New Year’s Eve Menu

New Year’s Eve Menu

Here’s what we’ll be eating for our North Beach New Year’s Eve dinner. Quick and delicious dishes to get you ready to roll into 2012 with friends and family.

Christmas Eve Feast of Seven Fishes (Cena di Vigilia)

Christmas Eve Feast of Seven Fishes (Cena di Vigilia)

UPDATE: There is now a video recipe for Cioppino, the simple and easy seven-fish San Francisco stew: WATCH NOW Italian-American families have their favorite dishes for Christmas Eve fish dinner – some serve 7 fish (for the 7 sacraments or 7 virtues), some serve 10 (for 

A Post-Thanksgiving Melting Pot Dinner

A Post-Thanksgiving Melting Pot Dinner

Two branches of the family gathered in northern Jersey to enjoy a great Italian-American meal with a Syrian twist.

A Jersey Thanksgiving

A Jersey Thanksgiving

We’re all gathered in northern Jersey for our Italian-American Thanksgiving dinner, 3 generations in the kitchen today. My sister Rose and her daughter Wendy are in charge, I’m just the sous chef. RoRo has been rocking in the kitchen since 7 this morning and barking 

Italian-American Thanksgiving – Roasted Turkey, Chestnut-Sausage Stuffing, and Gravy

Italian-American Thanksgiving – Roasted Turkey, Chestnut-Sausage Stuffing, and Gravy

Recipes for Italian-American roasted turkey, chestnut and sausage stuffing and turkey gravy.

Friday Recipe: Roasted Pork Tenderloin & Toy Box Tomato Salad

Friday Recipe: Roasted Pork Tenderloin & Toy Box Tomato Salad

The toughest part of this meal is cutting the toy box tomatoes in half. You can be eating dinner in about an hour. The crusty, tender slices of pork tenderloin are bathed in a pan sauce scented with garlic, sage and rosemary. The marinated toy 

Friday Recipe: One-Pan Pork Chops with Potatoes and Sweet Cherry Peppers

Friday Recipe: One-Pan Pork Chops with Potatoes and Sweet Cherry Peppers

Tired at the end of a long day? You can make this full-flavored dish in one pan in less than 30 minutes. Easy to make and an easy clean-up too.

Hotness Challenge – Macaroni with a Baby Back Rib Sauce

Hotness Challenge – Macaroni with a Baby Back Rib Sauce

Calabrians love hot peppers that make their food zesty and memorable. How many drops can you take?

Friday Recipe: Belly-Button Ricotta Gnocchi in a Sage Burnt Butter Sauce

Friday Recipe: Belly-Button Ricotta Gnocchi in a Sage Burnt Butter Sauce

The rising popularity of the potato gnocchi video promtped me to share a simpler gnocchi recipe using ricotta to make the dough instead of potato.

Little Scaloppine Bundles

Little Scaloppine Bundles

These little bundles are sometimes called scaloppine “rollatini” (little rolls with a filling) or scaloppine “ripieni” (stuffed).

10 for 1 – Super Versatile Scallopine

10 for 1 – Super Versatile Scallopine

At least 10 different dish variations are possible from this one veal cutlet recipe.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie

So I had some spaghetti with basil pesto left over from last night’s dinner. Boy-oh-boy the next day it’s breakfast–a spaghetti pie.

Basil Pesto–The Genoa Way?

Basil Pesto–The Genoa Way?

Just a few ingredients and you’ve got this pesto in 10 minutes. Use it to dress fettuccine as they do in Genoa (they call the dish trenette) or with spaghetti as I did this time.

10 Minute Mussels & Clams

10 Minute Mussels & Clams

A basic recipe from Campania that you can have as I make it here and eat in 10 minutes. These quickly steamed cozze e vongole (mussels and clams) are just out of the Bay of Naples, pristine and briny.

Zucchini, Potato, Onion & Tomato Stew (Ciambotta)

Zucchini, Potato, Onion & Tomato Stew (Ciambotta)

A fan reminded me that zucchini is overflowing the garden, so how about two Friday Recipes to cook this prolific summer vegetable. Gagootz is an Italian-American word for zucchini. It derives from the name of an Italian squash cucuzza.