Welcome to our table.

If anything goes together, it's the Italian lifestyle and food. And, since our community is about the Godfather movies, which also have a healthy dose of the stuff, I thought it might be cool for us to share some of our favorite mafioso recipes!

Good topic DJ. I was raised with good Italian food and marrying an Italian, I had both my mother and mother in law who were great cooks give advice. However, I think my skills are limited. I can't make the variety of dishes that either of them could. I should have paid more attention. Cookbooks are good, but nothing like asking mom for original receipes ya know?

Both my mom and MIL taught me the spaghetti sauce, and it took me literaly a few years before I could say I was satisfied with it. It's funny how everyone's sauce is different. It's similar to my mom's and to my MIL's but not exactly the same. Don't know why. Probably most everyone puts the same ingredients in their sauce, yet no two taste the same.

Ok, I'm done gabbing. I'll try to think of a good receipe to post.

TIS

Here's a little top-secret recipe of mine.

-Take peices of bread.
-Lay them out.
-Spread a thick layer of peanut butter on the inside of each slice.
-Using the peanut butter, stick the bread together.
-Enjoy.

Yeah. My cooking skills are slightly... Impaired.

That's so true. I always try to replicate my Moms but it just never tastes the same. It doesn't help that she doesnt have a "recipe" she just kinda says "a couple glugs of olive oil, throw in a pinch of sugar...etc." I'm always on the phone yelling at her "Whats a glug? whats a pinch?!@?@?@?" Plus my grandmother grows her own tomatoes and gives them to the family. I don't live near there so mine are store bought. That makes a big difference.

Mmm food. I love food and think there's no excuse why people can't eat good cooked food on a regular and daily basis. Good cooked food doesn't have to be hard or take long to prepare.

It's not Italian but my latest speciality is quick, easy and most of the ingredients will be in your fridge. How does a pepperoni omelate sound? Do your omelate like usual but add extra cheese, pepperoni slices and sliced peppers. A better alternative to slimy pizza.

Pepperoni is awful greasy for an omelet, though, I've found. I much prefer an omelet filled with some thin sliced ham, onions, bell peppers, and a thin slice of provolone/mozzarella cheese (optional).

Ladies (or gents)This frosting receipe is easy and delicious. Years ago (like 30) at a family reunion a family friend brought a cake and everyone was asking for the frosting receipe. It's easy and it's delicious!!

6 tbsp Butter
6 tbsp Crisco
1 cup of granulated sugar

With electric mixer beat until creamy

Then: add 1 tsp. of vanilla flavoring and 1/2 cup of warm (not hot) milk. Continue mixing (will take a few minutes (maybe 4/5) for it to thicken. Add food coloring if desired

Frosts a 9" cake or two layer round cake.

TIS

I just made this tonight. I have a penchant for pizza's (yes, my non-low-carb sin), and I whipped this up tonight. It tasted pretty good, everybody liked it. I'll post more as I create them.

JJ's Artisan Style Spicy Pizza

You'll need -

• 1 - Pizza dough (yes, you can make your own, which is fun, but time consuming. I buy the stuff right from the freezer case at my local supermarket, or the bag-style where you add water and let it rise.
• 1-1/2 cup of your favorite pizza sauce
• 2 cups (more or less to taste) of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 fresh clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of red onion diced
• 1/2 cup of bell pepper diced
• Crushed Red Pepper (to taste)
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Get your favorite pizza pan, and roll the dough out as thin as possible, evenly across the pan. This is designed to be a very thin, crispy crust, so deep dish pans aren't appropriate. Spread the sauce across the dough, leaving about 1/3 inch around the outside for the crust. Next, sprinkle the crushed red pepper all across the pizza, to taste. I like mine spicy, so I made sure to get it saturated.

Next, throw on that mozzarella. Don't be afraid if it is a bit thin, it will work itself out in the over. Just be sure to cover the entire pizza evenly, or else you'll get burn spots in the oven where the cheese is too thin, and globs of uncooked cheese where there is too much. Next, toss on the onions, peppers, and minced garlic, evenly across the pie. Now, take the olive oil, and generously sprinkle it all across the pizza, so as to infuse with the vegetables, and bring out the natural garlic flavors. Finally, you top it with the parmesan cheese. You can add pepperoni here at this step, but I thought it would be too oily for a pizza designed to be spicy with earthy olive oil flavors.

Pop that baby in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Pull it out when the timer is done, and make sure the crust is thoroughly crisp, with no uncooked spots (if so, my trick is to actually slide it off the pan and right onto the oven rack so it gets more heat. You can even put it on a lower level in the oven if possible).

I served mine with a nice green salid with a balsamic vinegrette, I thought an italian dressing might be too oily with the pizza. It complimented well. You could even toss some broiled chicken on the salad for more flavor.

Enjoy!

Double-J's stuffed hot peppers

You'll Need:

• Your favorite type of hot pepper, be it banana, jalapeno, etc.
• Your favorite type of cheese (I find cheddar or monterey jack work well, some people like cream cheese as well to counter the spiciness of the peppers)
• Diced Ham/pepperoni/etc. (as a filler with the cheese)
• basic fry batter (1 egg, 1 cup of flour, and a little milk for the right consistency)

Make sure when you handle the peppers, you wear some kind of rubber glove (I find the surgical gloves are fine, they are cheap and you can get them at the supermarket) to protect yourself, and be sure not to wipe your eyes or any other mucous membrane.

Slit the long way down the pepper(s), and remove the seeds. I leave the inner membrane, because this is where the heat derives from. You can run them under cold water to wash out any remaining seeds.

Next, fill the pepper(s) with shredded cheese and the diced ham. Make sure it's shredded cheese, otherwise it will take longer to melt it. Then, dip the peppers in the fry batter, being sure to seal up the slit with a little pressure.

You can either bake them, or deep-fat fry them. I heat my oil to 375 degrees, and dip them in there until they float and are golden brown in color. If they still aren't done yet, toss them in a 400 degree oven and watch them. If you see the cheese oozing out, you know they are done.

For a little more *kick*, sprinkle some cayenne pepper into the fry batter. Also, you can dip them in a little sour cream with chives chopped up in it, it would accent well.

Enjoy!

Can anybody give me the recipe for Beans on toast please

1.) Open the can of beans.

2.) Remove 3 slices of bread from the bag, or slice 3 slices if a fresh loaf.

3.) Place beans into saucepan, stir under medium heat for 5 minutes.

4.) Place slices of bread into toaster. Toast between medium and well, depending on how you like your toast. Rare is not recommended.

5.) Remove toast from toaster after desired level of toasting occurs. Place slices into shallow bowl/plate.

6.) Using a spoon, place a generous amount of the beans on the toast slices. You can have more or less beans depending on your taste.

Good?

Here's a personal favorite of mine:

Turkey/Ham and Beans sandwich

You take five slices of Smoked Turkey and Ham,

Take some mustard, spread it on 1 of 2 FRESH bread slices (not toasted!!) Not too much mustard, or it'll be icky...

Take ONE can of BUSH Baked Beans, open the can, put it in a plastic bowl, cover. Microwave 1-2 minutes.

Take your Turkey and Ham and put them on the bread, take some of the beans and put 'em on aswell.

Serve with left over beans. :p

Whose that hot chick that has her own Italian cooking show on Cable??? She is lovely


Joe Batters

Great Thread :-)

As far as my gravy or sauce, some of the stuff I do:
I use tomato paste (gives a totally different character than tomato sauce), I make sure I carmalize it or at least do it with about 3/4 cup of the paste before I add the rest ... as Clemenza says "... fry it, make sure it doesn't stick".
Depending on which relatives I have over either a little suger or some baking soda.
And I add either a very tiny amount of anise oil, or, even better if I have a bottle, some anisette.