Giulio Ferrari The Amalfi Coast

A Bottle of FERRARI “PERLE” 2007

The First of 5 Bottles of Ferrari “Perle” we had on The AMALFI COAST 2018

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Linguine with Langostines

Lo Smeraldino Ristorante

AMALFI

The View From Our Table at Lo SMERALDIO RISTORANTE

Lunch Saturday May 19, 2018

Myself, Cousin Tony and Alan Spinelli

I had a wonderful little vacation in the Spring of 2018. Starting in Rome, then on to The Amalfi Coast; Minori, Salerno, Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento, and Frascati. The Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places on Planet Eart, “therre is no question of that.” You go for the beauty, to lie on the beach soaking in the lush Sun of Southern Italy and .AMalfi Coast. You also go to eat. You should have a nice lunch, maybe an apertivo or two in the late afternoon, take a nap, then have dinner at a nice ristorante or trattoria in whatever town you might be in; on Capri, in Amalfi, Positano, wherever, you can’t go wrong on the Amalfi Coast, in Sorrento, Napoli, or the Siland of Ischia, you will eat well.

We had a wonderful lunch after cousin Tony picked me up at the ferry station after I took a boat from Minori to Salerno to rendevous with Tony. We went directly from the ferry terminal to eat lunch at La Spagnola Ristorante in Salerno where my cousins Mimmo and Marta had taken Tony the night before. Anyway, we went to La Spagnola and had a fine lunch of incrediable Polpette di Alici (Anchovy Meatballs) and Insalta di Polpo for our antipasto. Then Tony had Linguine Frutta di Mare and Alan and I both got a plate each of some tasty Spaghetti Vongole. We drank nice bottle of Prosecco and had a most wonderful lunch which along with our lunch the following day was my favorite of the entire trip. La Spagnola is one of the best restaurants in the city, so if you ever find yourself in Salerno, you might to eat there.

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A Fisherman mends his Nets on The LUCIA MADRE

CETARA

ITALY

Razor Clams and Alici

La SPAGNOLA RISTORANTEO

With Alan S. Myself and Cousin Anthony

Outside La SPAGNOLA RISTORANTE

Salerno

ITALY

The Next day we decided to go have lunch in Amalfi after a stop at Cetara along the way. Cetara is the only true old fishing village along the coast. The fishermen there catch all sorts of fish, like; Pesce Spada, Tonno, Cozze, Calamari, Sepia, and other fish and shellfish, but they are most famous for Alici, which are Anhovies and when you see Alici on the menu of any restuarant on the Amalfi Coast, they most likely were caught by a fisherman of Cetara.

Alan Cousin Tony and Myself at Our Amazing Lunch

at Lo SMERALDINO

AMALFI

So when driving on the Amalfi Coast, it can sometimes be quite trying if you get stuck in traffic and then trying to find a parking space when you get into town. o Cousin Tony when he saw there was parking at the restaurant L Smeraldino, he pull in. At first I wasn’t so sure about the restaurant but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t there too long when I knew it would be good.

One of the waiters sat us at a greaat table right next to the water with an amazing view of Amalfi. It was truly spectacular. Cousin Tony gave me the wine list and told me to pick a nice bottle of Champagne. I looked the list over and saw some of the fine Italian Sparklers on the list and told Tony why don’t we get one of them. I assured him they were really good. Tony agreed, and we picked a bottle of Ferrari “Perle” 2007 which is made in the Methode Classico which means in the style of Champagne. Champagne is usuually made with 100% Chardonnay grapes or a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir or all Pinor Noie in more rare cases. When made of 100% Chardonnay grapes the Champagne is called Blanc d Blanc. Anyway, this is just a brief bit about french Champagne just to help clarify this Italian Sparkling wine we were drinking that was made in Trentino in Northern Italy. The wine is made in the style of French Champagne and is of the highest quality.

So anyway, the waiter brought us the bottle of Ferrari Perle, and we tasted it, it it tasted quite good. Well actually, more than good, this Italian Sparkling Wine was just about as good as you could get from a sparkling wine and the equal and even better than just about any French Champagne you might find. We just loved it and the wine went well with everyhthing we ate for lunch, including: Grilled Calamari, Insalta di Polpo, Grachi (Local Crab), Linguine with Langostines, and Spaghetti Arogosta (Lobster).

I think I Created a Monster that day, as Tony wanted to get a bottle of Ferrari “Perle” at almost every meal we had, he absoutely adored the wine and I was thrilled that he did.

This is our story of eating on the AMalfi Coast and having several bottles of the awesome wine Ferrari “Perle” along the way. We had vintages of 2007, 2009, and 2010, with a total of 5 bottles of this wonderful wine during our stay on the Amalfi Coast. It was great.

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

FERRARI “PERLE”

At BUCO di BACCO RISTORANTE

POSITANO

Vintage 2007

The Terrazzo

BUCO di BACCO

POSITANO

The MALFI COAST

ITALY

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GILIO FERRARI

At AURORA PIZZERIA RSITORANTE

SORRENTO

COZZE

AROURA

SORRENTO

Pizzaioli at AURORA

SORRENTO

At AURORA PIZZERIA RSITORANTE

SORRENTO

ITALY

MANGIA ITALIANO

MEMORIES of ITALIAN FOOD

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Author Daneil Bellino Zwicke

with a Glass of FERRARI “PERLE”

LUNCH at BUCO di BACCO

POSITANO

ITALY

Sfogliatelle

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ANDREA PANSA

and a classic VESPA

AMALFI, ITALY

on The AMALFI COAST

This is one of the most Beautiful Italian Bakery / Caffes

you’ll ever see in your life. They make all sorts of wonderful

Italian Pastries, Cookies, Cakes, and of course SFOGIATELLE …

If you’re ever on the AMALFI COAST, check them out. They right by the

CATHEDRAL in the main square of AMLAFI … Mangia Bene !

Classic Sfogiatelle

Italian-American New York’s favorite pastry? It has to be our beloved Cannoli from Sicily. Yes we Italian-American New Yorkers do love our Cannoli, but when it comes to our second favorite it another crispy treat, this time from the Amalfi Coast in the Southern Italian City of Napoli (Naples). Yes we do love our Sfogliatelle all crucnchy crispy and filled with sweet lemon flavored ricotta cream to complete its lovely taste. Yes the Cannoli may be number one, but it’s not everyone’s absolute favorite, though they may love it, if forced to pick one over the other, some would go with the much loved Sfogliatelle a pastry invented by Nuns in The Convent of Santa Rosain the smal town of Conca dei Marini on The Amalfi Coast of Italy.

Most people associate this tasty Italian Pastry the Sfogliatelle with the city of Naples, and tey would be right in doing so. But if they thought it was invented in this city they would be wrong, for as we have just stated it was invented on the Amalfi Coast at the Convent of Santa Rosa. This being said, as this pastry is wonderfully delicious and loved by millions, and with Napoli being the capital city of the region, Naples has adoted the pastry as its own, and more Sfogliatelle are consumed on a daily basis in Naples than in any otherr place. The on Earth including New York , and they make such good ones there, New York Italians and all citizens of The Big Apple associate the pastry with Naples. All this beng said, just go out and get one and enjoy for lucky for those of us who live in New York, we have many fine Italian Pastry Shops that make Sfogliatelle every bit as good s you get in Naples or on the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

That’s Sfogliatelle alla New Yorkese. Basta !

LEARN HOW to MAKE SFOGIATELLE at HOME

This is a GREAT VIDEO …. WATCH IT !

It is a typical cake of the Neapolitan pastry tradition, a sin of gluttony that everyone should enjoy once arrived in Campania. It has a classic shell shape, fragrant in the mouth with a soft and delicious filling, garnished with pastry cream and raspberries…have you understood what we are talking about? The Sfogliatelle Santa Rosa, of course. An inviting-looking sweet rich in tradition, that contains within it the secrets of a distant history.
The history began in 1600, in the Monastery of St. Rose from Lima in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi Coast . The cook-nun (probably inspired by God or by the need to not waste anything) decided to prepare a mixture using a bit of semolina cooked in the milk, lemon liqueur, dried fruit and sugar; then she enriched the bread mixture with white wine and lard and created a pocket like a nun’s hood in which she put the first mixture. Once out of the oven, the nun garnished the new cake with pastry cream and raspberries. This delicious sweet was renamed “Santa Rosa”, to glorify the Saint to which the monastery was dedicated.
The recipe of the sfogliatella Santa Rosa was jealously guarded within the walls of the Monastery of St. Rose for about 150 years. In the early XIX century Pasquale Pintauro, a Neapolitan pastry chef, obtained the original recipe (probably from a nun aunt): he promptly changed it by removing the pastry cream and the raspberries. So he created the “riccia” (curly) variant of the sfogliatella: triangular-shaped, crunchy, composed by composed of layers of thin puff pastry overlapping each other, filled with flour, eggs, ricotta, candied fruit, milk and sugar. Finally, there is also a third variant of the sfogliatella, the “frolla” one, of round form, prepared with soft short pastry and filled with the same puff of the Sogliatella Riccia.

SFOGLIATELLE SANTA ROSA

In the 18th century a group of cloistered nuns at the Santa Rosa convent in the town of Conca dei Marini combined ricotta, candied fruit, Lemon Zest, and semolina in a shell shaped puff pastry and thus a culinary star was born. These nuns, as many in the area, invented the dish to avoid throwing away excess ingredients, never expecting to create such a culinary sensation. The traditional version of Sfogliatella is served ‘riccia,’ named for its curly appearance and crunchy texture. As legend has it, this version was difficult to eat for people who had no teeth (dental hygiene was less than spectacular in the days of Bourbon rule), so local bakers invented a ‘frolla’ or smooth version. Both are delicious, but the orginal ‘riccia’ version will always reign supreme.

Many of Italy’s iconic pastries originated in medieval convents. Nuns would rise early and bake my candlelight, ready for the early morning customers who would purchase them hot from the oven and passed through a grilled window. Some time around the year 1700, a sister at the Santa Rosa convent in Conca dei Marini mixed together some flour and ricotta cheese and shaped it to resemble a monks hood as it would fall against his back.

The recipe for the Santa Rosa convent’s signature sfogliatelle pastry may have been passed beyond the walls of the cloister by a nun to her nephew. Sfogliatelle later appeared in the the fashionable pastry shops of the Via Toledo in Naples. The shape was simply inverted to resemble a seashell, a popular design motif for Rococo Naples which was then the densest and most sophisticated capital in Europe.

My Two SFOGIATELLE SANTA ROSA I had in NAPOLI

In the two days I was in Napoli in June of 2015, I had Sfogiatelle both days for breakfast and tried Sfogiatelle in about 5 different places in Naples as well as eating them everyday in my fabulous 3 breakfast meals at Villa Maria in Minori. As Cannoli are to Sicily, Sfogiatelle are of Napoli and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Get an Espresso and a Sfogiatelle in Napoli or at Pansa in Amalfi or at Gambardella in Minori and you’ll be in Heaven.

Basta !

The WORLDS BEST BREAKFAST !!!

VILLA MARIA AGROTURISMO

MINORI , ITALY

This is the amazing Breakfast I had everyday for the 3 wonderful days I spent with Maria and Vincenzo Manzo at there delightful Agroturismo VILLA MARIA in MINORI on The AMALFI COAST of Italy. Coffee, fresh Cherries, an Apricot, Maria’s awesome Lemon Cake, Coffee, toast and Vincenzo’s homemade Jams. “It was absolute Heaven.”

Inside the Fabulous ANDREA PANSA CAFFE / PASTICCERIA

Amalfi Italy

Some Recipes from The AMALFI COAST

COOKING ITALIAN

GREATEST HITS COOKBOOK

PASTICCERIA CAFFE GAMBARDELLA

Minori, Italy

One the great Bakery / Caffes in all of ITALY !

SUNDAY SAUCE

by Daniel Bellino “Z”

A LOBSTER TAIL

A SPIN-OFF of The SFOGLIATELL

Larger and Filled with Whipped Cream Folded

into PASTRY CREAM

Yummmm !!!

My ESPRESSO and SFOGLIATELLE

ANDREA PANSA PASTICCERIA

AMALFI

May 2018

PALERMO 360 Video

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CHECK OUT THIS GREAT VIDEO OF PALERMO and he CITY’S STREET FOOD

ARANCINI (Rice Balls) , SFINGIONE ( SICILIAN PIZZA) and PANE MILZA aka VASTEDDA

which are BEEF SPLEEN SANDWICHES with RICOTTA and CICIOCAVALO CHEESE.. Yumm !!!!

GRANDMA BELLINO’S COOKBOOK

RECIPES

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

CAPONATA

ARANCINI (Rice Balls)

CUCUZZA

and More …

Sausage Spaghetti Carbonara

The MARTELLI PASTA FACTORY

ITALY

DRY PASTA

MARTELLI

A MARTELLI

MAKING PASTA

SPAGHETTI

SUNDAY SAUCE

MARINARA

AMATRICIANA

and More ..

Famous Sicilian Americans

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.

YOUNG FRANK SINATRA

FAMOUS SICLIAN AMERICANS

FRANK SINATRA

JOE DiMAGGIO

AL PACINO

LOUIS PRIMA

LADY GAGA

MARTIN SCORSESE

FRANK ZAPPA

VINCENT SCHIAVELLI

SONNY BONO

CHRIS CHRISTIE

JON BON JOVI (Bongiovi)

LIZA MINNELLI

MARIO CUOMO

ANDREW CUOMO

NANCY SINATRA

JOE MONTANA

CHARLES ATLAS

JOLTIN JOE

DiMaggio

Joe D

The Yankee Clipper

and The Greatest Italian-American

Baseball Player of All-Time

Joe DiMaggio

SICILIAN

SYLVESTER STALLONE

STEVE TYLER (Tallarico)

CHAZ PALMINTERI

STEVE BUSCEMI

JOHN TURTURRO

FRANK VINCENT

FRANK CAPRA

Richard Castellano (Clemenza)

Charles “LUCKY” Lucciano

BEN GAZZARA

JOE MANTEGNA

SAL MINEO
MARIO PUZO

Britney Spears “Beleive It or Not”

TONY DANZA

Mike PiazzPatti Lupone

Author Daniel Bellino “Z”

ROCKY

“SLY”

SYLVESTER STALLONE

aka

ROCKY

.

AL PACINO

Richard Castellano

as “CLEMENZA”

The GODFATHER

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SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook

RECIPE SUNDAY SAUCE alla SINATRA

MARTIN SCORSESE

Family from POLIZZI GENEROSA , SICILY

Frank Vincent

as SALVI in Martin Scorsese’s RAGING BULL

SINATRA

Franks Sinatra’s Father Antonio Martino Severio Sinatra
was Born in LERCARA FRIDDI Sicily

her Immigrated to New York and Hoboken, NJ

.

LIZA MINNELLI.

Liza Minnelli’s father was Famed Director VINCENT MINELLI

who married JUDY GARLAND (Liza’s Mother). Vincent Minnelli was the
Vincent Minelli’s Paternal Grandfather was VINCENZO MINNELLI of Palermo, Sicily who was a SICILIAN REVOLUTIONARY who was forced to leave SICILY in 1848 with his Brother Dominic.

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