First off, Italian food is regional.  Saying Italian food is way too broad a topic.  What they make in the North isn’t always what they’re making in the South.  And what they make in the East isn’t what’s being served in the West.  Food in Italy for the most part is regional and local.  Italians, and for that matter many European countries, were eating local before it was trending at Whole Foods.  Don’t get me wrong, Italy & the world are changing and not always for the better.  Italy is losing its Italianità to globalization.  So the mom & pop salumeria is closing because DiMeglio Supermercato is knocking out the competition, much like what happened here in the States. 

One of the important things to remember is that all cuisines are great and we should respect them.  They don’t deserve to be knocked or discredited.  On the other hand, however, when we are looking solely at food from Italy, we must not think that what our parents, grandparents, etc. have made here in the USA is Italian food.  Again, I’m not saying chicken parm or spaghetti and meatballs or Caesar salad is bad, in fact I love those dishes.  What I’m saying is that they are not authentic or traditional to the country of our ancestry.  Now that’s not to say that these dishes weren’t based on recipes that were brought over during the great migration at the beginning of the last century.  But we mustn’t call it what it isn’t.  By falsely labeling all of these dishes “Italian” food, people who have never travelled to Italy, don’t know “real” Italians or weren’t raised in an Italian family, think that what they are eating is authentic.  Again, I reiterate that Italian-American food is not bad or wrong, but it needs to be called what it is, Italian-American food, and not authentic or traditional Italian food. 

Another pet peeve of mine is the pronunciation of many products and dishes, that’s for another post.  I’m also not going to sit here and bash those corporate wannabe Italian restaurants, although I would love to.  In fact, I will give them credit for pulling the wool over the eyes of many Americani.  The most important thing we can do as food professionals is to educate the eating public on what is and isn’t authentic Italian food.  If we could just let them know that “Sicilian Chicken Primavera Rollantini Scaloppini” is some made up dish by a corporate chef who has never been to Italy, and not a real Sicilian specialty, we would be ahead of the game.  For those of us that know the real and simple pleasures of regional Italian food must make it our priority to spread the word to our family and friends. 

People might think this is a silly topic to educate people on, but to me it’s my mission in life.  I don’t claim to know everything.  I don’t and I never will.  But I make the effort.  I read, I watch, I visit, I talk, I educate on this topic that is so near and dear to my heart.  Thank you for reading.

Living to eat,
 Tony Mangia

A friend of mine posted a really adorable photo of a dairy calf named Oreo that recently passed away on her Facebook page.  And I have to be honest, seeing that helpless face seriously made me second guess my love for meat.  It actually shook me up a bit.

Now I’m not saying I am becoming a vegan or even a vegetarian, I just think that we all need to eat responsibly.  We need to make sure the animals we eat are born, raised, life & die in a humane matter.  I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, we need to know where our food comes from.  It’s great to get that cheap ground meat at your local supermarket, but do you really know how that meat got there?

I know some of my Facebook friends got a little upset when I posted a picture of a lamb’s head that I cooked and ate a few weeks back.  I wrote a subsequent blog post about the topic entitled “Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It”.  I, at least, am not afraid to eat the whole animal.  No part of the animal should be wasted.  Yes, that animal was “sacrificed” to be put on my plate; so it deserves nothing but respect from its preparation to my fork.  With that said, I urge you all to eat responsibly.  I know it’s tough to eat this way in these tough economic times, but it really is the right thing to do.  By eating this way, you are taking an active role in the food chain.  It is what we did for thousands of years, so let’s go back to that way of eating.  Enjoy!

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

A practice pizza!?  I’ve never heard of such a thing until this afternoon when I was at A Mano in Ridgewood.  Roberto Caporuscio, master pizzaiolo, instructor and owner of NYC’s Keste’ Pizza & Vino makes his pizzaioli-in-training practice making pizze with pasta instead of cheese. It’s cheaper than cheese, but interestingly has the same feel and weight. This is info you only learn from a master pizzaiolo like Roberto! Enjoy!

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

There’s one thing I have to do every morning so that I can function like a normal human being throughout the day.  And that is to make myself an espresso.  It’s funny, if I don’t have that jolt of caffeine I feel like a zombie.  Until recently, I always had to break out my little 1 cup Bialetti Moka Express stovetop espresso maker.  Don’t get me wrong I love my stovetop espresso makers.  In fact, I have more than one.  Besides the 1 cup maker, I also have a 6 cup Ilsa Napoletana espresso maker and two 6 cup Bialetti Moka Express makers (one of them even plays music when it’s ready).

2 of my Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Makers

Anyhow, I do love the old-schoolness of using the stovetop makers.  I mean that’s what everyone in my family has ever used.  But, I have become a convert to the “automatic” espresso machine.  I’ve actually had one of these “automatic” machines sitting on my bar for close to 3 years, but I was always nervous to use it.  I was just comfortable with the stovetop maker.  I knew it always produced a great product.  As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

My Ilsa Napoletana Stovetop Espresso Maker

About 2 months ago, my good friend Alessio Troia came over for dinner.  Alessio is one half of the husband/wife team that owns Bella Cucina Gourmet Italian Deli in Lake Hiawatha, NJ.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, these two make some extraordinary Sicilian specialties.  Alessio is also a talented barista.  He pulls some of the best espresso this side of the Atlantic.  So, I worked up the courage to ask him to teach me how to properly use my “automatic” espresso machine.  My machine is a Krups.  It’s a small household espresso/cappuccino maker.

My Krups Automatic Espresso/Cappuccino Maker

Before giving me the reigns, Alessio showed me the proper way to use the machine.  He said you couldn’t just put the coffee in the filter and attach it to the machine.  He explained that the grinds need to be leveled off.  He showed me how to tamp the grinds.  This is actually one of the most important steps.  You have to use a tamper and exert about 30 pounds of pressure to pack the espresso grinds tightly into the filter.  Once he had the filter ready, he attached it to the machine and turned the knob, which forced the water through the filter making espresso.  There was a thin golden brown stream of liquid that slowly trickled out of the machine.  Once the espresso was about halfway up the small cup, Alessio turned the knob off.  He explained the importance of the crema, which is the foamy looking mass that sits on the top of a good espresso.  This crema has the oils that are extracted from the ground up coffee beans.  I took a sip of this perfect cup of espresso and was surprised that my little machine made this wonderful elixir.  The crema was sweet and the coffee was strong, but with no hint of bitterness.  I was impressed!

Beautiful crema!! (Barbera Caffè from Messina, Sicily)

It was then my turn to try my hand at using the machine.  And with Alessio’s patient assistance, I went through a couple of cups of mediocre espresso before I finally pulled a cup worthy of an Italian bar.  (In Italy, bars aren’t just for boozing.  You can get your espresso there, too.)  I was ecstatic to finally be using this wonderful machine.  Since then, I’ve also slowly started to master the art of the cappuccino using the machine.  But that’s another story.  Now my mornings start off by pressing the button to warm up my “automatic” espresso machine, although now and then I do get nostalgic and break out the Moka Express!  Enjoy!

Here’s a short video of Alessio pulling a beautiful shot of espresso.  To experience Alessio’s awesome barista abilities firsthand, make sure you stop at deli.

Bella Cucina Gourmet Italian Deli
33 North Beverwyck Road
Lake Hiawatha, NJ, 07034

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

Yesterday morning, I posted a picture on Facebook of a piece of meat I was cooking for that day’s lunch.  This picture caused quite a stir on my profile page.  As a matter of fact, it received close to 150 comments between my pictures and status updates on the topic.

“Here’s looking at you, Kid!”

This being the Easter holiday season, I purchased a lamb’s head from Fairway Market in Paramus, NJ.  I’ll admit it was an impulse buy.  But I just felt that if I didn’t buy that head, it would have gone to waste.  As I was waiting for my turn at the butcher counter, I heard the mumblings of the people around me.  They felt that displaying the head was inappropriate.  One person said, “I don’t want what I’m eating to be staring at me.”  Another person said, “That reminds me of my dog.”  Come on people, it’s a lamb.  We eat lamb chops and leg of lamb.  Guess what those pieces of meat were part of a bigger, living creature.

Being Italian-American, capuzzelli as we call the lamb’s head is a part of our culture.  I do understand people do not like to see where there food comes from.  But, for me, I like to see what I am eating.  It gives me a deeper appreciation for the animal that gave its life for my sustenance.  Now, I know some might argue that we live in a modern age.  This is true, but there is nothing wrong with cooking and eating dishes that play a pertinent role in our cultural heritage.

Many of the dishes that revolve around cucina povera or the rustic Italian kitchen are dishes of offal/organs or the fifth quarter (quinto quarto as it’s called in Roman cuisine).  These are dishes that over the course of the years have fallen out of favor with many people, even people whose families ate it.  As of late, this type of cooking is making a steady, mainstream comeback due to chefs such as Chris Cosentino of Incanto Restaurant in San Francisco, California.  Last summer, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris (Click here for the interview).  I’ve even enjoyed veal brains at one of the world’s best restaurants, The French Laundry, in Yountville, California.  The French Laundry is the creation of the world renowned chef Thomas Keller.  And if you’re looking for offal on the east coast, I’ve had the pleasure of eating sweetbreads (thymus gland) at Restaurant Marc Forgione in New York City just last month.

The cooked lamb’s head

It’s quite sad, but many people would rather eat a flavorless piece of meat such as a filet mignon instead of something flavorful like brains, tongue or even brisket.  We’ve become a society of pre-wrapped or frozen, boxed meat.  This is very disconcerting.  I understand wholeheartedly that some people cannot afford to go out to a farm and buy an animal and have it butcher.  For Pete’s sake, I don’t do that either.  But, I do think we need to be responsible consumers of these meat products.  This doesn’t mean to shop at an organic market or a high end butcher shop.  I’m not even saying you have to grind or fabricate meat at home.  What I am trying to say is don’t let these big corporate supermarkets hold the cards.  If you want your meat freshly ground, tell the butcher.  If you want a special cut, request it.  I mean the butcher is supposed to give the customers service.  If they can’t or do not want to, it might be time to find a new place to shop.  If people are shopping on a budget they should buy what is within their means, but the products should be fresh & wholesome.  I also understand families are pressed for time nowadays, but in the case of a hamburger, it doesn’t take that long to form a patty by hand.

I am a working class guy, but I enjoy food, whether I’m preparing it or eating it.  I mean there are some foods I couldn’t imagine myself eating, but I don’t bash the people that do.  I chalk it all up to life’s experiences.  As a matter of fact, I actually like to try these bizarre foods because the act of just trying it may change my mind about it.  With that said, the lamb’s head was very good.  I just wish that some of you reading this blog will go out and try something different.  I’m not saying go and eat a lamb’s head, but maybe try tripe or sweetbreads or tongue or even a food you were always “afraid” of eating.  I would love to see who takes me up on this challenge and hear your responses to what you eat.  As I was always told while growing up, “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!”  Enjoy!

Two heads are better than one!

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

After long last, it was love at first bite for ‘nduja and me!  I recently have been on a mission to find this elusive salumi.  For those outside of the salumi loop, ‘nduja is a fiery hot, spreadable salume that is native to the town of Spilinga in the province of Vibo Valentia in the region of Calabria.  People in the know say that upon first taste many people are addicted.  And case in point, I’ve become addicted to this dark red masterpiece of salumi.

Living in New York Metropolitan Area, we are lucky enough to have pockets of communities with people who have emigrated from Italy.  And within these communities, the people have brought with them customs, traditions and foods of their native villages.  So as with the case of ‘nduja, we in New Jersey are lucky enough to have a place that makes this tasty specialty.  The place I am referring to is Antonio Mozzarella Factory Italian Deli and Specialty Market located at 71 Springfield Avenue in Springfield, NJ.  The owners of Antonio are originally from Spilinga, which gives them a leg up on the making of ‘nduja.

Now you might be asking yourself, “How in the world did you find this obscure Calabrian specialty in New Jersey?”  And my answer to you would be that when it comes to obscure, hardcore, hard-to-find Italian specialties there is good friend of mine named Patrick O’Boyle that I can consult with and who has yet to let me down.  Pat is an amazing resource of knowledge of all things Italian & Italian-American.   Pat is a true gentleman and is always willing to help out.

Recently, ‘nduja came up in a conversation and I was intent on getting my hands on some of this “Calabrian Gold”.  Pat without even hesitating said that I should look no further than Antonio Mozzarella Factory.  This week I was determined to acquire ‘nduja.  So I called up the store to make sure it was available and to my good fortune it was.  I took the 35 minute ride from my home base in Bergen County to Springfield, which is located in Union County off of the Garden State Parkway.  I walked into the store with one thing on my mind.  I really didn’t even check out any of the other products, including what they are known for, their mozzarella.  I approached the counter with clammy hands and half whispered to the worker that I was here for the ‘nduja.  You would think I was trying to buy something illegal.  The worker said he had to get it from the back, so then I really felt “guilty”.  He came out with two dark red sticks of ‘nduja.  He placed them on the scale, printed out a ticket, but them into a bag & handed them to the woman working the register.  I gave the woman the money and she handed over my purchase.  I exited the store quickly and couldn’t wait to get myself home to indulge in this intensely spicy masterpiece.

“Isn’t she pretty?”

Once home, I rushed inside and tore open the bag revealing my ‘nduja, which actually kind of resembles what Americans call peperoni.  I cut open the skin revealing the dark red meat on the inside.  I didn’t waste no time, I used a knife to scoop out some of the meat.  The meat was loaded with pepperoncini.  That first bite was pure ecstasy.  It was fiery and porky and vinegary and bit smoky.  It was everything and more I expect in a great salume.  Since, getting the ‘nduja I’ve been addicted.  I’ve been sneaking spoonfuls of it through the day, even putting it on top the burgers I grilled.  I look forward to not just eating it as is, but always using it more as a condiment in my cooking.  I think my next experiment is to pair it with pasta.

‘Nduja topped burger equals heaven on a brioche bun!

I mentioned on Facebook that Nutella was so 2010.  So let’s make 2011 the year of the ‘Nduja.  Seriously, if you love spicy, there is no reason you can’t put it on everything from pizza to cupcakes…NO JOKE!  I hope you’ll go out and get yourself some ‘nduja.  Enjoy!

Antonio Mozzarella Factory Italian Deli & Marketplace
71 Springfield Avenue
Springfield, New Jersey 07081
http://www.antoniomozzarella.com/

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

Last week, famed chef Eric Ripert of NYC’s 3 starred Michelin restaurant Le Bernardin recently visited Chef Central (240 New Jersey Route 17 North) in Paramus, NJ.  Chef Central is a cook’s wonderland.  They have all kinds of knives, pots, bakeware, stand mixers, cookbooks, etc.  Chef Central is also a mecca for cookbook authors and chefs.  Chef Ripert was at Chef Central to do a Q&A with the audience, as well as sign his latest book “Avec Eric”, which is the companion to his PBS show of the same name.  I recorded a few Chef Ripert’s responses, which I am including here.  Enjoy!

Chef Eric Ripert signing my copy of his new book “Avec Eric”

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

I recently visited Bella Cucina Gourmet Italian Deli in Lake Hiawatha, NJ.  The proprietors are great friends of mine, Alessio & Lauren Troia.  Alessio is a native Palermitano, meaning he’s from Palermo, Sicily.  One of his specialties are a Sicilian street food called pane e panelle, which are deep-fried chickpea fritters served on a sesame seed roll with salt and lemon.  I decided to record Alessio as he prepared the pane e panelle.  Enjoy!

Bella Cucina Gourmet Italian Deli
33 North Beverwyck Road
Lake Hiawatha, NJ (part of Parsippany)

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

The other day, I was in the mood for pizza so I decided to visit my friends at Ah’Pizz, a Neapolitan style pizzeria, in Montclair, NJ.  Ah’Pizz is VPN (Vera Pizza Napoletana) certified, which means they are striving to make authentic pizza the way it’s made back in Napoli.  The centerpiece at Ah’Pizz is their Stefano Ferrara, wood-fired oven (they use no gas) that cooks a pizza in about 90 seconds time. 

Upon arriving, I thought I would make an impromptu video so that you folks at home get a first hand account of my pizza dining experience.  Manager Joseph Formoso, who is also a certified VPN pizzaiolo (pizza maker), showed me the pizza making process from start to finish.  So the next time, you’re in the mood for pizza and are in the area make sure you pay a visit to Ah’Pizz!  Enjoy!

Ah’Pizz
7 North Willow Street
Montclair, NJ 07042
Phone: (973) 783-9200
www.ahpizznj.com

Ah’Pizz with Speck (Tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, Basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Speck)

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

Monday night, my wife and I headed into NYC for a late dinner.  Since opening this past Friday (March 11), I was eager to try Angelo Sosa’s new restaurant Social Eatz (232 East 53rd Street in NYC).  If you’re a “TOP CHEF” fan, you’ll remember Angelo from “TOP CHEF D.C.” and “TOP CHEF ALL-STARS” .  When we arrived at the restaurant, it was packed.  We waited a few minutes for a table to be ready.  The restaurant’s interior is extremely modern.  They have a bar, but are currently waiting on the liquor license.  I would consider the seating semi-communal.

When we arrived at our seats, we were presented with our menus.  As I perused the menu, I was impressed with what Angelo was doing.  He’s taken classic American staples and put an Asian spin of them, an awesome concept.  The menu had everything from burgers to hot dogs to chicken wings to tacos.  I wasn’t shy with my ordering.  I ordered the Smoked Ribs & Hot Wings for an appetizer.  For my main course, I order two burgers, the Bibimbap Burger and the Bulgogi Burger.  My wife ordered the Korean Beef Tacos. 

Smoked Ribs (“Asian soul food, St. Louis pork ribs marinated in mesquite-smoked tamarind, slow cooked to perfection. Comes in a pineapple bbq sauce laced with gochu-jang, an aged Korean pepper sauce.”)

After a few minutes, our server, who was super friendly and helpful, came out with our appetizers.  No offense to all the Chinese restaurants out there, but these Smoked Ribs were the best I’ve ever had.  I loved the sweetness that the pineapple BBQ sauce lent to these ribs.  The ribs were smoked delicately, which allowed for sauce to really shine. 

Hot Wings (“Crispy wings glazed in a sauce of tamarind, garlic, shallots, palm sugar and togarashi, a Japanese spice blend of red chili, roasted orange peel and black sesame.”)

As were we enjoying the appetizers, Chef Sosa came to our table, introduced himself and presented us with his take on a hot dog called the Imperialist Hot Dog.  I have to admit, I was impressed.  The hot dog was made from organic chicken.  It was topped with sweet and spicy relish.  As Chef Sosa presented us with the hot dog, he poured an orange/yellow sauce over the hot dog.  He said it was a sake cheese sauce.  We thanked him for his generosity.  I was excited to take a bite.  And when I did, I was blown away.  That sake cheese sauce put elevated that dish to unchartered territory.  It was cheesy and tart and so damn good.  I would go back just to drink the sake cheese sauce or at least dip some French fries into it. 

Compliments of Chef Angelo: Imperialist Hot Dog (“Made with organic chicken, served on a toasty bun, smothered in sweet and spicy relish.”  It’s topped with a sake cheese sauce.)

Before our entrees came out, we were given two warm and wet wash clothes to clean up after the finger licking good appetizers.  Both of my burgers were great.  And I have to say, that they were cooked to a perfect medium rare; in my opinion, the best way to eat a burger.  But I have to admit that the Bibimbap Burger was my favorite of the two.  The slow cooked egg was unbelievable.  It was warm and gooey and really added something special to that burger.  I’ve had eggs on burgers before, but this one blows those other ones away.  The pickled cucumber and carrots were also a nice accompaniment to the burger.  My only complaint if you could call it one was that I felt the bun did not hold up to the greatest of the burger and its toppings.  It got soggy very fast, which made the burger a bit of a challenge to eat.  A challenge I was happy to conquer. 

Bibimbap Burger (“Korean for “mixed meal”, it’s ground beef with a slow cooked egg, covered in lettuce and served with pickled carrot and cucumber.”)

Crispy Fries

The Bulgogi Burger was cleaner and bit more “traditional”.  It was kind of a palate cleanser after eating the Bibimbap Burger.  I especially loved the cucumber kimchee on this burger.  Crispy Fries came with both of my burgers.  I thought they were perfectly cooked.  They were crispy on the outside and light and puffy on the inside, the way a great French fry should be. 

Bulgogi Burger (“Literally ‘fire meat’ in Korean, the beef charred, hence the name. Sauced with soy, sugar, scallion, garlic and sesame oil then garnished with cooled cucumber kimchee and Kewpee, a Japanese mayo.”)

I took a small bite of my wife’s taco and from what I could tell that was also a very solid dish.  (I’ll have to try a taco on my next outing.)  My wife said she enjoyed it.  And I believe her, especially coming from her discerning palate.

Korean Beef Taco (“Vintage® skirt steak marinated in a sweet/savory sauce of cane sugar and gochujang. Served in warmed corn tortillas with spicy bean sprout kimchee.”)

I was pretty full at this point, but we couldn’t leave without trying one of the desserts.  We opted for the Yuzu Cream Puffs because of their description as being “pillowy puffs”.  I really liked the yuzu curd that was inside each cream puff.  The curd was tart and sweet and reminded me a lot like lemon curd, although to me it was a bit tarter.  Upon leaving, Chef Sosa came out, asked us how our experience was and thanked us for dining with him.  I took the opportunity for a photo op.  Chef Sosa was courteous and grateful.   He is a hospitality professional in the truest sense of the word.

Yuzu Cream Puffs (“Pillowy puffs filled with a sweet, creamy yuzu curd made from the tart Japanese citrus fruit of the same name.”)

I was extremely impressed with my meal and look forward to making subsequent trips back to Social Eatz.  The restaurant has a very reasonable price point, especially being located in NYC.  They do not skimp on the portions or the quality of the ingredients.  Enjoy!

Social Eatz
232 East 53rd Street
NYC
www.socialeatz.com

Living to eat,
Tony Mangia

Note: The descriptions under the pictures come from the menu at Social Eatz.