In Loving Memory

Wanted: Extended family matriarch. Must have extensive knowledge in the areas of the Maloik, Italian American culture and cooking, parenting, and a breadth of general life experiences.

[it was long and legendary]

John DeLucia's Chicken and Potatoes

John DeLucia remembers his mother making this recipe. "I used to wait until nobody was around and then I'd scoop it up and eat it with my hands," he says. The recipe can be altered to accommodate any number, just cut back or add ingredients, and you'll have servings for one, two, or fifty. "I've never heard anyone tell me it sucks," said John, "Thanks, Mom!"

Ingredients
1 medium size chicken. Cut up into Pieces. Cut Breast into smaller pieces. You can leave the skin on, off, use the dark meat or not, Johns done it "all ways and it's still good. Also use chicken back cut in half."
1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced
6-7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3-4 medium sized Russet Potatoes, peeled, halved, and sliced
3-4 yams, peeled, sliced
dried oregano
oil
salt/pepper

Directions
Cover bottom of a roaster pan with oil. Place chicken pieces in pan and roll each piece in the oil to cover. Salt and pepper chicken, sprinkle oregano over chicken lightly. Take slivers of garlic and place over each piece of chicken. Add the onions. Again, salt, pepper, and oregano. Layer in yams and white potatoes. Salt, pepper, and oregano. Add the remaining garlic over the potatoes. Sprinkle oil lightly over potatoes and cover the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour. After the first half hour, uncover, and baste. Leave pan uncovered for second half hour. Baste again. After one hour, cover pan, reduce heat to 350 degrees for three more minutes of cooking. When ready, the potatoes will be tender, the chicken will fall off the bone, and all will melt in your mouth!

Note: As you baste, taste the juice for flavor. Add salt and pepper as needed. Also, when fully cooked, there should only be a slight coating of oil left on the bottom of the pan.

Cin dun!

You need to watch me make it!

Some Personal Comments Regarding Italian Cooking
by John DeLucia

"As a young kid growing up in Swissvale, the food I ate at my house (John and Stella DeLucia), Gram and Gramp DeLucia, Aunt Rae, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Do, Uncle Tony, Aunt Julie, Uncle John, Aunt Becky, Uncle Frankie, Aunt Carm, Uncle Jay, Aunt Katerine, and Uncle Louies (phew, what a list) was all delicious and perfectly cooked. But you know what? Even though the dishes were the same, they all had their own distinctive taste. So, it was very difficult to get exact recipes from any of the above mentioned chefs. They all famously said, "You need to watch me make it!" And so you did. You watched the pros, then tried to make it. And guess what? It didn't taste like theirs at all. Close, but no cigar! So, you tinker, add, subtract, try a little of this, a little of that, and you get closer. It's your own distinctive taste and it's delicious. Now I realize some of this has to do with the area of the country you live. Ingredients may not be available as they were in Swissvale. yet, I have a strange feeling that all my Aunts including my mom who learned from one of the best cooks that ever lived, Gramma DeLucia, probably said the same as I. I watched you make it, but it just doesn't taste the same when I make it!

PS By the way, who measures anything? You just keep adding stuff until it tastes delicious."

Then John DeLucia recited his Chicken and Potatoes recipe from memory, jumping forward, backtracking to add comments, and using his hands as much as his mouth! Stay tuned for Chicken and Potatoes!

Aunt Rachel's City Chicken

This family favorite dish comes via Aunt Judy!  According to Bubba, Aunt Rachel found this recipe and often made it for family gatherings. Judy remember eating it at a family picnic so she decided to carry on the

tradition at this year's Family Reunion!

A little Wikipedia research enlightened us as to how this chicken-less dish acquired its name. Apparently, "Huhnstadt" dates back to the early 1700s when overcrowding and health concerns led to the banning of urban-raised chickens in Germany. What's a person to do? Substitute! The dish experienced a resurgence during the Great Depression, when pork was the cheapest available meat. Some cooks ground up the meat and used a mold to form a drumstick shape. In 2011 you're more likely to find a tofu version in your local Whole Foods, but that sounds blasphemous.

Ingredients
veal cubes
pork cubes
small wooden meat skewers
garlic powder
onion powder
salt and pepper
eggs
milk
lots of fresh parsley
cracker meal  (Judy uses finely-ground saltine crackers)
Parmesan Cheese
Romano Cheese
oil
lemon wedges

NOTE: Judy ordered city chicken from Giant Eagle -- veal and pork cubes. The meat cubes come nice and lean. Check your local supermarket to see if you can order the cubes pre-cut.

(Specific quantities that Judy used to make 95 sticks: 10 lbs – 5lbs each veal and pork, 1 ½ dozen eggs, fresh parsley, 2 boxes of crackers to grind into cracker meal. After frying, store in Tupperware. Use wax paper above and below meat sticks.)

Directions 

Skewer 2 pork cubes and 2 veal cubes on each stick, alternating the pork and veal. Twist and wrap sprigs of fresh parsley between the meat chunks. Sprinkle the meat sticks generously with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper to your taste, and not too much salt. You'll be putting lots of cheeses in the breading.

In bowl one, pour enough flour to dredge the meat sticks.

In bowl two, beat 2-3 eggs, depending on how many sticks you're making. Don't skimp on the egg mixture. Add a dash of milk Add lots of fresh chopped parsley.

In bowl three, combine the cracker meal with handfuls of Parmigiana and Romano cheeses.

Lightly dredge meat stick in flour. Dip the meat stick in egg mixture, then coat it in cracker meal mixture

FRY LIGHTLY. Don't fry too dark

Place fried city chicken on a rack on a cookie sheet. If you don't have a rack, use

crumbled aluminum foil. This works great.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Be sure your oven is hot before you start to bake the meat sticks. No cover. Check the sticks about halfway, and if the breading is soggy on the underside, turn them over to finish baking. Careful, don't over cook, but be sure the pork is cooked!

If you bread the sticks early in the day, put them in the frig, and the spices really get into the meat. Serve with lemon wedges. Yummmmmmy.

Cin dun!

Limoncello

Making good limoncello is easy. Drinking good limoncello responsibly? That can be a little more difficult, especially when it is hot outside.

A quick story - on our honeymoon, Sara and I spotted a small bottle of Limoncello di Calabria at a Florentine wine shop. We brought this home to Grandma DeLucia (Aunt Kitty) as a souvenir, knowing that both her father's and mother's families hailed from somewhere within the region of Calabria.

"Hey, that's where my people are from!" she said, all smiles, "but what is it?"

"It's limoncello, try a little..."

So she says "A Salute!", takes a shot and then says "This is good. I'm going to have this all myself, you people can go now."

The first few times I made it myself, I used everclear (per the recipe I had), back when you could still buy everclear (circa 1999 for you youngsters). I actually prefer it now with vodka, because the everclear version could also be used to strip paint - too strong, too astringent.

Ingredients:

1 fifth vodka (cheap, unflavored vodka, no need to spend a lot here)

same amount of simple syrup (about 1 1/2 cups water and 4 cups sugar)

4-5 organic lemons

LIGHTLY zest the lemon skins into a bowl, being careful not to zest the pith (white layer below the yellow skin) - the pith is very bitter.

Put this zest in a large glass jar/pitcher. Pour in the vodka. Cover and let stand for 2 days, swirling the mixture every once in a while.

After 2 days, strain out the solids through paper coffee filters. Make some simple syrup by boiling the sugar in water until the sugar is fully dissolved. Pour this into the strained lemon liqueur until the total volume is roughly doubled (or until it tastes right to you). Bottle. Refrigerate. Do not freeze this type - there's too much water and not enough alcohol so it could burst the glass container.

The lemon zest and vodka at day two - just added some lavender blossoms (floating near top).

Variation: Try to infuse with some fresh herbs for a few hours at a time, before you strain the liqueur. You should not leave them in too long, because it can turn the whole thing very bitter if you are not careful. I have used (on separate occasions): lavender, sage, rosemary, tarragon. This can be tricky, but a fun thing to experiment with. Check the aroma ever couple hours to make sure it is not becoming too astringent.

I have also added berries at this point to adjust color (ie, strawberries result in a light pink version).

Make sure you do any of this before you strain the liqueur and before you add the syrup.

Tip: Use organic lemons - they tend to a) not have chemicals on their skin which will give your limoncello and off flavor and b) they tend not to have wax sprayed on their skin (which you could remove by dropping them in boiling hot water for 30 seconds - but this also can remove some of the good oils and natural color you are trying to infuse into the limoncello). It's just easier to use organic ones

Three little shot glasses from Grandma:

"Fuel for a cold windy night"

"Solution for a hot summer day" and

"Tonic for a rainy afternoon".

Good Luck

Cin Dun! or as Grandma would say "A Salute!"

John Catz’s World Famous Meatballs

Ground beef and a pound of the family-recipe Hot sausage

Before you begin cooking, fix yourself a mixed drink. Proceed!

Ingredients
2 pounds ground meat (use 75/ 25 fat ratio)
1 pound Italian Sausage  (Catz uses BJ's sweet – not lean; more fat gives more taste)
2- 3 eggs
1 medium onion finely chopped
garlic powder or 3 to 4 cloves finely chopped
½ cup Parmagian (good stuff) cheese
2 slices finely chopped Italian (preferred), white (last resort), or Chibatta bread
¼ to ½ cup parsley  (Catz uses the dried stuff from BJ’s – if fresh add more)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all but the sausage into a bowl. The consistency should resemble that of a hamburger before cooking. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more bread. If it's too dry, add a little milk.

Meanwhile, begin to heat plain old corn or canola oil  (1/4 inch deep) in a black skillet (preferred) or frying pan to medium heat. A little butter never hurts, either.

Remove sausage from the casing and add to the mixture. The number of meatballs depends on the size. Catz makes his about the size of a golfball and gets about 40 out of the batch. Fry in small batches (5-6 golfball sized ones at a time) so that the meatballs will cook more evenly. Turn occasionally to brown on all sides. The meatballs should be brown on the outside and medium rare in the center. Remove  to paper towel lined plate to absorb the oils.

Once cool, package 5 to 6 to freezer bags and freeze for future use. When you start your sauce, add a package of thawed meatballs and let them finish cooking in the sauce.

Cin dun!

Stuffed Artichokes

This entry comes via Tony DelPrete and the story might be almost as good as the recipe! Thanks, Tony!

On the night that Father Giovanetti came for dinner, Marie Antoinette (Aunt Du) was serving artichokes. As each member of the family took a leaf and scraped the tasty mix between their teeth, Father watched and followed their lead. Except, never having eaten an artichoke before, he would simply kiss each leaf and lay it on his plate. Finally, Pubby, laughing in that soft, forgiving manner, explained and showed Father how to savor the artichoke “meat” and herbs, a labor of love we enjoy to this day.

This word-of-mouth recipe was handed down by Grams, which she claims was from her mom and her mom before her. Here I have attempted to capture the traditional pinch of this and dash of that ingredients list. This takes a lot of time and effort (not to mention pricked fingers), but the end results are well worth it. I’ve also streamlined the process- skip down to "Quick Chokes" to enjoy virtually the same taste in a fraction of the time

Ingredients
Artichokes, about the size of your fist and soft to the touch
Salt, pepper
Fresh garlic and parsley (celery and onions can be added, too)
Seasoned bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Directions
Cut stalks off artichokes at the base (save for stuffing later). Turn artichoke on its head and push down so leaves open. Either soak in salt water or boil to make leaves tender. Pare stalks to reveal white heart. Dice along with garlic, celery and onions. Stand artichokes in roaster and begin stuffing. Add salt and pepper first, then herbs. Make sure to push liberal amounts of diced herbs into leaves, but watch for sharp spines. Sprinkle grated parm throughout leaves, then bread crumbs. Push chopped parsley down into mix. Drizzle olive oil over everything. Fill roaster with water so that only top of artichoke is revealed. Cook at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours, basting with juices and replenishing water as it cooks down. Pull leaves occasionally to test whether done; meat should come easily off leaf.

Quick Chokes

Ingredients
Frozen artichoke hearts or, if in brine, rinse before preparing
Salt, pepper (garlic salt, if you must)
Fresh garlic and parsley (celery, onions can be added, too)
Seasoned bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Directions
Warm olive oil in pot. Add garlic, celery, onions and blanche lightly. Add artichoke hearts in pot along with parsley. Stir in salt and pepper, then bread crumbs and more olive oil, as needed As ingredients become warm, remove from heat. Add parmesan cheese to taste.

Cin dun!

Aunt Rae's Rice Pie

Mary Catherine (DeLucia) Belechak told me, "This recipe was sent to me by my brother, John DeLucia, who got it straight from Aunt Rae. It's for a zillion people."

In fact, she suggested that maybe we should publish this archive into a book called, "Food to Feed a Zillion people." Then the forthcoming sausage recipe will fit right in. Now, who's posting that?


Dough:                   

6 cups of flour                                      
1 teaspoon Baking Powder  
6 eggs                                                          
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup of Anisette
pinch salt

Make a well with the flour. Crack in the eggs and add the other ingredients. Work it all together until it forms a ball of dough.

(Note: A  well is when you pour the flour on a board or wherever and make a hole in the middle.)


Roll the dough out to fit a 9" pie pan or larger. Fill with the following mixture and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until it's firm to the touch

Filling:

Beat 2 doz. eggs well. Then, add 1/2 lb.of melted oleo, 1 pint of milk, 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 lb. of ricotta, the juice of 2 lemons, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cooked rice (cooked).

Unfortunately, one  of  the  things  Aunt  Rae  didn't  tell  my  brother  was  how  much  rice  to  use. My guess  is  2  small  boxes  cooked  and  mixed  in. John usually makes 1/3 of the recipe and uses 1/2 or a little more of a small box of rice and that seems to be the right amount

Anyway, pour mixture into dough lined pan and bake.

Cin dun!

Pizzelles

Pizzelles may just be the signature baked good for Italian Americans. Here is Mary Catherine's recipe for the sweet treat.

Beat 6  eggs well. Then, add 1 1/2  cups  of sugar. Beat more. Then, add 1  cup  of melted  and  cooled  margarine. Beat  some  more.

Then, add 2 Tablespoons  of vanilla, 1/3  cup  anisette. Beat some more. Then, add 4 cups of flour and 4  teaspoons  baking  powder. Beat even more.

Get  out  your  pitzel  iron  and  heat  it  up. (maybe  you  should  have done that  first).

Drop  by  teaspoons  onto  the  hot  iron,  close  the  lid  and  wait  about  a  minute. Lift  the  lid  and  Munach! They  are  beautiful!

Cin dun!

Pickled Green Tomatoes

This one speaks for itself. From the Aunt Kitty (my grandma Katherine Giordano DeLucia) archives:

My favorite part: Hard to say. Either: "garlic?" or "Good luck"

The way may Dad (Ralph) makes it, there is never a question about adding garlic. I myself will put one or two cloves of garlic in per quart container (they are hiding in the picture). Dad, on the other hand, puts just enough tomatoes in to "hold the garlic in the jar". Seriously, the man loves his garlic.

If you can't read the original (which is a digital picture of a folded printout from a scanned copy of the original), here it is transcribed:

Green Tomatoes

3 parts water

1 part vinegar

1 Tbsp salt

Garlic ?

Good luck -- K.D.

(My notes from the last time I made these):

Used 4 cups apple cider vinegar, 12 cups water, and 6 Tbsp canning salt. This was enough for approximately 10 quarts.

As Grandma would say "a salute" (to your health).

DeLucia/Pascal Sausage Use #56

Sadie and Daddy have a sitdown over some pasta and gravy. June 2011

Sausage/Tomato/Cream Sauce

Now before anyone comments "what do you mean DELUCIA/Pascal, shouldn't it be PASCAL/DeLucia?" I am referring to the fact that to make the sausage, Guiseppi DeLucia's original meat grinder/caser is used.

In skillet #1, heat olive oil, and saute onions, garlic, and sliced mushrooms (crimini, baby bellas, or sliced portabellas). Season with salt/pepper. Deglaze with a little red (sweet or rosso) vermouth, scraping all the good stuff up off the bottom.

In skillet #2, brown your loose sausage (2 pounds) and "chunk" it into small pieces. Again, deglaze with red vermouth. Add a 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes. Let this simmer about 10 minutes. Add some cream (one pint) to make a tomato-cream sauce. I normally use a Latte Milano little box of cream (in the picture).

Combine two skillets in a bowl, mix well, sauce your pasta, e mangia!

Variation: Add some fresh baby spinach leaves to the sausage/tomato/cream skillet at the end and let them "wilt" for a minute or so before mixing with mushrooms.

Trick: To "sweeten" any italian loose sausage, cook thoroughly on low heat turning frequently and then deglaze the pan with sweet vermouth (1/2 cup or 1 cup - whatever makes sense). Scrape up all the good stuff, and simmer for a few minutes until the vermouth thickens (also cooks off all the alcohol).

Bundles of Joy (Prosciutto con Fichi)

Why are they called "Bundles of Joy"? Because they are, that's why. The first time I made these, Sara and I lived in Houston, TX. The best part about Houston? Easily, it was our fig tree (and of course friends, but I'll get to that). At a pool party, my good friend Mike Yarnold tried one and said "Whoa, what are THESE little bundles of joy?" Hence the name was born.

Now, if you are lucky enough to grow your own fresh figs, you can skip the soaking in booze step (we never needed to do that when we had fresh figs - they are unbelievably juicy and sweet). If you fresh figs, you should also invite me over and I will make these for you. I have used dried figs for a long time, because store bought "fresh" figs are not only expensive but kind of mealy compared to real fresh ones.

The List:

1/2 cup blackberry brandy

1/2 cup ruby port wine

dried figs (try to buy some which are still supple and not rock hard)

1/2 pound prosciutto, sliced "not too thin"

1/2 pound Manchego (Spanish) cheese

toothpicks, soaked in water

(a picture of fresh figs)

The process:

1. Buy your prosciutto. Tell them "not too thin, but not too thick. This is not going to be used uncooked and wrapped around cantaloupe - I am going to lightly grill it, so it needs to have some strength" or something like that. Also, buy domestic prosciutto - cheaper and works fine, especially because it will be grilled lightly
2. De-stem the dried figs, and cut them each in half (count how many you have)
3. Cut each slice of prosciutto in half (See picture), enough for one piece on each half fig
4. Cut the Manchego (one piece for each half fig) - make them about 1/2" wide by 1 1/2" long
5. Mix brandy and port together - put the figs in here for about an hour (longer is fine).
6. Drain the booze out into a small pan and simmer it down until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon (this is your dipping sauce). When it starts to form a foam, it is probably concentrated enough. Don't let it burn.
7. Lay a piece of prosciutto down, then a piece of Manchego on top, then a fig on top of the cheese - wrap the prosciutto around the fig/cheese, and then use a wet toothpick to hold it together.
8. Repeat #7 until every half fig is wrapped. Take frequent breaks and sip your coffee with anisette.
9. These can be put in the fridge for ~ 4 hours. Make sure you let them come back to room temp before grilling.
10. Grill them on low or indirect heat for less than a minute per side, or until the prosciutto is a little crispy or the cheese is melting.

Bubba's Ricotta Pie

Ricotta Pie could also be known as Baked Cholesterol. It isn't made often, but each Easter, Julie Pascal Grove bakes this traditional dish. Based on the quantities, it appears that this recipe makes at least four pies; we all know Italians generally don't cook for only four people, especially at Easter. Either halve the recipe, freeze some pies, or do it the DeLucia way and invite over a ton of people.

Ingredients
16 eggs
2 cups sugar
lemon or vanilla extract
3 pounds Ricotta Cheese
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
milk (optional)
4 tsp baking powder
salt

Directions for the filling:
Beat 12 eggs. Add 1 cup sugar. Add lemon or vanilla extract. Put aside until dough is ready.

Directions for the dough:

The recipe, hand-written by Bubba

Mix 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup shortening. Add 1 cup sugar and mix. Add 4 teaspoons of baking powder and salt. Mix some more. When it is well-mixed, dig a well in the flour mixture (like the opening of a volcano), crack in 4 eggs and 2 teaspoons lemon or vanilla extract into center and mix until the dough is firm.

Once the dough is ready, add 3 pounds of Ricotta cheese to the filling. If it seems too thick (this depends on your taste and preference), add some milk (1/2 to 1 cup).

Somewhere in here you'll obviously roll out the dough and then add the filling. Unfortunately, the recipe doesn't include these specifics, so you're on your own for this.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Then reduce to 325 degrees.


Wrap foil around the edges of the pies so they don't burn. Bake the pies for at least one hour.

Next, the recipe written by Bubba reads, "Kitchen oven 300 degrees, cellar oven 225 degrees."  The thermostats on one or both of Bubba's ovens obviously didn't work correctly. It sounds like 300 is the correct temperature.

When they are cooling, cover the pies with a Mopin (aka, kitchen dish towel).

There is another Ricotta Pie recipe in the family history, which uses roughly the same ingredients in different quantities. The main difference is that one can choose to add orange peel, chocolate chips, and/or maraschino cherries to the filling.

Contact Julie Grove to clear up any of the ambiguities on this one, and good luck!

Cin dun!

Bubba's Fried Eggplant

A number of DeLucia descendents described different ways to make eggplant, so I decided to post Bubba's version first. I hope others will chime in with their own version. Perhaps we'll post a competing recipe, taste-test, and hold a vote for the favorite at the reunion. My husband, Matt Pascal, makes a baked version and uses olive oil and fresh basil, saving a few thousand mg of cholesterol, but really -- aren't cholesterol and Italian almost synonyms? Interestingly, there are as many words and spellings for eggplant in different Italian dialects (melanzana, moulignon, etc.) as there are recipes among the descendents of Joe and Maria.

Ingredients
4 large eggplants
salt and pepper
Italian flat-leaf parsley
6 eggs
canola oil
2-4 cups home-made pasta sauce (recipe to come)
1 - 2 cups grated Romano cheese

Directions
Peel the eggplants and slice them very, very thin. Lay the eggplant slices on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and let them sit for about an hour. This should remove the water from the eggplant.

Dab the eggplants with paper towels to remove the moisture and some of the salt.

Beat six eggs. Add some parsley and pepper. Dip the eggplant slices in the egg mixture.

Heat canola oil in a frying pan. Do not use olive oil, as it won't heat correctly. Fry the eggplant slices until "nice and crisp." Drain on paper towels.

In a 9 x 13 dish, layer the eggplant with pasta sauce and grated romano cheese. Use as little sauce as possible, just a scraping on the bottom, and a dab on each eggplant slice. According to Rose, you want to taste the eggplant, not the sauce. The final layer should be cheese. Mangia!

Cin dun!

The Bombardino

Happy Memorial Day! An Italian-American celebration requires libation, so here's a very special fancy drink recipe via Joe DeLucia. That doesn't clear things up, does it? Has anyone counted how many Joe DeLucias there are in the family? Matt and I tried and then just decided on "a lot."

The Bombardino is a relatively new family tradition. For the past few years, Joe has shown up at the annual Pascal Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Party with the Bombardino ingredients and fixed everyone this decadent (and quite powerful) treat. Matt once drank too many of these and tried to claim that Joe "ruined" Christmas.

Though The Bombardino contains few ingredients, it does require advance preparations. Not many liquor stores carry Advocaat, so you might have to special order the egg-liquor.

The Ingredients
Bols or Verpoorten brand of Advocaat egg-liquor
VSOP Brandy
Amaretto
Heavy Whipping Cream
Dark Chocolate Shavings
Optional: Vanilla, Sugar

Directions
Joe makes the ratio as 1/3 VSOP brandy to 2/3 advocaat. Mix well in a glass measuring cup, immediately.
Then heat in a microwave for 30 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes, depending on how much you are making - enough to get it almost steaming (do not boil it). You may need to pause the microwave and mix a few times.

Pour hot/warm mixture into espresso demitasses or Irish coffee glasses (or really whatever you have around). To make your own whipped cream, beat heavy cream in a bowl. Add a little amaretto liqueur for sweetness/flavor. You can also a little vanilla and/or a tablespoon or two of sugar. Top the drink with the whipped cream, then  dust with chocolate shavings.

A stronger version is 1/2 VSOP, 1/2 Advocaat. "A little too strong for me," says Joe, "but warms everyone up quickly!"

Cin Dun!

Cin Dun!

The Italian expression cento anni is shorthand for cento di questi giorni, which translates to a hundred more of these days. It is often said in conjunction with Salut! when making a toast. The DeLucia family in America took the expression and morphed it into something much simpler; we just say, "Cin Dun" (pronounced Chin Dunn) when we raise our glasses. But in our family a Cin Dun isn't just a toast, it's a specific drink as well.

Having a Cin Dun is tradition at Easter, Christmas, family gatherings, or, it seems, any excuse for a celebration. On the day her first grandchild Jonah Grove (daughter of Julie Pascal Grove, great-grandchild of Bubba) was born, Rose Pascal recalls wandering the Regent Square neighborhood of Pittsburgh with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a bottle of anisette in the other, knocking on doors, and pouring everyone a shot.

Ingredients
Whiskey
Anisette

Directions
The correct ratio is 1/3 whiskey to 2/3 anisette. Pour the anisette first, then lay the whiskey on top.

Cin dun!

Wedding Soup

A few members of the older generation have voiced their excitement as we record these recipes for posterity. We hope the written online version withstands the test of time as well as the oral tradition has. This recipe comes via Rose Pascal for the "blob" (as she called it), and was chosen in honor of Jessica Catanzano (grand-daughter of Bubba) and Aaron Schneider who got married last Saturday, May 22.

I asked Rose about the origination of the recipe. She claimed that she's just "always known how to make it." But, she does remembers her Uncle Joe making the soup at Pittsburgh's infamous Triangle Bar and Grill. Once again, no paper version exists, but Rose talked me through the directions from her memory.  If you find the instructions vague, take it up with her!

Ingredients

1 or 2 stewing chickens

salt

1/4 to 1/2 pound of ground round beef

a "handful" of seasoned breadcrumbs

a "handful" of grated romano cheese

1 egg

fresh parsley

escarole

onion

1 cup Acni de Pepi (pasta)

Directions

Clean the chicken, remove the guts, and put the chicken in a pot of water (enough to cover the chicken). Add some salt. (Rose says to get the best flavor "Don't use too much water!" or Use two chickens.) Bring to a boil.

"How long should it cook like that?" I asked Rose.

"God, I don't know," she said. "An hour. Until the chicken is falling off the bone. Maybe an hour and a half."

Separetely, bring a second pot of water to a boil. Add a bunch of escarole and cook for 15 to 20 minues.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Mix the beef with the breadcrumbs and romano cheese, the egg, some fresh parsley, and "a little more than a pinch of salt." Form into small meatballs. Rose suggests the proper size should be "between a pea and a grape." Set aside.

Remove the chicken, set aside, and strain the "stock" to remove any bits. "Don't strain yourself," added Michael Pascal, helpfully. 

Shred some of the chicken (Rose recommends the thigh, or other dark meat) and add back into the stock. Add a half cup of sliced, sweet Vidalia onion. Drop the raw meatballs in. When the soup comes to a boil again, add the Acni de Pepi (pronounced in Eye-talian as ajnadepeba). Strain the escarole, chop, and add to the soup.

Simmer for 10 minues. Cin dun!

Bubba's Stuffed Peppers

Cooking with Otis

For several years I've been in charge of stuffed peppers when my mother, (aka, Rose Catanzano Pascal, or Gigi) doles out assignments for Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas Eve. I've been given other assignments as well, like eggplant parm and various salads, but each time I'm assigned one of those, I'm never asked to make it again. I try not to read between the lines too much, but maybe that means something. When I was a kid, I knew to do a lousy job when asked to wash the windows or clean the tub, and I was never asked to do those tasks again, either.

This recipe has morphed from the version told to me by Bubba (aka, Julie Catanzano) and separately by Gigi, but neither gave me precise amounts to use in the recipe. Most everything was explained to me as handfuls, pinches, or bunches, and many ingredients were said to be optional. In light of the ambiguity of it all, my peppers are never the same twice. Let's see how yours come out!

Necessary Ingredients:

Some of the ingredients

* 8 - 10 Cubanella Peppers, washed, seeds removed, and cut in half lengthwise
* 1 cup olive oil
* 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
* 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
* 2 big, juicy tomatoes, chopped
* Salt & Pepper

 Optional Ingredients:
* 4 - 6 white mushrooms, chopped
* pine nuts
* 1 small can of sliced black olives
* 1/2 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 cans Delallo's anchovies in olive oil (not in water!), sliced

This recipe is very easy, and can be done in stages. I typically make the stuffing and maybe even stuff the peppers the night before. Then, I bake them in the 1 - 2 hours prior to serving so that they're freshest for the meal.

First, save a half cup of the oil, a little parsley and the pine nuts for later. Combine everything else in a big mixing bowl. Next, smear some olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish or cookie sheet with edges (large enough to cram all the peppers in without room to wiggle). Spoon stuffing into each pepper, arrange all the peppers in the baking dish. Top with the parsley and pine nuts you set aside. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over them, cover with aluminum foil (shiny side down) and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Cin dun!

Matt Pascal (grandson of Bubba, aka Angelina DeLucia Cantanzano)

Welcome

Nearly a century ago, Joe and Maria DeLucia left their hometown of Formicola, Italy and landed at Ellis Island, USA. They had few possessions in hand, but they carried a wealth of cooking knowledge in their heads. Some of the recipes included on this site are family classics, passed down from generation to generation. Of course, the DeLucias have dispersed and multiplied across the United States, interjecting some decidedly non-Italian cooking into the family repertoire. Some of those recipes will be included as well, so don't be surprised if you find a recipe for "Challah" alongside one for "Easter Bread."

Perhaps I should offer a warning to precise cooks or those who stumble on this blog looking for the usual helpful, directional recipe. Many of these recipes are, after all, Italian and therefore emotional and a bit vague. You might say they are relaxed. Some skimp on directions. Many don't list exact quantities. You may be instructed to add a pinch of this or a handful of that. This is not Bon Appetit or The New York Times, where a tablespoon or two of flour makes a difference. That's far too much work. EYE-talian American cooking is a process, born out of each person's unique palate. Perfection won't be achieved overnight, but through the years of making the same dish. So, pour yourself a glass of wine, embrace improvisation, and enjoy this liberating concept of cooking.

Bon Apetito and Cin dun! May there be a hundred more of these meals!