Rachael Ray

This blog is a teaser, in anticipation of the sausage fest we videotaped for our Italian Guide which will go live next month.

I couldn’t help but share some of the stories from the day I visited Phil and Cammy DiPietro’s house in Staten Island, where I was invited to join their annual sausage-making party.  My friend and I met Phil as we were planning our Feedback festival, as his company printed the t-shirts we all wore the day of the event.  Phil kept telling us, “you have to come to the sausage party.  It’s unbelievable.”  While it sounded fun, we had no idea if we could actually make it out to Staten Island, a place I know very little, especially since Phil’s date was a moving target.  Lo and behold, when Phil called to tell us the party was August 7th, the stars lined up and we were ready to go.

We arrived to find the biggest backyard deck I have ever seen in my life.  So large was this deck, it had a pool, right on the deck!  It was a perfect place to throw a huge party in honor of, oh say, making sausage!  As we walked through the house, my friend and I (both Italian) immediately felt right at home-the nonnas were in the kitchen stirring sauce, kids were running around and the men were outside lighting the grills and yelling and laughing.  Everyone at the party had a job and a specialty.  I can’t wait to show you the videos of this day.

Johnny Muzz

There was Johnny Muzz, who was so named for his skills making mozzarella, which we watched him do right in front of us, and then we had the pleasure of tasting it fresh out of the warm bath where it comes together. Although it takes skill, it is one of the easier cheeses to make.  Here’s Tyler Florence’s recipe (I know, some Italian, huh?) which is the basic recipe most use:

HOMEADE MOZZARELLA

Ingredients

• 2 gallons water, divided
• 3 pounds whole milk mozzarella curd (available at specialty Italian markets)
• 4 tablespoons salt, divided, plus more for serving
• Tomatoes, sliced, for serving
• Basil, for serving
• Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large pot, bring a gallon of water to a boil.

In a large bowl, break up the mozzarella curd into small pieces. Coat the curd with 2 tablespoons of salt, and set aside.

In another large bowl, salt the second gallon of water with the remaining salt and add as much ice as it can hold.

This is where it gets a little tricky. Carefully pour the boiling water over the salted curd. As the curds begin to melt, carefully stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute. Submerge both of your hands in the ice water for as long as you can stand it, because you’re about to stretch the mozzarella in boiling hot water. The curd will have settled into the bottom of the bowl, and at this point you have to work quickly or risk over-cooking the curd.

Dip your hands into the hot water and begin stretching the mozzarella. By stretching the cheese you insure that all the curds have completely melted. The curds will become incredibly soft and have buttery shine, and also, it smells wonderful. Form the mozzarella into tomato size balls, and then drop the mozzarella into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Work quickly, as the mozzarella will start to become rubbery the longer it sits in the hot water.

Wrap each mozzarella ball tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Serve the cheese with the best tomatoes you can find, really fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Gavadeel

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One nonna was at the stove making tomato sauce and one was in the living room hand-rolling homeade cavatelli, or as we Italians say, “gavadeel.”  This is one of the easier pastas to make because you can do it all by hand and don’t need a rolling machine to thin out the dough.  Most cavatelli is made with a mixture of ricotta and flour and water, but in this video, Donatella Arpaia makes it on Ozersky TV without the ricotta:

Donatella Teaches Josh How To Make Pasta from Ozersky.TV on Vimeo.

Side note-This was by far my favorite dish of the day!

Chokes and Flowers

We Italians are known for using every part of the vegetable, stalks, flowers, leaves, so it was no surprise to me when I saw the Cavatelli-making nonna switch gears and start frying zucchini flowers.

You can either find zucchini flowers at a farmer’s market or in your backyard if you are growing zucchini.  Cooking them up is simple.  You can get fancy by stuffing them with a cube of mozzarella cheese or some ricotta, or you can keep it simple.  Here’s the basic recipe:

FRIED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup ice water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 zucchini flowers with stems
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Pour 3 inches of oil in a deep fryer or large, heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F.

In a deep mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks and pour in the ice water; mix to combine. Add the flour and continue to mix until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream. Dip 2 zucchini flowers at a time in the batter to coat completely, letting the excess drip off. Fry the flowers in the hot oil for 2 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Drain the fried flowers on a platter lined with paper towels, season with salt and pepper while they are still hot. Repeat with the remaining zucchini flowers.

My all-time favorite dish ever of any cuisine is Stuffed Artichokes.  I could eat these every day.  They are so delicious and easy to make and what I love best is that you labor over eating one leaf at a time but at the end, all of the work is forgotten when you reach the sinfully decadent heart!  It’s so worth it to peel back the layers of the choke to find this meaty and rich interior, almost a poetic metaphor for life!  We Mediterraneans are so dramatic, even with our food!  Here’s Rachael’s grandfather’s Stuffed Artichoke recipe.

Stay tuned for part two of this story, which will include the infamous sausage recipes!