Alberone and Hanukkah Bushes

Growing up, we never celebrated Christmas in the traditional way (other than attending mass), because my family's restaurant, Vipore, was always open on the 24th and 25th.  There was just one year, when I was 19, that we took a break from working during the holidays, and the entire family on my mother and father's side came from all over Tuscany to eat, drink, and play cards while we waited for midnight mass.

Over a hand of briscola, my cousin Paolo and I decided that the tree Papa bought was too small for the importance of our first family Christmas. We needed an enormous tree - an alberone.  Paolo and I set off to the woods of our cranky neighbor, Aldo, cut down a huge, 12-foot spruce, and dragged it home.  We were covered in needles and sap, and our hands were frozen, but we were so used to working during Christmas, the labor of hauling the monstrous tree home through the frozen countryside was nothing compared to the hard kitchen-work of past Christmases! 

Today, my holidays are still not conventional and I haven't celebrated a real family Christmas since that year in Tuscany. At home I have a Hanukkah bush because my wife is Jewish.  So instead of the alberone we have the Hanukkah bush made of rosemary.  And instead of starting the fire, I light the menorah. 

I have brought the traditional Italian Christmas dessert, Panettone, from Italy to sell at the Salumeria.  The smell and taste of it alone brings back a rush of Christmas memories.   At first I sold it by the slice at the counter, but I quickly realized that I had to stop because I was eating more than I was selling! 

Four Winds Shrimp

Today at Salumeria Rosi, I was so excited when 15 pounds of fresh fish from Four Winds Seafood arrived. Four Winds is one of the best known names in shrimping on the Gulf Coast. From their home base in New Orleans, Ray and Kay Brandhurst have been selecting the finest Louisiana seafood for more than two decades.

They lost everything in Hurricane Katrina but surged back and restored their boat, Four Winds, which brings in a different catch ready to be sent out to restaurants around the country. It's the best fresh shrimp I've tasted since being at the ports early in the mornings in Italy .

I showed my chef, Alexis Pisciotta, and my sous chef Meredith Sutton how best to cook the shrimp. I sliced raw acorn squash and fennel paper thin. I then put a few San Marzano heirloom tomatoes in the oven for a few minutes that I had salt and peppered for flavor.

In a small saucepan, I mixed combined three shrimp (with head and shell on), one tomato cut into thin slices, one leaf of basil, 4 slices of fennel and 4 slices of acorn squash, with a splash of water over high heat.

The restaurant was packed for lunch and I turned my back to greet the clients for no more than 5 minutes, returned to the kitchen, and the shrimp was finished.

I plated the shrimp with one revolution of extra virgin olive oil and served it hot. I always remind my staff: you must suck the broth from the head of the shrimp - there, you'll find the sweet meat (and delicious brains!) that you don't get from store-bought seafood.

Buon Appetito,

Cesare

You Better Not Pout. You Better Not Cry.

A few weeks ago, a 4-foot long salami was delivered from me to my friend Julian at The Four Seasons Restaurant via New York City bike messenger. When my other friend, Alex, heard about Julian's big salami he was jealous, so today, I battled the blizzard and hand delivered his own.  In return, they fed me a glorious lunch:The cork of the wine that Mark chose, and the champagne I chose.

The risotto.

Julian and I at my wedding.

Apple Cake in the Mornings

My mornings are complete now that Michael, Salumeria Rosi's pastry chef, has come up with the perfect recipe for Apple Cake. The cake comes out moist, soft, robust and sweet - a perfect complement to my daily frothy cappuccino. If you want to try recreating it at home, Michael has forked over the recipe for those ambitious cooks. Otherwise, if you're up early enough, join me at Salumeria Rosi for a piece!

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

8 oz butter

8 oz sugar

8 oz flour (cake flour or AP flour)

4 eggs

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking powder

2 apples peeled and largely diced

Preheat oven at 330 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffly. It will go from yellow to white. When it's white it's ready. Add one egg at a time at high speed on mixer. Scrape down the sides between adding each egg. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add through sieve. Add dry ingredients slowly through sieve on low speed. Fold in apples and vanilla on low speed or by hand. Don't break up the apples. Butter a 9 inch spring form cake pan. Pout batter into the cake pan. Cook for 40-50 minutes. After 40 minutes check it with a knife or toothpick to see if it comes out clean. When it comes out let it cool. Remove from spring form. Slice and dust the top with powdered sugar.

Trippa in my Trippa

When 2pm rolled around today at Salumeria Rosi, I was starving.  I decided to make brunch for myself in the kitchen, and quickly cracked two eggs into a hot pan of our Trippa (the stewed, second stomach of a cow). My staff (except for my assistant) was so excited by this new take on one of the Salumeria's main dishes, they ended using crispy bread as a scarpetta and eating all of my brunch!- but for me, the trippa con uove brought back memories of traveling by train from Lucca to Florence and stopping for a panino di trippa. You had to close your eyes when you ate the panino because the cooks in Florene wouldn't use the best part of the cow's stomach, and you could sometimes see little pieces of shit lingering along the walls of the tripe. 

Tripe is what American's call "comfort food" - because it's literally a second stomach for your stomach. Every culture has their own take on it: Italians have Trippa, Mexicans have Menudo, and Southerners have Chitlins. Tripe texture can taste rubbery, but when it's cooked right, it melts in your mouth, warms your throat, and provides a subtle heat for your stomach all day long. 

 At Salumeria Rosi we cook the tripe with Italian butter, and season it with both black pepper (adds the flavor) and chili pepper (adds the kick) - giving it the right amount of personality and spiciness.  There's nothing that makes me happier than giving my stomach that extra warmth on a cold winter day.

My Salami on TV

For 1.5 minutes of self-promotion, I was out of bed by 5, finished with my bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel by 6, and schlepping buckets of eggs, a leg of proscuitto, and salume upon salume upon salume in the rain, to the WB studios in midtown.

It was fast and fun - the way I always prefer things. The staff loved my salami, not to mention, the Pontormo. Check out the footage here: http://weblogs.cw11.com/news/local/morningnews/blogs/2008/12/dining_pix_salumeria_rosi_parm.html

Cesare

WB 11 Morning Show Domani

I have to get up bright and early tomorrow morning for the WB11 Morning Show at 8am. Alexis and I will be cooking up an Insalata Uova e Carne Secca del Pontormo, and talking about Salumeria Rosi with host Tiffany McElroy. Be sure to tune in between 8am-9am on WB11!

If you can't wait for tomorrow's show, or if you need an idea for tonight's dinner (something easy and hearty on this rainy New York City evening) here's the richette:

Insalata Uova e Carne Secca del Pontormo

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs (use any combination of rosemary, thyme, basil, savory, chives, oregano and mint that you like)

3 ½ ounces Italian pancetta, sliced and cut into strips (if not available, use blanched bacon)

6 eggs

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

4 cups washed, mixed salad greens, torn into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons Pontormo Dressing (recipe follows)

Procedure

Place olive oil, herbs, and pancetta in a large frying pan and cook over medium heat. When the pancetta is transparent, after 5 to 7 minutes, beat together the eggs, salt and pepper and scramble them in the pan. They shouldn’t be too dry. If you see they are drying, take them off the heat and continue stirring. Dress the greens with the Pontormo dressing and mix with the eggs. Serve immediately. (If you want a bit of crunch, croutons are a nice touch.)

Condimento del Pontormo ( Salad Dressing)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon red wine

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegars and the wine. Whisk in the salt and pepper, then the olive oil.

Bon appetito!

Cesare

Culatello di Zibello DOP

Today at the Salumeria, a meat so very rare and sexy arrived at the Salumeria via Italy: Culatello di Zibello.  If Salumeria Rosi were a jeweler, Culatello would be our diamond.  If our meats had a hierarchy, Culatello would be King. If we could drive our salume, Culatello would be a Lamborghini. What is it?

Culatello di Zibello comes from the leg of an adult hog and belongs to the category of naturally-aged foods. After salting, the ham is aged for at least 11 months during which times the climatic features of the zone production play an essential part in determining the characteristics of the final product.  The result is a distinctive, pear-shaped ham, entwined in reams of string that form a broadknit net.  The meat is uniformly red and speckled with pieces of white fat between the muscle fibers.  The scent is intense and distinctive, while the the taste is sweet and delicate.

I like to pair my Culatello (which, by definition, in Italian, means "nice ass") with a chilled glass of Lambrusco.

Saluti from Cesare!

Three weeks ago I embarked on my new adventure, Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto, a 20-seat salumeria con cucina on the Upper West Side.  Even before the restaurant opened we had people peering in, asking for menus, inquiring about our salamis, and trying to pencil their names in the reservation books. Now that the doors are officially open, our dinner seating chart has been like a Sudoku puzzle - trying to figure out who goes where, how, when - due to a packed house every single evening.  Lunch service kicked off on Saturday, and breakfast will be served come the New Year.  

My favorites aspects of the restaurant are, of course, the exceptional selections of imported (and handpicked stateside distributers) salami, prosciutti and cheeses.  You can't find bigger, better, more delectable salamis in the whole of New York City.  Of equal importance, the Salumeria Rosi staff keeps me going and gets this entire thing rolling each day.  

Stay tuned for happenings around the Salumeria, special features of some of my favorite products, and musings on food, drink and anything Italian.

Ciao!

Cesare