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This is my recipe for Old School NY Italian Sunday Gravy with Meatballs & Braciolle, just like my Nana made. So whether you are watching the Giants win the Superbowl, the Yankees Beat the Red Sox (as usual) or just firing up your Soprano's DVD box set, these are the perfect accompanyment

Prep Time: 1 hour
Initial Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Simmer time: 5 - 6 Hours
Serves: 8

 

  1. For perfect boiled eggs place 5 Eggs in cold water and bring to boil, then immediately turn off heat and let sit for 7 minutes. Let cool then peel and chop to about 1/2 inch
  2. Chop Bread to about 1/4" cubes with good chef's knife and place in Meatball bowl
  3. Peel Garlic by smashing heads with flat side of chef's knife. Then remove skin and chop to a medium grind. Place in Cheese Mixture Bowl
  4. Grate Romano Cheese with Fine Microplane and put in Cheese Mixture Bowl
  5. Chop half of the bunch of parsley by turning upside down and scraping with a chef's knife to remove leaves. It's fine if you get large bits of stems. Roughly chop and put in Cheese Mixture Bowl
  6. And the Salt and Pepper to the Cheese Mixture Bowl
  7. Open Tomato cans and empty into Large sauce pan. If tomatoes are packed with Basil, discard. Grind with immersion mixer or by hand.
  8. Pound steak for the Bracciolle as flat as you can using mallet or any heavy object. Lay pieces flat and then cover with chopped hardboiled egg and half of the cheese mixture. Roll up as tightly as you can and bind with twine or toothpicks. Heat frying pan with 1/8" of olive oil and then fry. As with all meats the rule of thumb for temperatue is that it should be hot enough to sizzle but not so hot that it pops. Turn with tongs until dark brown on all sides. If the meat sticks to the pan, wait a bit more. When meat is properly browned, the meat should release by itself with little effort. Brown a little darker than the final product because it will lighten as it braises in the sauce. When brown on all sides, place in sauce and turn on low heat. Sauce should just barely simmer.
  9. Combine all Meatball ingredients including the remaining half of the cheese mixture except hold back the raw eggs until the end. Don't compress the meat or overwork. This will make the meatballs tough. Instead just pull apart and fluff. Once combined Add the first 2 eggs and mix by hand. Roll out 1 meatball and compress gently. If it holds together then you don't need the extra egg. If not then add 1 more egg. Take a teaspoon of meat mixture and flatten into a tiny flat test meatball, then fry in the same pan used for the braciolle pan. Taste and add more salt and pepper to the whole mixture if needed. Keep in mind that the meatballs will loose some saltiness as they braise in the sauce, so you may need a bit more salt. Fry all meatballs. Feel free to add more olive oil to the pan to keep it about 1/8" - 1/4". Turn with tongs as you did with the braciolle to brown on all sides. As meatballs finish, place in sauce pot with braciolle.
  10. When the meat is all browned, you can deglaze the frying pan with water and place some or all of the liquid in the sauce. The more you add, the richer and darker the sauce will be. This step is a matter of preference. I usually do about half of the liquid. Feel free to do all or none.
  11. Cook for 30 minutes on low. It should just barely bubble
  12. Take remaining 1/2 bunch of parsley and bind with rubberband and dunk in the sauce until it's fully covered
  13. At this point the dish needs to cook for 5 more hours at a slow simmer (just a few bubbles here and there). You can do this right now or, even better, refridgerate and then cook for 5-6 hours the next day. The extra day will improve the flavor, but both ways are great.
  14. Based on taste you can add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar to the sauce at any time during the process.
  15. Remove and discard parsley
  16. Cook your pasta al dente (slighly undercooked) then spoon in sauce and toss together in a frying pan or pot.
  17. To finish dish top with a fresh fruity olive oil, more romano cheese, fresh black pepper and fresh chopped parsley leaves or whole basil leaves.

Serve with your favorite Italian bread and some wine.

Enjoy!!!

Caprese Salad

This is a simple dish, but it there are a few tricks that can turn it from a humdrum experience into a gourmet experience

Ingredients - The first key is just to get the best possible ingredients. You can subsitute average ingredients but each small upgrade will make a world of difference

  • Fresh Mozzarella (Packed in water). Ideally this is made the same day it's consumed and when you cut it and press it, milk should flow out of it.
  • Fresh Tomatoes - First choice is heirloom tomatoes. Second is Vine Ripe Roma (Plum) Tomatoes
  • Fresh Basil Leaves
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Aged Balsamic Vinegar = Real Balsamic is aged for several years and can be a bit expensive, but it a lot better than the generic stuff
  • Coarse Sea Salt
  • Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Assembly

  1. Your plate should be slightly warm and your cheese should be room temp or slightly above. This will bring out the most of the milky flavor. Tomatoes should be room temp, not chilled.
  2. Sprinkle salt and pepper on an empty plate
  3. Slice the Cheese and Tomatoes to about 1/4" thick
  4. Layer Cheese, Tomato and basil leaves. You can use as many layers as you wish.
  5. Seconds before Serving:
    1. Top with more salt and pepper. Don't salt tomatoes long before eating as this will cause their juices to come out and get soggy
    2. drizzle with olive oil and sprinke some more around on the plate
    3. Put on the Balsamic Vinegar last. As the vinegar ages, it dries out and gets thicker until it forms a syrup. So you don't want to pour it directly on the tomatoes - their juice will just dilute years worth of vinegar thickening. Pour the vinegar off to the side or in a pool of tHe oil to isolate it. Then dip the salad into it with each bite

Caprese Salad