Osso Buco

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 Veal shanks about 4 inches long
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 lb can plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups veal stock or bouillon
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

Chopped mixture

• 1 medium onion
• 1 Large carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 Tbs rosemary
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Coat the veal shanks lightly with flour. In a large, heavy pan, melt the butter over medium high heat and brown the veal shanks on all sides. Add the chopped mixture and stir for two minutes then add the wine, mushrooms, tomatoes and the veal stock. Bring to a boil then cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. Be sure to keep the veal shanks upright in the pan so the marrow will be retained in the bone. Goes well with gnocchi or risotto on the side with the same sauce.

Pasta e Fagioli

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 Cup dry kidney beans
• 3 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Stalks celery, chopped fine
• 4 Plum tomatoes, chopped
• 4 Cups water
• 4 Cups chicken broth
• 1/2 lb. Tubettini pasta
• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. After soaking the kidney beans in water overnight, wash and place in a pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered about 1½ hours until the beans are tender. In another pan, cook the garlic and celery over medium heat until golden, then add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Cook about ten minutes, stirring frequently, then add everything to the bean pot. Bring the bean pot back to a boil, drop in the pasta and cook al dente. Serve piping hot with grated parmesan cheese on the side.

Pasta with Crab Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 live Blue Crabs
• 6 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (freshly ground) or hot pepper flakes (to taste)
• 3 cups whole canned Italian tomatoes, chopped
• 12 basil leaves, chopped (reserve 4 leaves to garnish dish)
• 1 1/2 pounds linguini or pasta of your choice

Instructions

1. In this recipe we will use the so called Blue crab. They are in great abundance along the Atlantic coast. The Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina and Louisiana support the largest blue crab fisheries.
2. It is time consuming to shell and extract the meat from the crabs, particularly the eastern seaboard variety, but their highly distinctive delicate flavor makes it well worth the effort.
3. Crabs should be kept alive until immediately before cooking to ensure they are fresh. To clean crabs before you cook them, you can kill them by tossing them into boiling water for 30 seconds or by cutting just behind the eyes to remove the head. Next scrape out the gills that are found under the flaps just over the legs. Then, turn the crab over. On the underbelly you will find the “tail” or “apron”, a slightly-lifted triangular flap. Pull this off. Finally, rinse the crab and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or sauce pan add the garlic and cook until the garlic takes on color, add the crabs and cook for another couple of minutes, add the tomatoes and basil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper, cover and boil gently for one hour. Remove the crabs and let cool so you can pick the meat out of them. To do this you can use a paring knife, split each half of the crab through horizontally, exposing chambers of crabmeat. Use the knife to pick out the meat. Take a claw and break it apart at the joint. Break the claw with a mallet and pick out the crabmeat; add the crabmeat to the sauce and discard the shells.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the pasta and cook as directed on the package, drain, put the pasta in a large bowl and add some sauce, mix well, serve on four heated pasta bowls, add a little more sauce to each portion and garnish with basil leaves. Enjoy!

Penne al Filetto

Serves 4

Prosciutto, the Italian word for ham, is a meat that has been seasoned, salt-cured (but not smoked), and air-dried. The best prosciutto comes from San Daniele di Friuli or from Parma. Imported prosciutto is available at most specialty shops or Italian Delis. Parmigiano-Reggiano, a hard, dry cheese, is made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow's milk. It has a hard, pale-golden rind and a straw-colored interior with a rich, sharp flavor. Parmesan cheeses made in Argentina, Australia, and the United States cannot compare with Italy's pre-eminent Parmigiano-Reggiano, which has a granular texture that melts in the mouth. These two ingredients are most important to the success of our featured recipe, Penne al Filetto.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs ripe, plum tomatoes (cored, peeled, and seeded) or one 35 oz. can of peeled Italian, plum tomatoes (seeded and lightly crushed in their liquid)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 6 Prosciutto slices, cut crosswise into ¼ inch-wide strips
• 6 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 lb penne
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill fitted with a fine disc, or crush them as fine as possible in a bowl with a wire whisk.
2. In a medium-size non-reactive saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and simmer until wilted. Then, add the prosciutto and wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes and half of the basil leaves. Season lightly with salt and fresh pepper, and simmer the sauce over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 45 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more salt and fresh pepper if necessary.
3. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return pasta to the pot. Add about 8 oz of the sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats the pasta, combining grated parmesan cheese. Mix well, and transfer to individual bowls, adding the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Penne Siciliano

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 Red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium eggplant cut in cubes
• 1 Tbs capers (non-pariel)
• 5 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cherry pepper, chopped fine
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups cooked plum tomatoes put through a food mill or food processor (carefully)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the garlic is golden and the onion translucent. Add the eggplant, cherry pepper, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Then stir in the tomatoes and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until sauce thickens.
2. Cook the penne according to directions on the package. Place the drained pasta in a large bowl with half the sauce and grated cheese and mix well. Place in individual dishes and top with remaining sauce. Serve immediately.

Red Snapper Livornese

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 Red snapper filets, 7 oz. each
• 2 Plum tomatoes, chopped fine
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 2 Tbsp non-pareil capers
• 4 green olives, pitted & cut in half
• 4 ripe olives, pitted & cut in half
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fish stock or bouillon
• 1/2 cup plus 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the fish, pat dry and coat with flour. Heat a half-cup of oil in a skillet and cook the fish 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on a paper towel. Heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy pan and sauté the garlic and onions until golden; add the tomatoes, capers, olives and basil and cook three minutes. Add the wine and fish stock and cook another five minutes. Place the fish in a baking dish large enough that the filets do not overlap, and pour the sauce mixture over the top of each filet. Bake for about 25 minutes until the fish flakes apart when tested with a fork. Remove to warm plates and serve immediately.

Rigatoni alla Vodka

This recipe is in answer to many requests: the very popular Rigatoni alla Vodka. Avoid using a flavored vodka as it may add an unacceptable taste.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Rigatoni
• 1 Medium Onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup Prosciutto, chopped fine
• 1 Tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 3 oz. Vodka
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Chopped Canned Tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the butter and oil in a sauce pan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until golden. Add the prosciutto and stir for two minutes, then add the tomatoes and vodka (be careful, the vodka may ignite — cover the pan with a tight lid to extinguish the flame.) Add the cream, salt & pepper and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Cook the rigatoni as directed on the package. Mix the sauce and cheese with the drained pasta and serve immediately.

Rigatoni Santoro

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni pasta
• 2 bunches broccoli rabe, chopped
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, diced
• 2 roasted peppers, cut in strips
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or bouillon

Instructions

1. Grill the chicken breasts over high heat, turning often. Cook the broccoli rabe and pasta together in 8 cups of boiling water with 2 Tbsp salt, for the length of time shown on the pasta package. Sauté the garlic in the oil over medium heat until golden in color, then add the grilled chicken breast, roasted peppers and chicken stock. Season with salt & pepper and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Drain the pasta and broccoli rabe, add the chicken and roasted peppers mixture, mix well and serve immediately.