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus and toss for 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Bring 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add a heaping tablespoon of salt.

While the water is coming to a boil, in a small skillet, heat 2 more tablespoons of olive. Add the garlic and basil and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the diced tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a few grinding of black pepper. Stir, then cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes.

Put the spaghetti into the boiling water. Stir and cook at a full boil until slightly underdone. Drain in a colander, then return the spaghetti to the pot it cooked in or to the pan you will be tossing it in at table. Place over low heat.

Add all of the cheese sauce, all of the chives, and half the peas, half the sautéed vegetables, and half the tomato sauce. Toss well for 2 minutes over low heat. Add a little more Parmesan if the sauce needs thickening (or more to taste), or a few tablespoons of hot water if the mixture gets too thick. There should not a lot of sauce, just a coating.

To present the dish, pour the dressed spaghetti into a warm serving bowl, or divide it between individual pasta bowls. Top with the remaining peas, sautéed vegetables, and tomato sauce. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve with more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Pasta Primavera alla Le Cirque

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