As I mentioned in my recent post about Italian food, some of the best recipes come from Italian creativity when times are tough (la cucina povera) in southern Italy that was pretty much all the time… well, times are tough everywhere!  but don’t let that stop you from making delicious Italian food.  Pasta Pie or pizza di macaroni is a great way to make leftover pasta into a great new recipe.  This recipe was created for exactly that reason… as you may know, Italians don’t cook the “correct amount” of anything.  It goes something like this at my house, “how many people are we?… 6?  we’ll need 3 pounds of pasta.” So when there’s a pound of pasta left over, what do you with it?  (Yes frat boy, you could eat it cold.)  make Pasta Pie!

There’s no reason to wait until you have leftover pasta though… Pasta Pie is a great treat anytime!  especially in the summer.  Check out this monster my brother-in-law made this past weekend.  This is 4 pounds of pasta deliciousness.  Everyone has their own recipe, amounts, types of pasta, etc.  I don’t have the exact recipe (hint: there is no exact recipes in Italian cooking, the sooner you realize that, the happier we will all be) but here’s the basics of how he makes his… which was delicious!

He uses different types of long pasta (spaghetti, bucatini, etc.) if you use short cut pasta it tends to crumble easily.  The different pasta types also help make it less dense. Cook your pasta and let it cool and drain well.  Then beat 12 eggs per pound of pasta (no, that isn’t a misprint… 12 eggs per pound of pasta, I never said my brother-in-law wasn’t cRaZy) apparently my sister only had 24 eggs to add to the 4 pounds of pasta so it didn’t come out exactly how it should have (so 48 eggs would be the correct amount here?… C-r-A-z-Y!)  Add the eggs, grated parmigiana, salt and pepper to the pasta and mix well.  In a humongous frying pan (obviously) add olive oil and let the pasta mixture cook until golden brown (the trick is to move the pasta around so that it forms in the pan) then take the lid of the pan and flip the pasta.  Let both sides get golden brown and you have yourself a Pasta Pie.  I wouldn’t recommend starting with a 4 pounder… you might want to make a 1 pounder first.  You can also add other ingredients as well… sopressata, ham or whatever your creative Italian soul is feeling.  So have yourself a slice of Pasta Pie, a fresh summer salad and a glass of wine.  Enjoy and buon appetito!

Marc Forgione is a good friend of our family. He went to college with my brother Mike and after graduating Marc, my brother and a few other buddies backpacked through Europe (Edgar, Lou, Steve and Jay.) I had to include all their names or I would have gotten an email or 2! They had a memorable few days in Bologna sleeping on my couch and floor and a very interesting experience at the Pronto Soccorco that involved a few stitches for Steve, they also made a stop at my Aunt’s place in Lucerne and another stop in Calabria to visit my grandparents.

Back to Marc: Marc is a top chef in New York City and was most recently the executive chef for the BLT Restaurant Group. He is opening a new restaurant next week called FORGE located at 134 Reade Street in NYC. I’ll post the menu once Marc gives me the ok, which includes a special item direct from my grandparents’ farm in Calabria!

If you’re in the city anytime soon, make sure to stop by FORGE…. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s Marc and his father Larry Forgione (If you know anything about chefs and restaurants, you might recognize the name) on the Today Show yesterday with Ann Curry. What are they making? Pizza Rustica! My brother the home-chef already chimed in that he should brush some butter on the top to give it a golden brown finish. I’m wondering how he was allowed to make it outside of Easter?? I thought that was against the rules. However, I love the idea! Why limit it to once a year?

P.S. -Does anyone recognize the name Forgione outside of chefs and cooking? ring a bell? A southern Italian saint maybe? that’s right, Padre Pio’s birth name was Francesco Forgione and he happens to be Marc’s great great Uncle.

It was E’s birthday yesterday and it was a great reason to have a few treats from my sister and brother-in-law’s bakery (as if we need a reason:) Antonio (Tony), my brother-in-law came to the US from Bracigliano (SA) when he was 16. Along with his brother Bruno, they make lots of amazing dolci and other Italian specialties. Here are a few photos of what they have on the menu.

Sfogliatelle & Canoli… Mmmmmm! Two of my favorites but that’s not all they have.

Taralli
Pizzelle
Italian Cookies
Breads, Cakes, Pies
Yoga fruit juice
San Pellegrino limonata (someone asked me about this a while ago and I finally tried it!)
Wedding Cakes and more.
So if you’re ever in Agawam, MA… make sure you stop by to say hello.
PS – Six Flags New England is in Agawam:)

If you ever get the chance to experience “the day of the pig” in Italy (mostly southern Italy), I would highly recommend it. It’s not officially called “the day of the pig,” I actually just made that up but many Southern Italian families, my nonni and zii included, will raise a pig each year for one purpose……to make sopressata, salsiccia and capicola. For families that take part in this yearly process it’s like a holiday. Families get together, eat, drink and make their sopressata, capicola and salsiccia for the year. A bit of advice though, the first part, the part between when the pig is alive and then NOT alive… is not for the squeamish, so if you do get to experience this process I would recommend starting after that part.

Here in the States we don’t have the space to raise a pig, not to mention the neighbors may find it a bit odd but it doesn’t stop us from making these Italian specialties each year. Every winter, we carve out a weekend when we’re all available to help because as my dad says with his thick Italian accent… “no work, no eat!” and nobody wants that! This past Saturday, we all went to my parent’s house to make our salumi and all the delicious recipes that go along with it. As usual, we ate too much and had our share of homemade vino but it’s all part of the experience and I wouldn’t want to miss it. My brother and I have really tried to step it up in the last few years knowing full well that if we don’t learn how to make all these traditional Italian foods that we’ve grown up with, we may not be able to enjoy them someday. Here are a few pictures from, “the day of the pig.” I will have more details on the process itself on Italyville.com when it launches….. it’s coming, I promise!!