Host Sandy Gluck and I will be talking Polenta tomorrow on Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 112/XM Channel 157 on Martha Steward Living tomorrow Thursday, March 3 at 11:15AM EST.  Callers welcome!
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“It’s Chianti Classico Time” was the theme of a lunch today at Manzo Restaurant at Eataly, but if you ask me, it’s always time for Chianti Classico. Chianti comes in many different styles and goes with many different foods so it just might be the perfect red wine.  Do you like your wines young and fruity or aged and mellow –no matter, there is a Chianti Classico to suit every taste.  No wonder it has been around for hundreds of years.

Chianti Classico comes from Tuscany, so the chef at Manzo prepared a special menu based on the classic foods of the region.  To start, there was Tonno del Chianti, meaning tuna from Chianti, which sounded like a strange choice.  You see, Chianti, in addition to being the name of the wine is also the name for the completely landlocked portion of Tuscany known as Chianti.  What kind of tuna would you find in Chianti, I wondered?  One taste and it was obvious that it was not tuna.  It tasted great, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.  Fortunately, Silvia Fiorentini from the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico was there to explain.  Tonno del Chianti, she said, is a dish made famous by Dario Cecchini, Tuscany’s most famous Dante-quoting butcher.  Cecchini makes it by marinating cubes of lean pork shoulder with herbs and spices, submerging it in olive oil and cooking it slowly until the meat is falling-to-shreds tender.  The tender pork was served on arugula leaves topped with slivers of pickled red onions and sweet dried tomatoes.

The next course was Ribollita, Tuscan vegetable and bean soup recooked with cubes of bread until thickened.  A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil from Tenuta San Felice was all it needed and I felt as if I had been transported to Tuscany.

Wild boar, known as cinghiale, thrive in Tuscany and are something of a nuisance to farmers, much as deer are here.  Their meat is rich and flavorful and prized by Tuscan cooks who use it for slow cooked winey pasta sauces and stews as well as salumi.  At Manzo, it was prepared “hunters’ style”, alla cacciatora, in a thick tomato sauce studded with bits of carrots and celery and accompanied by polenta.

Our dessert was Schiacciata all’Uva. In Tuscany, this is a simple focaccia-type bread (schiacciata means flattened) topped with tiny and intensely flavored wine grapes and dusted with sugar that is eaten around the harvest time.  But Manzo’s version was a tender little round of sweet bread served with satiny honey ice cream and drizzled with honey.  Worth every calorie!

There were over 20 wines to taste.  I wish I could have gotten to all of them, but unfortunately I did not.  I did enjoy the Tenuta di Lilliano 2008, the Castello di Ama Riserva 2006, Cecchi Riserva di Famiglia 2005 and the Banfi Riserva 2007.

Tickets: 212.229.5488 or boxoffice@newschool.edu

The life and work of Pellegrino Artusi on the 100th anniversary of his death. His 1891 cookbook, The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well, was a turning point in the history of Italian food, establishing a national culinary canon and creating a common culinary language for the newly unified country. His impact on Italian cooking is unmatched to this day. Panelists: Michele Scicolone, cookbook author; Roberto Ludovico, professor of Italian literature, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Mitchell Davis, vice president of the James Beard Foundation; and chef Cesare Casella, dean of the Italian Culinary Academy. Moderated by Fabio Parasecoli, coordinator, New School Food Studies Program.

Copresented by the New School Food Studies program and the James Beard Foundation.

Alan Richman for The Italian Slow Cooker

It’s not often that the stars are in perfect alignment, or that two such stellar eating occasions as World Nutella Day and Superbowl Sunday occur on consecuive days. But since that is the case this coming weekend, I’m planning to  celebrate the event with Nutella Pizza and Slow Cooker Sandwiches.

Of course, the sandwiches don’t cook in the slow cooker, just the filling does.  In this case it is Chicken Parmesan, a fuss free recipe from a made ahead sauce, or if you must, you can use a store-bought one.  Homemade tomato sauce is not only infinitely better than store-bought, it is also a lot less expensive and better for you.  But we can talk about that more another day.

Here is the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches from The Italian Slow Cooker.  The chicken poaches gently in the tomato and stays moist and tender.   Good Parmigiano-Reggiano,  sweet mozzarella, and fresh basil make it sing.  It doesn’t get much easier or more delicious than this!

CHICKEN PARMESAN HEROES

(adapted from The Italian Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone)

Serves 6

4 cups Sweet Tomato Sauce or Red Wine Tomato Sauce from The Italian Slow Cooker

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 6 slices

6 basil leaves

6 hero rolls

Pour the tomato sauce into a large slow cooker.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and place the pieces overlapping slightly in the sauce.   Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

Sprinkle the chicken with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and top each piece with a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf.  Cover and cook 15 minutes more or until the chicken is melted.

Cut the rolls partially open and fill each one with a chicken breast.  Cut the sandwiches in half.  Serve hot with lots of napkins.

After the sandwiches, try a gooey hot Nutella Pizza for dessert.  I first encountered these when Charles and I were writing our book, Pizza Any Way You Slice It! Chocolate lovers and pizza lovers can’t resist it.  I don’t think there is anybody else, is there?

It’s been so cold lately that I’ve got my slow cooker working overtime. All we seem to want to eat is soup, stew, vegetables — anything hearty, hot, rich and/or saucy.  Like this recipe from my book, THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER–spareribs simmered in tomato sauce with spicy sausages.

A lot of cooks think of spareribs for barbecue, but they are also a great cut to simmer and stew.  With some meaty, juicy spareribs from the supermarket and plump, fresh Italian sausages, I’ll serve this tonight with polenta and steamed broccoli.  The recipe makes a lot, so I’ll cut up and reheat the leftovers and sauce to serve with pasta another day.  Today is the best day, though, since despite the fact that the temperature is in the low 20′s, my slow cooker will be perfuming the house all day long with mouth watering aromas!

SPARERIBS WITH SPICY SAUSAGES

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds meaty spareribs, cut into individual ribs

3 hot (or sweet) Italian sausages

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the meats in batches and brown them on all sides.  Place the browned meats in the slow cooker.  Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook, stirring until tender and golden.  Stir in the tomato puree and a pinch of salt and pepper scraping the bottom of the pan.  Bring the sauce to a simmer.  Pour it into the cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat is falling away from the bones.  Serve hot.

Last Thursday at Keste Pizza and Vino, Roberto Caporuscio, the pizzaiuolo and owner, brought us a slice of La Pastiera, a dessert that is not on the menu.  Also known as Pizza Gran or Grain Pie, this classic Neapolitan cake is made with ricotta, wheat berries, and candied fruits.

“Try this,” Roberto said, “It was made by one of Naples’ finest pastry makers.”  Roberto is not only the best pizzaiolo in America, but he also knows good pastry. The tender, delicate crust enclosed a light and creamy filling subtly flavored with orange and studded with slightly chewy grains of wheat.  It was sweeter and less dense than most versions I have tried. Roberto said that it had been made earlier that day by Sabatino Sirica, owner of Pasticceria Sirica in Naples.  Sabatino had come to the States to teach pastry making at A Mano, a restaurant and pizzeria in Ridgewood, in Northern New Jersey where Roberto conducts his professional pizza making classes.  In fact, Roberto suggested, would I like to attend a pastry class at A Mano the following day and meet Sabatino?  There was no need to ask me twice!

A Mano, which means by hand, is located in the center town, a short block from the Ridgewood train station.  Roberto told me that he had helped design the restaurant, which has not just one, but two enormous wood fired pizza ovens that are lined with volcanic stone.  Just about everything, from the floor and wall tiles, to the counters, equipment, tables, and chairs had been imported from Italy.  At the entrance, there is a counter where you can buy homemade gelato, pastry, or have an expertly made espresso.  The high ceilings made the room seem enormous, but the design and wine red color of the walls give it a warm feeling.  It seemed like a piece of Naples in New Jersey.

The class was about to start, but first Roberto introduced me to Sabatino Sirica and his assistant, Raffaele Cristiano.  Mr. Sirica has been a pastry maker for over 50 years and appears often on Italian TV.  The lesson of the day was pasta bigné, the pastry used to make cream puffs.  Sabatino brought water to boiling and added butter.  As soon as it melted, he began stirring the mixture and adding Caputo 00 flour, which he said is perfect for pastry.  The mixture formed a ball but Sabatino continued to stir it so that the dough would lose some of the liquid and puff up properly when baked.  Then he scraped the dough into a slowly turning heavy-duty mixer and began adding eggs.

When the dough was ready it looked smooth and shiny.  The chefs demonstrated how to handle a pastry bag and form the dough into puffs or a large ring.   While the puffs baked, Sabatino gave suggestions on how to vary the recipe and demonstrated how to make crema pasticcera, pastry cream flavored with vanilla and lemon.

During his 4 day visit, Sabatino also demonstrated how to make the pastiera that I tasted at Keste; two kinds of sfogliatelle–the familiar clamshell shaped riccia and the less well known frollamade with tender pasta frolla, a sweet pie or cookie dough; and baba al rhum, small yeast cakes soaked in rum syrup.  It was a great opportunity to learn about Neapolitan pastry from a true master.

Classes are held at A Mano every few months.  There is plenty to taste and everyone went home with a box of pastry.  A Mano is certified by two organizations that assure the quality and tradition of genuine Neapolitan pizza, the Vera Pizza Napoletana and the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli, sometimes called the pizza police.  The restaurant’s standards are exacting and only all natural Caputo flour and San Marzano tomatoes are used.  Mozzarella is made fresh daily in the restaurant’s kitchen.  In addition to its pizza menu, A Mano also has a menu of traditional Neapolitan dishes.   For information on upcoming classes, check their website at www.amanopizza.com or call 201-493-2000.  A Mano is located at 24 Franklin Avenue and is open daily.