The sauce came before the restaurant

Before Italian Express fed New London, and long after it closed, this sauce fed a family. Mariuch made it by hand and eye: garlic cooked until golden, whole San Marzano tomatoes crushed between her fingers, pork slowly giving the pot its depth, and enough Pecorino at the end to make the sauce unmistakably hers. Reek-ee carried it into the food truck and restaurant. This version carries it forward.

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup excellent extra-virgin olive oil		• 2 pounds pork ribs or pork chops
• ½ head garlic (5–7 large cloves), minced		• 2 pounds hot Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste		• Pan-fried meatballs, prepared separately
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste		• Braciole, for a full Sunday version
• 1 cup dry red wine, optional		• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• Three 28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes		• ½ cup torn fresh basil, divided
• One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes		• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 15-ounce can tomato purée		• Locatelli Pecorino Romano: a modest handful during cooking, then one generous handful (¾–1 cup) at the end
• 1 emptied tomato can of water, plus more as needed		• Sugar only if the tomatoes genuinely need it
	“Mom is the best chef I know.” Maryanne “Mariuch” Pascale cooked beside Reek-ee at Italian Express while in her seventies. Her recipes are the heart of this book.

THE METHOD / PART ONE

Build the flavor

1. Brown the meat. Brown the pork in olive oil and set it aside. Pan-fry the hot sausage until deeply browned. Prepare and pan-fry the meatballs separately; they enter the sauce only near the end.

2. Start the garlic. Coat the bottom of a large, heavy saucepot generously with excellent olive oil. Add the minced garlic and red-pepper flakes.

3. Release the flavor. Sauté over medium heat until the garlic becomes golden. Never let it turn dark brown. Cooking the pepper flakes in the oil releases their heat throughout the sauce.

4. Add the tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste and cook briefly until it darkens slightly. When using red wine, add it now and let it reduce for a minute or two.

5. Stop the garlic from burning. Immediately add the three cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes. The tomatoes drop the temperature before the garlic can cross from golden to bitter.

6. Crush by hand. Break apart every whole tomato with your hands, retaining some natural texture. Do not blend the life out of them.

7. Build the sauce. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato purée and one tomato can of water. Add the browned pork, half the parsley, half the basil, salt, black pepper and a modest amount of Pecorino.

8. Bring it to a boil. Let the sauce reach a real boil while stirring so nothing catches on the bottom. Then immediately lower the heat.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Let time do the work

9. Simmer slowly. Simmer for two to three hours, stirring regularly. Add water as needed. The sauce should remain thick and substantial—never paste and never soup.

10. Handle the pork. After about two hours, remove the pork and let it cool. Pull the meat from the bones, break it into pieces and discard the bones and excess fat.

11. Add the sausage. Add the browned hot sausage around the two-hour mark and let it finish cooking in the sauce.

12. Return everything at the end. About 30 minutes before serving, return the cleaned pork and add the separately pan-fried meatballs. Add braciole when making the full Sunday version.

13. Finish with Pecorino. Add the remaining parsley and basil. Stir in one generous handful—approximately ¾ to 1 cup—of Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Taste before adding more salt.

14. Judge the tomatoes. Add sugar only when the tomatoes are unusually acidic. Good San Marzano tomatoes ordinarily need none.

Mariuch's rules

• Half a head of garlic means we are not messing around. Bada bing, bada boom.

• Hot sausage—never sweet. No onion, oregano, bay leaves or cheese rind.

• Fry the sausage and meatballs separately. Crush the tomatoes by hand.

• Add water gradually. Thick sauce is the goal; watery sauce is a failure.

• Pecorino goes in during cooking, but the generous handful comes at the end.

• It is sauce or gravy. Both are correct. The family argument is optional.

One-trip shopping list

Northern tradition, Italian Express appetite

The old Bolognese lesson is restraint: meat first, then cream, white wine and only enough tomato to bind it all together. Mariuch and Reek-ee kept that architecture and made it worthy of Italian Express—equal beef and pork, equal onion, carrot and celery, heavy cream instead of milk, and a pot large enough to feed actual people. It is thick, deeply meaty and brick-red, not ordinary tomato sauce with hamburger thrown into it.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons excellent extra-virgin olive oil		• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter		• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 cup onion, very finely minced		• Two 28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 cup carrot, very finely minced		• Water as needed during the long simmer
• 1 cup celery, very finely minced		• Locatelli Pecorino Romano, for finishing
• 1 pound ground beef, preferably chuck		• 2 pounds tagliatelle, pappardelle or another substantial pasta
• 1 pound ground pork		• Reserved pasta water, as needed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper		• More Pecorino for the table
• 2 cups heavy cream		• Crusty Italian bread, for serving
	FROM HER NONNA'S KITCHEN Mariuch learned to cook from her nonna - my bisnonna. She learned by standing beside her, watching her hands and trusting her eye. That knowledge passed from one kitchen to the next, and eventually into Italian Express.

Reek-ee and Mumma circa 1967

THE METHOD / PART ONE

Build the sauce in the right order

1. Make the battuto. Mince the onion, carrot and celery very finely and in exactly equal amounts. The pieces should disappear into the finished sauce rather than announce themselves.

2. Begin with butter and oil. Melt the butter with the excellent olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Do not let the butter brown.

3. Soften the vegetables. Add the onion first and cook until translucent. Add the carrot and celery and cook slowly until completely soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Do not brown them.

4. Add both meats. Add the beef and pork. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Break the meat apart with a wooden spoon and cook until it loses its raw color.

5. Keep the meat tender. Cook gently. The goal is small, tender pieces that become part of the sauce—not hard, dry pebbles fried into submission.

6. Add the cream. Pour in the heavy cream and bring it to a gentle simmer. Continue cooking until the cream has been absorbed by the meat and almost entirely evaporated.

7. Add the nutmeg. Grate in a restrained amount of fresh nutmeg. It should warm the cream and meat without making the sauce taste like dessert.

8. Add the white wine. Pour in the dry white wine only after the cream has cooked away. Simmer until the wine has evaporated and the smell of raw alcohol is completely gone.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Let the meat become the sauce

9. Add the tomatoes. Add both cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushing every tomato by hand as it enters the pot. Stir thoroughly so the meat, vegetables and tomatoes become one sauce.

10. Bring it to the gentlest simmer. Let the sauce just begin to bubble, then immediately reduce the heat. Bolognese cooks by patience, not violence.

11. Cook for at least three hours. Simmer uncovered for three to four hours, stirring from the bottom occasionally so nothing sticks or scorches.

12. Use water when needed. Add a few tablespoons of water whenever the sauce becomes too dry before the fat naturally separates. Add only enough to sustain the long simmer.

13. Judge the finished texture. The sauce should be thick, creamy and dominated by tender meat. It should be brick-red, not bright red; rich, not watery; sauce, not soup.

14. Dress the pasta. Boil the pasta until al dente. Toss it with the Bolognese and enough reserved pasta water to make the sauce cling to every strand or ridge.

15. Finish properly. Add a generous shower of Locatelli Pecorino Romano and serve immediately, with more Pecorino at the table.

Mariuch & Reek-ee’s rules

• Beef and pork, one pound each. Neither one gets to own the pot.

• Onion, carrot and celery are equal—one cup of each, minced fine.

• Heavy cream. Never milk. Who cooks with milk? Yuck.

• Cream cooks away before the white wine enters. The order matters.

• No garlic, oregano, basil or red-pepper flakes.

• The finished sauce is meat-forward and thick—not red sauce with hamburger.

One-trip shopping list

The sauce that taught me everything

This was the first sauce Mumma ever taught Mariuch to make. A weeknight sauce, not the Sunday gravy, small enough to make while everyone was still hungry and waiting. She stood on a chair to reach the counter. Sixty years later, she stood me at that same counter and taught it to me the same way it was taught to her, hand over hand, nothing measured that didn’t need to be.

Ingredients

THE LESSON / PART ONE

In her words

1. Put the pan on the heat first. Medium, not high. You are not in a hurry, and if you are, put the pan down and come back when you’re not.

2. Watch the oil. The oil goes in, and you wait. You’ll know it’s ready. It moves different when it’s hot; it gets thin and it shines.

3. Give the onion its time. Sprinkle it in—don’t dump it—and don’t touch it right away. Let it sit a second before you stir. Five minutes, maybe less. You want it soft and gold, not brown. Brown means you weren’t paying attention.

4. Now the garlic. In it goes with the pepper flakes, and this part goes fast: one minute, maybe less. You’ll smell it change. That smell is the whole reason we’re standing here.

5. Move when the smell changes. The second you smell it, move, because garlic doesn’t forgive you for waiting.

6. Here. Put your hand in. She’d hold the can out to me the way Mumma held it out to her.

7. Crush them yourself. Not a spoon first, not a blender ever—your hand. It goes in with the juice, all of it, and you squeeze until there’s nothing whole left.

8. Let the sauce know. That’s how the sauce knows it was made by somebody who cared about it.

THE LESSON / PART TWO

The sauce will tell you

9. Season it. Add the salt and pepper. Stir everything together and bring it up to a light boil, then bring it right back down.

10. Cover it halfway. Not all the way. Let it sit there for 15 minutes. You’ll hear it before you need to look at it.

11. The basil comes last. Always last. Tear it—don’t cut it—and stir it in right at the end, off the heat if you can manage it. A knife bruises it. Your fingers don’t.

12. Taste it first. Taste it before anybody else does. If it needs you, it will tell you.

13. Send it out loved. Put more torn basil on top, because it should look like somebody loved it before it left the pot.

14. Mangia. That is the whole lesson. Serve it while it is hot.

Mariuch’s rules

• Crush the tomatoes with your hand. That is not optional.

• Garlic goes fast. If you can smell it, you are already late.

• The basil comes last and it gets torn, never cut.

• Taste before you serve. The sauce will tell you what it needs.

• Don’t rush the onion. Gold, not brown.

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Her way—not Rome’s

Alfredo started in Rome as butter, cheese, and pasta water, nothing more. Ours never stayed that simple, because nothing in Mariuch’s kitchen ever did. A full stick of butter, real cream, five cloves of garlic, and a fistful of Pecorino turned it into something else entirely—richer, bolder, unmistakably hers. She taught it to her three grandsons, boys who thought they already knew, the same way she taught everything: hands first, questions answered with a look instead of an explanation, and a pinch of nutmeg measured against your own cheek.

Ingredients

BUILD THE SAUCE

Butter first. Questions later.

1. Get the pan right. Use a pan big enough to hold all the pasta later. You are not making this for a mouse.

2. Melt the butter. Melt the full stick over medium heat in that same pan. Let it go fully liquid before you move on.

3. Add the garlic. Stir in the minced garlic and cook just until the kitchen smells like something worth stopping for, about one minute. Do not let it brown.

4. Pour in the cream. Add the two cups of cream and bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring so it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

5. Add the nutmeg. One big pinch, grated fresh if you can. Not a little. A grandmother amount.

6. Season lightly. A pinch of kosher salt, no more yet. The cheese still has to have its say.

BRING IT HOME

The cheese still has to have its say

7. Cook the fettuccine. Boil the pasta in generously salted water until just shy of al dente, whether it’s fresh-cut or store-bought.

8. Move the pasta into the sauce. Transfer it directly into the pan along with a splash of pasta water.

9. Add the cheese gradually. Stir in the Pecorino a handful at a time, tossing constantly, until it melts into a smooth sauce that clings to every strand.

10. Loosen as needed. Add more pasta water in small splashes if the sauce gets too thick before the pasta is fully coated.

11. Taste before anyone else does. Adjust the salt only now, not before.

12. Serve it right away. Warmed plates, more Pecorino on top, and don’t wait for the table to be perfectly set.

Mariuch’s rules

• The butter is not negotiable. A full stick, every time.

• Garlic goes in just long enough to smell it. That smell is the whole recipe.

• Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Say it with your whole chest.

• Nutmeg gets measured the same way it’s always been measured. Generously.

• Taste it yourself before it goes to the table. The sauce will tell you if it’s ready.

One-trip shopping list

An idea isn’t a conquest.

Sometime in the 1970s, somewhere between Italy and New York, somebody put vodka in tomato sauce and everybody lost their minds about it. Nobody agrees on exactly who did it first. Credit wherever it’s due—somebody had an idea. But an idea isn’t a conquest, and Mariuch has never once mistaken the two. Out came whole San Marzanos crushed by her own hand, real garlic instead of one lonely clove, Locatelli Pecorino Romano, and a heavier pour of vodka than anybody in New York had the nerve to use. She tasted it, nodded once, and delivered the verdict. Now that’s Italian.

Siamo venuti. Abbiamo visto. Abbiamo conquistato. L’abbiamo reso migliore. We came. We saw. We conquered. We made it better.

Ingredients

THE METHOD / PART ONE

Build the sauce

1. Get the water going. Boil a generously salted pot of water for the penne and cook it al dente according to package directions.

2. Start the base. Add the oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion about 5 minutes, until softened. A little browning is fine.

3. Add the garlic and heat. Stir in the garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

4. Add the vodka. Pour it in and let it bubble for about 30 seconds.

5. Crush and add the tomatoes. Stir in the hand-crushed San Marzanos, chunks and all, until well combined with the base.

6. Add the cream. Stir it in and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the sauce warm through and thicken, a couple of minutes, longer if you want it thicker still.

7. Season. Salt and pepper to taste.

8. Add the cheese. Stir in the Pecorino until melted through.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Bring it home

9. Fold in the pasta. Add the drained penne to the sauce along with a splash of pasta water, and fold it together until every piece is coated.

10. Finish and serve. Top with torn fresh basil and more Pecorino. Serve right away.

Mariuch’s rules

• Whole tomatoes, crushed by hand. A tube of paste is not a substitute for actual tomatoes.

• Four cloves of garlic, not one. We are not shy people.

• Locatelli Pecorino Romano, always.

• The vodka goes in—generously. If you can’t tell it’s there, you weren’t paying attention.

• It doesn’t have to be from Italy to be Italian. It has to be made right.

One-trip shopping list

From Mulberry Street to Mariuch’s table.

Mariuch learned this soup from her father, who was born on Mulberry Street in New York City’s Little Italy. His parents were born there too, and his grandmother had a pushcart. This was not a recipe that crossed the ocean written on a card. It grew up on those streets and passed through the family the old-fashioned way: one person beside another, watching the pot, following somebody’s hands, and learning what ‘enough’ looked like without anybody measuring it.

Her father taught Mariuch. Mariuch taught her children and grandchildren. And through every generation, the answer to somebody complaining about being cold remained the same. It was not a blanket. It was a pot.

Whoever walked into Mariuch’s kitchen shivering got the same treatment: sit down, stop talking, the soup’s almost ready. She never once turned up the heat in a room when she could turn it up in a bowl instead.

Ingredients

THE METHOD / BUILD THE BASE

Build the base

1. Render the bacon and pancetta. In a large Dutch oven or pot, cook the bacon and pancetta over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic. Stir it in and cook until golden. Lower the heat if the bottom of the pot starts getting too dark.

3. Build the pot. Add the broth and the San Marzano tomatoes, crushing each tomato by hand over the pot as it goes in. Add the ditalini, half the torn basil, and half the chopped parsley. Save the remaining herbs for serving. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper, then bring to a boil over high heat.

THE POT KNOWS WHAT TO DO

Bacon and pancetta build the base. Hand-crushed tomatoes give it body. Ditalini and cannellini make it a meal. The herbs do two jobs: half warm through the pot, half wake up the bowl.

THE METHOD / FINISH IT

Finish it

4. Add the beans. Stir in the drained, rinsed cannellini beans.

5. Simmer until the pasta is done. Reduce to a lively simmer over medium-high heat and cook until the ditalini is al dente, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom so nothing sticks. Mash some of the tomatoes and beans against the side of the pot as you go.

6. Finish off the heat. Stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Serve. Garnish generously with grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano and the reserved fresh herbs.

Mariuch’s rules

• Cold is not a reason to sit still. Cold is a reason to eat.

• Don’t be shy with the Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Nobody’s ever complained about too much on this soup.

• Mash some of the beans and tomatoes as it cooks. It thickens the whole pot without anyone having to work for it.

• Save half the herbs for the top. What goes in the pot and what goes on the bowl are two different jobs.

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Some recipes just accumulate.

Every other recipe in this book has a person attached to it. A Mumma, a father from Mulberry Street, a name and a kitchen and a story you could trace backward if you wanted to. Ask Mariuch where the lentil soup came from and you get a shrug, and then a look like the question itself was a little beside the point.

It didn’t come from anywhere in particular. It came from decades of standing at a stove long enough to know things without being able to say where the knowing started. It came from tasting a soffritto a thousand times until you knew exactly how patient it needed you to be. It came from good tomatoes and a Locatelli Pecorino Romano rind saved instead of thrown away, because somewhere along the way she learned that a rind still has work left in it. Mostly, it came from the same place everything else in this book came from, whether there’s a name attached or not.

Love. Experience. Just knowing. Some recipes get handed down. This one just accumulated.

Ingredients

THE METHOD / BUILD THE SOFFRITTO

Build the soffritto

1. Render the pancetta. Cook the pancetta with the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-low heat until the fat has rendered and it begins to turn golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Don’t rush it.

2. Build the soffritto. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Lower the heat and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is very soft, sweet, and beginning to caramelize. This is where the soup starts becoming extraordinary.

3. Add garlic and heat. Stir in the garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook about 1 minute.

4. Add the tomato paste. Cook it 2 to 3 minutes, stirring against the bottom of the pot, until it turns dark brick red.

5. Deglaze with the wine. Pour in the wine and scrape up every browned bit from the bottom. Let it reduce by roughly half.

Let it become soup

6. Build the pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, lentils, chicken stock, Locatelli Pecorino Romano rind, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and black pepper. Bring just to a boil, then immediately reduce to a gentle simmer.

7. Simmer. Partially cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender but haven’t completely fallen apart.

8. Make the move that changes the soup. Remove the herb stems, bay leaves, and rind. Mash about 2 cups of soup thoroughly, then stir it back into the pot. The broth turns thick and velvety while most lentils stay intact.

THE METHOD / THE BOWL THAT MAKES PEOPLE SHUT UP

Finish it

9. Add the kale. Stir in the cavolo nero and simmer another 8 to 10 minutes.

10. Finish off the heat. Turn off the heat and stir in the red wine vinegar and grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Taste and adjust the salt, remembering the pancetta, stock, and cheese rind have already contributed plenty.

11. Rest it. Let it sit 10 minutes before serving.

12. Build the bowl. Put a thick slice of grilled or toasted country bread in the bottom of a wide soup bowl. Ladle the soup over it. Finish with grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano, chopped parsley, black pepper, and a generous ribbon of excellent extra-virgin olive oil. That last raw olive oil isn’t decoration. It is part of the flavor.

Mariuch’s rules

• Don’t rush the soffritto. Twenty patient minutes now saves the whole pot later.

• Save the Locatelli Pecorino Romano rind. It still has work left in it.

• Mash some of the lentils at the end. That’s how the broth goes creamy without a drop of cream.

• The raw olive oil on top isn’t a garnish. It’s the last ingredient, not a decoration.

One-trip shopping list

Ingredients

THE METHOD / PART ONE

Make the soup.

1. Make the meatballs.

Put the beef, pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, Locatelli Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, salt, and black pepper into a large bowl.

Mix gently with your hands until everything is evenly combined.

Roll the mixture into very small meatballs, about ½ to ¾ inch across.

Keep them small. This is wedding soup, not Sunday dinner.

2. Start the soup.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery.

Cook until they begin to soften but still have some structure.

Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant.

Golden garlic is flavor. Brown garlic is bitterness.

3. Build the broth.

Pour in the chicken broth or stock and bring it to a gentle simmer.

Taste it.

If the broth already tastes rich and delicious, leave it alone.

If it needs something, add a little high-quality chicken base or bouillon.

Taste again.

Add more only if it needs it.

The broth will tell you how much.

There is no prize for spending half the day making stock when you already have an excellent one sitting in front of you.

4. Cook the meatballs in the broth.

Bring the broth to a steady gentle simmer.

Drop the raw little meatballs directly into the soup.

Do not brown them first.

Let them cook gently in the broth until cooked through.

That flavor belongs in the soup.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Finish it.

5. Add the escarole.

Add the chopped escarole.

It will look like far too much when it first goes into the pot.

It isn’t.

Stir it down into the broth and let it cook until tender.

6. Add the pasta.

Stir in the acini di pepe.

Cook until the pasta is tender.

Keep an eye on the soup as it cooks because the pasta will absorb broth.

If it becomes thicker than you want, add a little more chicken broth.

7. Add the Pecorino.

When the soup is almost finished, stir in ½ cup freshly grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

Let it melt into the broth.

Taste everything again.

Adjust the kosher salt, black pepper, broth, or chicken base as needed.

When the broth tastes right, stop.

8. Serve it.

Ladle the soup into large bowls, making sure everybody gets plenty of meatballs, escarole, pasta, and broth.

Put the remaining 1 cup Locatelli Pecorino Romano on the table.

Let everybody add as much as they want.

Around here, that usually means more than you think.

Mariuch’s Rules:

• Start with a really good broth.

• If it tastes right, leave it alone.

• If it needs help, add a little chicken base until tasty.

• Be careful with adding too much salt

• Pecorino is salty

The ties that bind

MARIUCH’S MEATBALLS

THE TIES THAT BIND

Nobody knows exactly where the first one was fried. Mariuch learned to make meatballs from her father. Her father learned from his father. And his father, according to family lore, learned from his father sometime around the 1840s.

Maybe. Who actually knows? Nobody thought to document the genealogy of a meatball. They were too busy eating them.

What we do know is that somewhere along the way, the recipe became part of the family. It traveled through generations without a recipe card, without exact measurements, and apparently without anybody thinking that someday Reek-ee would be sitting here trying to explain how much of a loaf of bread goes into a bowl of meat.

Because that’s the problem. The meatball is the point.

Mariuch’s father didn’t teach her by saying, “Use exactly 11.3 ounces of bread.” He taught her how the mixture should feel. She learned the same way he had learned: hands in the bowl. And that’s how she taught Reek-ee.

Good Italian bread gets soaked in milk and squeezed out. Then it gets massaged through the meat—not too much, not too little. Two eggs to start. Maybe three. Garlic enough to matter. Pecorino, but remember it’s salty. Parsley. Basil torn by hand.

Then you stop. You make one meatball. You fry it in olive oil until it has a serious crust. And you eat it.

Too hard? More soaked bread. Too dry? Maybe the third egg. Too wet? More Pecorino. Needs something? Add it. Then make another one. There is no shame whatsoever in requiring a second test meatball.

For nearly two centuries—or so the story goes—somebody in this family has apparently been standing over a frying pan doing essentially the same thing.

A father taught his son. That son taught his son. A father taught his daughter, Mariuch. And Mariuch taught Reek-ee.

The names changed. The kitchens changed. The hands changed. The meatball kept going.

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds ground beef, preferably 80/20 chuck	• ½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 pound ground pork — or use another pound of ground chuck	• ½ cup fresh basil, torn by hand
• ½ to 1 loaf good Italian bread	• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Water or milk, enough to thoroughly soak the bread	• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2–3 large eggs	• Excellent olive oil, generously, for frying
• 1½ to 2 cups freshly grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano	• Mariuch’s Sunday Sauce, for finishing
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped — not too fine, not too big	• No oregano.
	FROM HER FATHER’S HANDS The man beside Mariuch on her wedding day is her father—the man who taught her the family meatball. He learned it from the hands before his. She carried it forward. Then she taught Reek-ee. No recipe card. Just hands teaching hands.

THE METHOD / PART ONE

The touch comes first

1. Get the bread right. Soak the torn Italian bread completely in water or milk until thoroughly soft. Transfer it to a fine-mesh strainer and shake the strainer firmly back and forth. As the excess liquid drains away, the bread begins gathering into one large mass. Keep shaking until it resembles a large mound of very wet pizza dough—still soft, moist, and a little gloopy, but with definite form. That’s when it’s ready. Don’t squeeze it dry. The shaking removes the excess liquid while leaving the bread properly moist for the meatballs.

2. Start with two eggs. Put the beef and pork—or all chuck—into a very large bowl. Add the prepared bread, 2 eggs, Locatelli Pecorino Romano, chopped garlic, parsley, torn basil, salt, and black pepper.

3. Get your hands in there. Massage everything together gently with your hands, working the softened bread completely through the meat. Use the thumb against the index and middle fingers, rubbing in a small circular motion to massage the mixture together. You aren’t simply stirring ingredients. You are working the bread into the meat until they become one mixture. But don’t overdo it. Not too much. Not too little. Over-massage the meat and you’ll make a hard meatball. And Mariuch has the wooden spoon after all.

4. Feel it. The mixture should be soft and moist, but not mushy. Shape a little lightly in your palm. If it feels too dry, add the third egg. If it feels too firm or hard, prepare more soaked bread and work it gently into the mixture. If it feels too wet, add a little more Locatelli Pecorino Romano. That’s why the ingredient list says half a loaf to a loaf and two to three eggs. The bowl decides.

The test meatball gets the final vote

5. Fry one first. Pour a generous layer of olive oil into a heavy frying pan and heat it over medium to medium-high heat. Form one small test meatball and put it into the oil. Leave it alone. Let the bottom develop a real, dark brown crust before turning it. Continue frying until it is deeply browned all around and cooked through. Then eat it. This is quality control, not snacking. Well. It is also snacking.

6. Judge the meatball. Don’t just decide whether it tastes good. Pay attention to the inside. Mariuch’s meatball should be soft and tender, never hard and never a breadball. Too hard? More soaked bread. Too dry? Maybe the third egg. Too wet? More Pecorino. Not enough garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, or cheese? Fix it now. Then make another test meatball if you need to. Nobody has ever suffered from this procedure.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Fry them. Then let the sauce have them.

7. Shape them gently. Once the test meatball is right, form the mixture into meatballs approximately the size of a large golf ball. Don’t squeeze them into submission. Bring each one together gently and stop. They don’t have to be perfectly round. They’re meatballs, not ball bearings.

8. Fry in olive oil. Add the meatballs to the hot olive oil in batches. Do not crowd the frying pan. Once they’re down, don’t mess with them. Let each side sit against the pan until it develops the deep brown crust you saw on the test meatball. Turn them only when the crust has formed and the meatball releases willingly. Continue until deeply browned all around.

9. Eat a couple. Transfer the fried meatballs to a tray to drain. Then eat one. Maybe two. Hot. Fried. No sauce. Yummy. But control yourself. People are expecting dinner.

10. Into the Sunday Sauce. Gently lower the remaining fried meatballs into Mariuch’s simmering Sunday Sauce. Let them simmer in the sauce for at least 30 minutes before serving. Don’t stir them aggressively. They’re deliberately tender.

11. Let the magic happen. That hard fried crust now does something completely different. It softens. It absorbs the Sunday Sauce. At the same time, the meatballs give their browned meat, garlic, Pecorino, herbs, and olive-oil flavor back to the pot. The meatball changes the sauce. The sauce changes the meatball. Bada bing. Bada boom.

Mariuch’s rules

One-trip shopping list

All good things take time.

Mariuch learned to make braciole by watching Aunt Eli make it on Staten Island.

Or, more accurately, she learned to make brah-ZHOLE.

Nobody in that kitchen was saying bra-CHO-leh. That would have sounded almost suspiciously proper. In the Italian-American neighborhoods around New York, the old southern Italian pronunciations had crossed the Atlantic right along with the people. Final vowels disappeared. Consonants softened. Braciole became braciol—brah-ZHOLE, or brazhul.

The same kitchens gave us gabagool, manigot, mozzarell and prosciutt.

It wasn't laziness.

It was inheritance with an accent.

Those sounds survived because the people did.

Our family came from southern Italy, including Avellino. Domenico Pascale made the crossing from Italy to New York in the immigrant generation, arriving in a city where Italian families built new lives block by block. Whatever changed after they arrived—and almost everything did—the food and language of home had a remarkable way of hanging on.

That is how a recipe can travel farther than the person who first cooked it.

Years later, on Staten Island, Mariuch stood watching Aunt Eli make braciole: pounding the beef thin, making the filling, laying down the prosciutto, rolling each piece, tying every little bundle, browning them one by one, and finally lowering them into the Sunday Sauce.

Reek-ee remembers looking at the whole production and reaching the obvious conclusion:

This is an awful lot of work for a piece of meat.

Then he ate one.

Never mind.

Some foods are fast because they should be. Braciole isn't one of them. You pound. You fill. You roll. You tie. You brown. Then you put the whole thing into the sauce and wait for what feels like forever.

And somewhere during all that waiting, six ordinary pieces of beef become something people remember decades later.

Maybe that's why this recipe belongs so naturally to the family that carried it.

Domenico's generation crossed an ocean and built something that couldn't be built quickly. Aunt Eli stood at a counter on Staten Island and kept making food the long way. Mariuch watched her hands. Eventually Reek-ee watched Mariuch's.

Nobody involved seems to have been particularly interested in shortcuts.

Thank God.

Because after all the pounding, filling, rolling, tying, browning and simmering, you cut the string, put the braciole on a plate, cover it with Sunday Sauce, and take the first bite.

Then you understand.

All good things take time.

Ingredients

THE METHOD / PART ONE

Pound it. Fill it. Roll it. Tie it.

1. Make the filling. Put the panko, Pecorino, parsley, toasted pine nuts, all six cloves of garlic, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and red-pepper flakes into a bowl. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix it with your hands. If the breadcrumbs still seem dry, add the third tablespoon. You want a filling that is moist and loose enough to spread—not wet and certainly not cement. Six cloves of garlic may look like a lot. It isn't. For an optional traditional variation, add ⅓ cup raisins or currants, soaked in warm water for 8 to 10 minutes and drained. Neither Mariuch nor Reek-ee likes them; we leave them out.

2. Cut the beef. Cut the top round into six approximately ½-inch slices. Try to cut them evenly because you're about to pound them anyway, and there is no reason to create additional work for yourself. Mariuch would already like to know why this is taking so long.

3. Pound them. Arrange the beef several inches apart on a cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap. Now pound. Use the flat side of a meat pounder and work each slice into a rough rectangle no more than ¼ inch thick. Don't annihilate it. We're making braciole, not settling a score. You need the beef thin enough to roll easily and substantial enough to survive two hours in Sunday Sauce.

4. Season it. Season both sides of the beef with the kosher salt and remaining ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Easy with the salt. Pecorino and prosciutto are coming. They have opinions.

5. Spread the filling. Divide the breadcrumb mixture among the six pieces of beef and spread it evenly over each one. Take it almost to the edges, but leave yourself enough room to roll without half the filling landing on the cutting board. And yes, some will land on the cutting board. Put it back. Nobody saw anything.

6. Prosciutto goes next. Lay one thin slice of prosciutto over the filling on each piece of beef, folding it where necessary so it fits. Press it down gently. This is one of those moments when the ingredients begin looking considerably more promising than they did five minutes ago.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Now make six little packages.

7. Roll them. Starting at a short end, roll each piece of beef into a compact bundle. Keep the filling tucked inside as you go. Not so loose that everything falls out. Not so tight that you squeeze everything out. Apparently braciole, like most things involving Mariuch, requires judgment.

8. Tie them. Secure each bundle with two pieces of kitchen twine. Snug. Not strangled. If you have somehow constructed something resembling a Christmas ham, you've become overly enthusiastic.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Now make six little packages.

9. Get the olive oil hot. Coat a large sauté pan generously with excellent olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat until shimmering. Not smoking. We're browning the braciole, not calling the fire department.

10. Brown them properly. Put the bundles into the pan without crowding them. Then leave them alone. Let the first side build a serious brown crust before you start rolling them around. Continue turning until every side is beautifully browned, 6–8 minutes total. This is not the place for pale meat. That crust is flavor, and all of it is going into the Sunday Sauce.

11. Into the sauce. Transfer the browned braciole directly into a pot of gently simmering Mariuch's Sunday Sauce. Nestle them down into the sauce. Now the hard part: Leave them there.

THE METHOD / PART THREE

Sunday Sauce takes over.

12. Give them time. Let the braciole simmer gently in the Sunday Sauce for 2 to 2½ hours. Not a rolling boil. A slow simmer. Turn them occasionally and make sure they're surrounded by sauce. Then stop bothering them. You already pounded, filled, rolled, tied and browned them. You've contributed enough.

13. Know when they're done. The beef should be deeply tender. The filling should have melded into the meat, and the braciole should have given some of its beef, garlic, Pecorino, prosciutto and browned flavor back to the sauce. This is why we waited.

14. Take them out carefully. Lift the braciole from the sauce and put them onto a platter. They're tender now. Treat them accordingly. Let them rest for a few minutes so you can handle them.

15. Remove the evidence. Use kitchen scissors to cut off every piece of twine. Count if necessary. You put twelve pieces on. Twelve pieces come off. Serving somebody six feet of cotton string would undermine the previous three hours of work.

16. Bring them to the table. Serve the braciole whole or slice them into thick rounds so everybody can see the spiral of beef, prosciutto and filling. Spoon plenty of Mariuch's Sunday Sauce over everything. Put Locatelli Pecorino Romano on the table. Then eat. And suddenly all that pounding, spreading, rolling, tying and waiting seems completely reasonable. Reek-ee formally withdraws his objection.

Mariuch's rules

One-trip shopping list

Ingredients

No coriander. Mariuch never used it.

THE METHOD / MAKE THE SAUSAGE

1. Get everything cold.

Put the cubed pork into the freezer for about 20–30 minutes. It should be very cold and firm around the edges but not frozen solid.

Chill the grinder parts too.

Cold meat grinds cleanly. Warm meat smears.

2. Season the pork.

Combine the kosher salt, whole and ground fennel, black pepper, red-pepper flakes, Calabrian chile, both Hungarian paprikas, garlic, parsley, basil, marjoram, and nutmeg.

Scatter the seasoning over the cold pork and mix thoroughly with your hands.

3. Grind it.

Grind the pork through a ¼-inch plate.

For a slightly more rustic sausage, grind most of it through the medium plate and a smaller portion through a larger plate.

4. Add the wine.

Mix the cold red wine, ice water, and olive oil.

Pour it over the ground meat.

Mix firmly with your hands for 1–2 minutes until the meat becomes sticky and tacky and begins holding together.

That is what you want.

5. Fry one first.

Before stuffing anything, fry a small test patty in olive oil.

Eat it.

Taste for salt, fennel, garlic, paprika, pepper, and heat.

If it needs something, fix it now.

More fennel? Add it.

More garlic? Add it.

More heat? Add it.

There is no prize for discovering the sausage needed more seasoning after you have already stuffed twenty links.

6. Let it rest.

Cover and refrigerate the sausage mixture for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

7. Stuff the sausage.

Stuff the mixture into the prepared natural hog casings.

Do not pack them so tightly that the casings burst.

Twist into links about 6 inches long.

Prick only obvious air pockets.

8. Let the links settle.

Arrange the sausage on a rack and refrigerate uncovered for several hours or overnight.

OR BE LAZY

You do not have to make the sausage.

Go to a real Italian market and buy good hot Italian sausage.

That is not cheating.

That is being lazy.

Lazy Mary, get up out of bed!

Then proceed exactly the same way.

COOK THE SAUSAGE FIRST

Coat a large skillet generously with excellent olive oil.

Add the sausage and fry over medium heat until the casings develop a deep, crisp brown exterior.

Do not settle for pale sausage.

Once the links are beautifully browned, add about 1 cup water to the pan.

Cover and cook until the sausage is completely cooked through.

Remove the sausage.

Do not clean the pan.

Everything left behind belongs to whatever comes next.

NOW YOU HAVE OPTIONS

This is the whole point.

One batch of sausage does not have to become one meal.

OPTION ONE / INTO THE SUNDAY SAUCE

Take as many cooked sausage links as you want and add them to Mariuch’s Sunday Sauce about 30 minutes before serving.

Let them finish there gently.

The sauce gets the browned pork, fennel, garlic, chile, and paprika.

The sausage gets the sauce.

Everybody wins.

OPTION TWO / EAT THE SAUSAGE

Put a six-inch link on a plate.

Eat it.

There is no requirement that everything become another recipe.

Sometimes sausage is dinner.

THE MAIN EVENT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Get the oven ready.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread 2 cups of sauce in the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

2. Prep the peppers.

Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds and ribs. Stand them up in the dish. Trim a sliver off the bottom if one wants to tip over.

3. Make the filling.

Mix the beef, rice, onion, garlic, eggs, Locatelli, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper with your hands until just combined.

4. Stuff them.

Pack the filling into the peppers, mounding it a little on top. Spoon the rest of the sauce over and around them, and drizzle with olive oil.

5. Bake covered, then uncovered.

Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes. Uncover, top each pepper with mozzarella, and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbling and the filling reaches 160°F.

6. Let them rest.

Give them 10 minutes before serving, with plenty of sauce spooned over each one.

MARIUCH SAYS

A pepper is just a bowl you can eat. Fill it like you mean it.

THE MAIN EVENT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Hollow the boats.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Halve the eggplants lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh, leaving a ½-inch wall. Chop the flesh into small pieces.

2. Soften the shells.

Brush the shells with oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast cut side up on a sheet pan for 15 minutes.

3. Cook the filling.

Warm the oil in a large skillet. Cook the onion 5 minutes, add the garlic and chopped eggplant, and cook 10 minutes, until soft. Let it cool a few minutes.

4. Finish the filling.

Stir in the breadcrumbs, Locatelli, eggs, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

5. Fill and bake.

Spread 2 cups of sauce in a baking dish. Set the shells in it, pack in the filling, and spoon the rest of the sauce on top. Lower the oven to 375°F and bake 25 minutes.

6. Top and finish.

Add the mozzarella and bake 10 minutes more, until bubbling. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

MARIUCH SAYS

You don’t throw away the inside of the eggplant. You don’t throw away anything. I lived through things.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Tie and season.

Tie kitchen string around the middle of each shank so it holds its shape. Season with salt and pepper and dust with flour.

2. Brown the shanks.

Heat the oil and butter in a large Dutch oven. Brown the shanks well on both sides, in batches, about 5 minutes per side. Set aside.

3. Build the base.

Cook the onion, carrots, and celery 8 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir 1 minute. Pour in the wine and scrape up every brown bit.

4. Braise low and slow.

Add the tomatoes, broth, and bay leaves. Return the shanks in one layer. Cover and braise in a 325°F oven for 2 to 2½ hours, until the meat is falling off the bone.

5. Make the gremolata.

Mix the lemon zest, garlic, and parsley.

6. Serve it.

Snip off the strings. Serve each shank with plenty of sauce and a sprinkle of gremolata, over polenta or risotto.

MARIUCH SAYS

Give everybody a little spoon for the marrow. And if they don’t want it, give it to me.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Prep the fish.

Pat the fish dry inside and out. Season the cavities with salt and pepper and stuff each with parsley sprigs and lemon slices.

2. Start the crazy water.

In a pan wide enough for both fish, warm the oil with the garlic and pepper flakes until the garlic is pale gold.

3. Add the tomatoes.

Add the tomatoes and cook 3 minutes, until they start to burst. Add the wine, water, capers, and olives and bring to a simmer.

4. Poach the fish.

Lay the fish in the pan. Cover and simmer gently 10 minutes. Carefully turn them, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes more, until the flesh flakes easily at the thickest part.

5. Serve it in the pan.

Scatter fresh basil and parsley on top and bring the whole pan to the table with plenty of bread.

MARIUCH SAYS

A fish should look at you from the plate. That’s how you know it was honest.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Pound the chops.

Lay each chop between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound the meat, not the bone, until it is about ¼ inch thick and spreads out like a fan.

2. Set up three plates.

Flour in the first. Eggs beaten with a pinch of salt in the second. Breadcrumbs mixed with the Locatelli in the third.

3. Bread them.

Season the chops, then coat each one in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing so the crumbs stick.

4. Fry them golden.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil and 1½ tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry one chop at a time, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep golden and cooked through to 145°F. Drain on a rack and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Add fresh oil and butter for each chop.

5. Top and serve.

Toss the arugula and tomatoes with a little oil, lemon juice, and salt. Pile it on top of each chop and serve with lemon wedges.

MARIUCH SAYS

Pound it thin so it covers the plate. Then they think they got more.

THE MAIN EVENT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Prepare the tenderloins.

Trim any tough tendons, pat the chicken dry, and gently flatten thicker pieces for even cooking. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Set up the breading.

Put the flour in one shallow dish. Beat the eggs with the water in a second. In a third, combine the Italian-style panko, Locatelli, parsley, garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

3. Bread the chicken.

Coat each tenderloin lightly with flour and shake off the excess. Dip it in the egg, letting the extra drip back into the dish, then press it into the panko mixture on both sides. Set the breaded tenderloins on a tray and let them stand for about 10 minutes while you prepare the skillet.

4. Heat the oil.

Pour enough oil into a large, heavy skillet to reach about ¼ inch up the sides. Heat over medium heat to about 350°F. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan beside the stove.

5. Fry in batches.

Lay a few tenderloins in the skillet, leaving space between them. Fry until golden on both sides, turning once and checking the thickest part with a thermometer. Remove when it reaches 160°F.

Between batches, remove loose crumbs with a slotted spoon. Add oil as needed and let it return to temperature before adding more chicken. Replace the oil if it becomes dark or smells burnt.

6. Rest and serve.

Rest the chicken on the wire rack. Check that it reaches 165°F before serving; if it does not, return it to the skillet to finish cooking. Serve with lemon wedges. If you need to hold the first batch briefly, put the rack and sheet pan in a 200°F oven while you finish frying. Keep the chicken uncovered.

MARIUCH SAYS

Pound them evenly. The skinny end should not be finished while the fat end is still thinking about it.

Mariuch’s rules

• Pound to an even thickness so the chicken cooks evenly.

• Press the crumbs onto the chicken, then give the coating a few minutes to settle.

• Keep the oil hot enough to fry, but never let it smoke.

• Check that the chicken reaches 165°F before serving. Crust color does not tell you what is happening inside.

• Drain on a rack and serve uncovered to preserve the crisp crust.

One-trip shopping list

MARIUCH’S RULE

Have the table ready before the last cutlet leaves the skillet.

THE MAIN EVENT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make cutlets.

Slice each breast in half the long way, then pound to an even ¼ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.

2. Brown the chicken.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Brown the cutlets 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through to 165°F. Set aside.

3. Cook the mushrooms.

Add 1 tablespoon butter and the mushrooms. Cook without stirring for 3 minutes, then stir and cook until browned. Add the garlic for 1 minute.

4. Make the sauce.

Pour in the Marsala and scrape up the brown bits. Let it bubble 2 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until reduced by about half. Stir in the cream if using.

5. Finish.

Swirl in the last 2 tablespoons of butter. Return the chicken and spoon the sauce over until glossy. Top with parsley.

MARIUCH SAYS

Buy the Marsala you would drink. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t feed it to the chicken.

THE MAIN EVENT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make cutlets.

Slice each breast in half the long way and pound to ¼ inch thick. Season and dredge in flour.

2. Brown the chicken.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Brown the cutlets 2 to 3 minutes per side, cooked through to 165°F. Set aside.

3. Start the sauce.

Add the garlic for 30 seconds. Pour in the wine and scrape the pan. Add the broth, lemon juice, and capers, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, until reduced by about a third.

4. Make it silky.

Off the heat, swirl in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the sauce turns glossy.

5. Finish.

Return the chicken, spoon the sauce over, and top with lemon slices and parsley.

MARIUCH SAYS

Squeeze real lemons. That little plastic lemon in the refrigerator is not a lemon. It is a liar.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Let the skillet tell you when it’s right.

1. Steam the clams.

Place the cleaned clams in a large covered pot with enough water to create steam. Cook just until the shells open.

Remove the clams from their shells and chop the clam meat into small pieces. Set aside.

Discard any clams that do not open.

2. Cook the linguine.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the linguine until just shy of al dente.

Before draining, reserve about 2 cups of pasta water.

3. Build the garlic base.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wide pot over medium-low heat.

Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.

Cook gently until the garlic is fragrant and golden.

Never brown the garlic.

4. Add the wine and clam juice.

Pour in the white wine and bring it to a simmer.

Add the clam juice and allow the mixture to reduce slightly so the flavors concentrate.

5. Finish the sauce.

Add the butter and swirl it into the clam broth until the sauce becomes glossy.

Add the chopped clams and warm them gently. Do not cook them aggressively or they will become tough.

6. Finish the linguine in the sauce.

Add the linguine directly to the pan.

Toss everything together over medium heat, adding reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce coats the pasta beautifully.

Add the chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

Taste and adjust the salt only if necessary—the clams and clam juice already bring plenty.

7. Serve it Mariuch’s way.

Pile the linguine into a large serving bowl.

Garnish generously with fresh parsley.

Finish with freshly grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

Serve with fresh lemon wedges alongside so everybody can squeeze lemon over their own plate.

Mariuch’s Rules

• Fresh clams first. Steam them, shell them, and chop them small.

• Use the clam juice.

• Use the white wine.

• Use the butter.

• The lemon is not optional.

• And finish it with parsley and Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the dough.

Mound the flour on the counter and make a well. Add the eggs, oil, and salt. Beat with a fork, pulling in flour, then knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.

2. Make a filling.

Cheese: mix everything for the cheese filling. Meat: brown the beef and pork with the onion and garlic, cooked through, then cool and mix with the cheese, egg, and breadcrumbs.

3. Roll the sheets.

Divide the dough in four. Roll each piece through a pasta machine to the second-thinnest setting, or by hand until you can almost see your hand through it.

4. Fill and seal.

Drop teaspoons of filling 1½ inches apart on one sheet. Brush around them with water, lay a second sheet on top, and press out the air around each mound. Cut into squares and press the edges with a fork.

5. Cook.

Boil in salted water 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and the edges are tender. Lift out with a slotted spoon, never a colander.

6. Serve.

Spoon sauce over the top and finish with more Locatelli.

MARIUCH SAYS

Press out the air. Air in the ravioli is how it explodes in the pot, and then you’re eating soup.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the dough.

Make and rest the pasta dough as for the meat or cheese ravioli.

2. Make the filling.

Mix the lobster, ricotta, mascarpone, lemon zest, chives, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Chill until ready.

3. Fill and seal.

Roll the sheets thin, add teaspoons of filling, seal, cut, and press the edges just like the other ravioli.

4. Make the sauce.

Melt the butter and cook the shallot and garlic 2 minutes. Add the brandy and let it bubble away. Add the tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes, then stir in the cream and simmer 3 minutes more.

5. Cook and serve.

Boil the ravioli 3 to 4 minutes. Lift them into the sauce, toss gently, and finish with torn basil.

MARIUCH SAYS

No cheese on top. The lobster already paid for itself. Don’t insult it.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Blanch the rabe.

Boil the broccoli rabe in salted water 2 minutes. Lift it out, cool, and chop. Keep the water boiling for the pasta.

2. Brown the sausage.

Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Cook the sausage, breaking it into pieces, until browned and cooked through to 160°F.

3. Garlic and greens.

Add the rest of the oil, the garlic, and the pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is pale gold, then add the rabe and broth and simmer 5 minutes.

4. Cook the pasta.

Cook the gemelli 1 minute short of the package time. Save 1 cup of pasta water.

5. Toss it all.

Add the pasta to the skillet with half the Locatelli and a splash of pasta water. Toss 2 minutes until glossy. Serve with the rest of the cheese.

MARIUCH SAYS

Bitter is good for you. That’s why the greens are bitter and the sausage is happy.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Warm the meatballs in the sauce.

Bring the Sunday sauce to a gentle simmer. Add the meatballs and let them simmer at least 30 minutes, until heated through to 165°F.

2. Cook the spaghetti.

Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until 1 minute short of al dente. Save a cup of pasta water.

3. Marry the pasta and sauce.

Drain the spaghetti and toss it in a big pan with 3 or 4 ladles of sauce over the heat for 1 minute, adding pasta water if it looks tight.

4. Build the platter.

Pile the spaghetti on a platter, top with the meatballs and more sauce, and finish with Locatelli and torn basil.

MARIUCH SAYS

The meatballs go in the sauce, not on top of the pasta like a hat. They need time to get to know each other.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Brown the meat.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Brown the beef and sausage, breaking them up, until cooked through. Spoon off extra fat.

2. Build the base.

Add the onion and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir 1 minute. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away.

3. Simmer.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, and a pinch of salt. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Tear in basil at the end.

4. Cook and toss.

Cook the pasta 1 minute short. Toss it in the sauce with a splash of pasta water and half the Locatelli. Serve with the rest.

MARIUCH SAYS

Quick doesn’t mean careless. It means you started on time.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Brown the chicken.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Season the chicken. Brown it skin side down in the oil in a large ovenproof skillet, about 8 minutes, until deep golden. Turn and brown 3 minutes. Set aside.

2. Brown the sausage.

Brown the sausage pieces on all sides in the same pan. Set aside with the chicken.

3. Make the sauce.

Cook the onion 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, and peppers for 1 minute. Add the wine, pepper liquid, and broth, and scrape up the brown bits.

4. Finish in the oven.

Return the chicken skin side up and the sausage. Roast 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken reaches 175°F.

5. Finish the sauce.

Swirl the butter into the pan juices, scatter the parsley, and serve over pasta or with bread.

MARIUCH SAYS

This is how the shoemaker ate. He didn’t have much, so he made it taste like a lot.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the pesto.

Blend the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and Locatelli. With the blender running, pour in the oil until smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

2. Cook the chicken.

Pound the chicken to an even thickness. Season and sear in the oil 5 to 6 minutes per side, cooked through to 165°F. Rest 5 minutes and slice.

3. Cook the gnocchi.

Boil the gnocchi in salted water just until they float, 2 to 3 minutes. Save ½ cup of the water.

4. Toss.

Toss the gnocchi with the pesto, tomatoes, and a splash of the cooking water until creamy. Top with the sliced chicken and more Locatelli.

MARIUCH SAYS

Pesto never touches the stove. You cook it, it turns brown and sad.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make cutlets.

Trim any tough tendons, pat the tenderloins dry, and gently flatten thicker pieces for even cooking. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Bread them.

Dredge each tenderloin in flour, then beaten eggs, then Italian-style panko mixed with Locatelli. Press so the crumbs stick.

3. Fry them.

Heat ¼ inch of oil in a large skillet. Fry the tenderloins in batches until golden on both sides, turning once. Drain on a rack; they finish cooking in the oven.

4. Bake.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Spread sauce in a baking dish, lay in the cutlets, spoon a little sauce on each, and cover with mozzarella and Locatelli. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling and the chicken reaches 165°F.

5. Serve.

Toss the cooked spaghetti with sauce. Serve each cutlet with pasta and a basil leaf on top.

MARIUCH SAYS

Sauce on the bottom, sauce on top, never drown the middle. You fried it crispy for a reason.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Salt the eggplant.

Lay the slices on towels, salt both sides, and let them sit 30 minutes to draw out the water. Pat dry.

2. Bread and fry.

Dredge in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs mixed with half the Locatelli. Fry in ¼ inch of oil, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden. Drain on a rack.

3. Layer.

Heat the oven to 375°F. In a 9 × 13-inch dish, layer sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, Locatelli, and basil. Repeat three times, ending with sauce and cheese.

4. Bake and rest.

Bake 40 minutes, until bubbling and browned. Rest 20 minutes before cutting.

5. Serve.

Cut into squares and serve beside spaghetti tossed with sauce.

MARIUCH SAYS

Salt the eggplant and let it cry first. Then it doesn’t make you cry later.

PASTA

For the eggplant

For the filling

For assembly

THE METHOD

1. Slice and salt the eggplant.

Trim off the stems. Cut the eggplants lengthwise into slices about ¼ inch thick, aiming for 12 broad slices suitable for rolling. Keep the narrow end pieces for another use.

Lay the slices on a rack over a sheet pan and sprinkle both sides with the teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Blot away the moisture and pat the slices thoroughly dry.

2. Fry the slices.

Put the flour in a shallow dish. Coat each eggplant slice lightly and shake off the excess.

Heat about ¼ inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat to approximately 350°F. Fry a few slices at a time, about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until lightly golden and flexible enough to roll. Adjust the heat as needed and add more oil between batches, allowing it to return to temperature.

Transfer the slices to a wire rack over a sheet pan. Let them cool enough to handle.

3. Mix the filling.

Combine the drained ricotta, egg, ½ cup mozzarella, ½ cup Locatelli, parsley, and pepper. Stir until evenly mixed. The cheeses bring salt, so there is no need to add more here.

4. Prepare the baking dish.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread 1 cup of marinara across the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

5. Fill and roll.

Divide the filling evenly among the eggplant slices, using about ¼ cup per slice. Place it near the wide end and roll the eggplant around it without squeezing.

Arrange the rolls seam side down in the dish. If a slice tears, overlap the torn section and place that part underneath.

6. Add sauce and cheese.

Spoon the remaining 2 cups of marinara over and between the rolls. Scatter the remaining mozzarella and the ¼ cup Locatelli over the top.

7. Bake.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce bubbles, the cheese melts, and the center of the filling reaches 160°F.

8. Rest and serve.

Let the rollatini stand for 10 minutes before serving. Finish with torn basil and spoon some sauce from the dish over each portion.

MARIUCH SAYS

Drain the ricotta. You are filling the eggplant, not giving it a drink.

Mariuch’s rules

• Choose firm eggplants with enough width to make useful slices.

• Cut evenly. Thick slices resist rolling; very thin ones tear.

• Dry the salted eggplant thoroughly before it goes near hot oil.

• Fry until tender and flexible, rather than crisp.

• Divide the filling before you start rolling so the last slice gets its share.

• Keep the seams underneath and give the finished dish time to rest.

One-trip shopping list

MARIUCH’S RULE

The eggplant should be tender enough to cut with the side of your fork.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Salt and fry the eggplant.

Salt the slices 30 minutes and pat dry. Bread in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs mixed with Locatelli. Fry until golden and drain on a rack.

2. Build the towers.

Heat the oven to 375°F. On a lined sheet pan, start each tower with an eggplant round. Add mozzarella, tomato, and a basil leaf. Repeat once, then top with a third eggplant round.

3. Bake.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is melting and the towers are hot through.

4. Plate them.

Spoon warm marinara on each plate, set a tower in the center, and finish with a basil leaf, a little Locatelli, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze if you like. Serve with pasta on the side.

MARIUCH SAYS

Build it straight. If it leans, it looks like it had wine before dinner.

PASTA

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the filling.

Cheese: mix all the cheese filling ingredients. Meat: cook the pork until done, cool, then mix with the prosciutto, mortadella, Locatelli, egg, and nutmeg until it forms a paste.

2. Roll and cut.

Roll the dough very thin and cut into 2-inch squares. Keep the dough you aren’t using covered so it doesn’t dry out.

3. Fill and fold.

Put ½ teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Fold it into a triangle and press the edges. Wrap the two bottom corners around your fingertip and pinch them together into a ring.

4. Cook.

Simmer in broth or salted water 3 to 4 minutes, until tender.

5. Serve.

Ladle into bowls with the hot broth, or toss with sauce and Locatelli.

MARIUCH SAYS

Tortellini is how you get the grandchildren to sit still. Give them a job and a little square of dough.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the noodles.

Boil the noodles 2 minutes less than the package says. Lay them flat on oiled sheet pans.

2. Mix the ricotta.

Stir the ricotta, eggs, 1 cup of the Locatelli, the parsley, and the pepper together.

3. Build it.

Heat the oven to 375°F. In a deep 9 × 13-inch pan, spread 1½ cups of sauce. Layer noodles, a third of the ricotta, a quarter of the mozzarella, and sauce. Repeat twice.

4. Top it.

Finish with noodles, the rest of the sauce, the last of the mozzarella, and the rest of the Locatelli.

5. Bake.

Cover with foil (tent it so it doesn’t touch the cheese) and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until bubbling and browned and the center reaches 165°F.

6. Rest it.

Let it rest at least 30 minutes before cutting.

MARIUCH SAYS

The corner piece goes to whoever did the dishes last time. That’s the law in this house.

FROM THE OVEN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Roast the vegetables.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the vegetables with the oil, salt, and pepper on two sheet pans. Roast 25 minutes, until browned at the edges.

2. Cook the noodles.

Boil 2 minutes short of the package time and lay flat on oiled pans.

3. Mix the ricotta.

Stir the ricotta, egg, ½ cup of the Locatelli, and torn basil together.

4. Build it.

Lower the oven to 375°F. Layer sauce, noodles, ricotta, vegetables, mozzarella, and sauce. Repeat three times. Top with noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and the rest of the Locatelli.

5. Bake and rest.

Cover and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more, until bubbling. Rest 30 minutes.

MARIUCH SAYS

It has vegetables, so it’s healthy. Have a second piece.

FROM THE OVEN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the white sauce.

Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring, until thick, about 6 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

2. Make the filling.

Mix the spinach, ricotta, eggs, and ½ cup of the Locatelli.

3. Cook the noodles.

Boil 2 minutes short of the package time.

4. Build it.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread white sauce in the pan. Layer noodles, spinach-ricotta, a ribbon of marinara, mozzarella, and white sauce. Repeat three times, finishing with white sauce, mozzarella, and Locatelli.

5. Bake and rest.

Cover and bake 40 minutes, uncover and bake 20 more, until golden. Rest 30 minutes.

MARIUCH SAYS

Squeeze the spinach until your arms hurt. Then squeeze it again.

FROM THE OVEN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the ziti.

Boil the ziti 2 minutes short of al dente. Drain.

2. Mix the ricotta.

Stir the ricotta, egg, ½ cup of the Locatelli, and parsley together.

3. Toss.

Toss the ziti with 6 cups of the sauce and half the mozzarella.

4. Layer.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread half the ziti in a deep 9 × 13-inch dish. Dot with spoonfuls of the ricotta. Add the rest of the ziti, the remaining sauce, mozzarella, and Locatelli.

5. Bake.

Cover and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until bubbling and golden on top.

MARIUCH SAYS

Make two. One for the party, one for the people who show up after the party.

FROM THE OVEN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Parboil the shells.

Boil the manicotti 4 minutes, just until bendable. Drain and lay them flat on an oiled sheet pan so they don’t stick.

2. Make the filling.

Mix the ricotta, 1½ cups mozzarella, ½ cup Locatelli, egg, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

3. Fill them.

Spoon the filling into a zip-top bag, snip the corner, and pipe it into each shell.

4. Bake.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread 2 cups sauce in a baking dish. Line up the manicotti, cover with the rest of the sauce, and top with mozzarella and Locatelli. Cover and bake 30 minutes, uncover and bake 15 more, until bubbling.

MARIUCH SAYS

Use the plastic bag. Who has time to fill a hundred tubes with a teaspoon?

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the shells.

Boil the shells 2 minutes short of the package time. Drain and lay them open side down on an oiled sheet pan.

2. Make the filling.

Mix the ricotta, spinach, 1½ cups mozzarella, ½ cup Locatelli, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper.

3. Stuff them.

Spread 2 cups sauce in a 9 × 13-inch dish. Fill each shell with a heaping tablespoon of filling and line them up in rows.

4. Bake.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Spoon the rest of the sauce over, top with mozzarella and Locatelli. Cover and bake 25 minutes, uncover and bake 15 more. Finish with torn basil.

MARIUCH SAYS

Cook a few extra shells. Some always break. That’s the cook’s snack.

FROM THE OVEN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the rigatoni.

Boil 3 minutes short of the package time. Drain and toss with a little oil.

2. Make the filling.

Brown the sausage, breaking it up very fine, cooked through to 160°F. Cool, then mix with the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Locatelli, egg, and parsley.

3. Fill them.

Put the filling in a zip-top bag, snip the corner, and pipe it into each rigatoni.

4. Stand them up.

Spread 2 cups sauce in a round 10-inch pan or a 9 × 13-inch dish. Stand the rigatoni upright, packed tightly like a honeycomb.

5. Bake.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Pour the rest of the sauce over, top with mozzarella and Locatelli. Cover and bake 30 minutes, uncover and bake 15 more. Rest 15 minutes.

MARIUCH SAYS

Standing them up takes longer. That’s how people know you love them.

Ingredients

The onions and peppers should end up roughly 50/50 by volume.

That matters more than whether you have exactly ten onions or exactly fifteen peppers.

THE METHOD / PEPPERS AND ONIONS

1. Start with the onions.

Add the sliced onions to the sausage pan.

Cook for about 3 minutes.

You are not trying to make them translucent.

They should begin becoming tender while still retaining some structure.

2. Prepare the Cubanelle peppers.

Cut away the stems.

Remove the white interior and most of the seeds.

Do not become obsessive about it.

Slice the peppers lengthwise into long strips.

3. Add the peppers.

Add the sliced Cubanelle peppers to the onions.

Cook for another 3 minutes or so.

4. Add more olive oil as needed.

Pour in additional excellent olive oil as the pan needs it—up to roughly ½ cup.

This is done by eye.

5. Add the garlic and heat.

Add the roughly chopped garlic and about 2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes.

Season with salt to taste.

Continue cooking until the onions and peppers are tender but still al dente.

They should still have life in them.

6. Bring the sausage back.

Return the cooked sausage links to the pan.

Turn everything together so the sausage is coated with the peppers, onions, garlic, oil, and pan juices.

7. Heinz. To taste.

Add Heinz ketchup to taste.

Not a cup.

There is no measuring cup for this.

Add enough. Cook it. Look at it. Taste it.

You will know.

And it must be Heinz.

Not Hunt’s. Not another brand. Heinz.

Cook everything together for about 5–10 minutes, until the ketchup loses its straight-from-the-bottle taste and becomes part of the pan sauce.

It does not become tomato paste.

The finished sauce remains glossy, rich, beautifully drippy, and loose enough to coat the sausage, onions, and peppers.

Then serve.

OR MAKE THE GRINDER

Mariuch invented this one.

How?

Nobody knows.

She took the sausage and peppers and turned them into something else entirely.

First, take a good Italian grinder roll and toast it.

This is essential.

Do not put that wet, glorious sausage-and-pepper mixture onto an untoasted grinder roll unless you would like to watch your dinner disintegrate in your hands.

Toast the bread first.

Then pile in the sausage, onions, and Cubanelle peppers.

Spoon some of that lovely dripping sauce over everything.

Cover it with mozzarella.

Do not be shy.

Put the grinder into the oven until the mozzarella melts, bubbles, and turns golden brown.

Then eat it.

Italian Express served the grinder to people who had no idea that Heinz ketchup was hiding somewhere inside all that sausage, pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil, sauce, toasted bread, and melted mozzarella.

The local newspaper called it the greatest sausage and pepper grinder of all time.

We saw no compelling reason to argue.

THE GRINDER EVERYBODY TALKED ABOUT

Stata zeet. Mangia.

Shut up and eat.

OPTION FOUR / TOMORROW MORNING

If you somehow manage not to eat all the sausage, refrigerate a few cooked links.

The next morning, slice them into an Italian omelet.

And if grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano goes anywhere near it, there is only one answer in Mariuch’s kitchen:

Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

It is the Locatelli Pecorino Romano she uses.

Locatelli Pecorino Romano is produced in Italy from sheep’s milk, with much of its production coming from Sardinia. The broader Locatelli Pecorino Romano PDO permits production in Sardinia, Lazio, and part of Tuscany.

Or forget the omelet and eat the sausage before breakfast gets made.

Nobody is checking.

We are adaptable people. We don’t waste food.

THE LOCATELLI FINISH

At the very end—whether it is the sausage on a plate, sausage and peppers, the grinder, or the omelet—finish with a good shower of Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

Don’t be shy. It’s just cheese.

Mariuch’s rules

Mariuch made the problem larger.

The sausage and peppers were already dangerous enough on their own.

Then Mariuch did what any sensible Italian woman would do: she put them on toasted bread, covered them in mozzarella, and made the problem larger.

That was the whole genius of it.

Not more complication. Better judgment.

The roll had to be toasted or the whole thing would collapse in your hands like bad testimony.

The sauce had to stay glossy and drippy.

The cheese had to melt like it meant it.

And once people started eating these, the matter was settled.

The local paper practically called it the greatest sausage and pepper grinder of all time.

We saw no reason to object.

THE METHOD / ASSEMBLY

Toast it. Load it. Melt it.

Reek-ee’s rules

The ultimate steak grinder

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Toast the rolls.

Split all 8 grinder rolls lengthwise, keeping the hinge intact.

Open them flat. Drizzle the cut sides generously with excellent extra-virgin olive oil.

Brick oven:

Toast the rolls in a cooler area of the brick oven, around 500°F to 550°F, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the inside surface becomes pale golden and crisp.

Regular oven:

Toast them cut-side up in a hot conventional oven until the inside is lightly golden and crisp.

You are building a barrier.

Later, that steak mixture is going to have sauce in it. If the bread is not toasted first, the grinder can collapse in your hands.

Set the rolls aside.

2. Start the onions and red peppers.

Heat a very large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

Add a generous pour of excellent extra-virgin olive oil.

Add:

• sliced onions • sliced red peppers

Season with kosher salt to taste. Do not be shy with the salt, but do not overpower the food. Salt brings out flavor.

Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions and peppers are tender but still al dente.

Taste them.

If they need more kosher salt, add it. If the skillet needs more olive oil, add it.

3. Add the mushrooms.

Now add the sliced mushrooms.

Cook until they begin to soften and brown but still retain some texture.

Keep tasting. Keep adjusting. Add more olive oil if the skillet needs it.

You are already beginning to build the sauce.

4. Add the garlic and peppers.

Once the onions, red peppers, and mushrooms are where you want them, add:

• 12 cloves minced fresh garlic • 1 cup sliced green pepperoncini • ½ cup chopped hot cherry peppers

• 1 cup sliced sweet red cherry peppers

Cook for about 2 minutes more.

The garlic goes in now because if you put it in too early, it burns. And burned garlic ruins everything.

Taste again.

Salt if needed. Add more olive oil if needed.

5. Take the vegetable mixture out — but leave the skillet alone.

Now remove the entire vegetable mixture from the skillet and transfer it to a very large mixing bowl.

The onions come out. The red peppers come out. The mushrooms come out. The garlic and all the rest of peppers come out.

But this is important: Do not clean the skillet. Do not wipe it. Do not rinse it. Do not pour out what is left behind.

Leave every bit of:

• olive oil • pepper juices • garlic flavor • seasoning • browned bits • whatever sauce remains on the bottom of the skillet, right where it is.

The vegetables come out. The flavor stays.

6. Cook the shaved steak separately in that same skillet.

Turn the heat up high. Get the same skillet very hot.

The steak is now going directly into all that flavor left behind by the vegetables.

Add more excellent extra-virgin olive oil if the skillet needs it. Do not be shy.

Add about half the shaved steak.

Season with kosher salt and crushed red-pepper flakes to taste.

Cook aggressively for about 3 minutes, using a sturdy metal spatula to chop, turn, separate, and move the meat continuously so it sears instead of steaming.

When the first batch is browned, remove it and set it aside.

Do not clean the skillet. Add more olive oil as needed.

Then cook the second half of the steak the same way.

Season it. Taste it. Adjust it. Again, these measurements are estimates.

The skillet will tell you.

7. Bring the steak and vegetable mixture back together.

Once all of the steak is cooked, return the first batch of steak to the skillet if you removed it.

Then add the entire bowl of cooked vegetables back into the skillet.

Now everything finally comes together:

• shaved steak • onions • red peppers • mushrooms • garlic • green pepperoncini • hot cherry peppers

• sweet red cherry peppers • all the juices from the vegetables • all the juices from the steak • all the olive oil

• all the browned bits and flavor left in that skillet

Toss everything together thoroughly. Now you are making the final sauce.

8. Build the sauce.

Look at the mixture.

Taste it.

The steak and vegetables should be coated in a glossy, rich sauce made from the olive oil, meat juices, vegetable juices, peppers, garlic, and everything that has developed in that skillet.

It should not be dry. If it looks dry, add more excellent extra-virgin olive oil.

Do not be shy.

You may use around ½ cup total across the entire recipe.

You may use more. Who knows?

The skillet will tell you.

The mixture can be rich.

It can even be a little oily.

A little of that sauce is supposed to soak into the toasted bread later. But you do not want a puddle of oil sitting underneath the food.

A little oily is good. Greasy is not.

The sauce should coat everything. The steak and vegetables should carry it. They should not swim in it.

9. Add the basil and Pecorino.

Tear in a generous amount of fresh basil. Then add a generous handful of Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

Maybe one handful. Maybe two. Who knows?

Stir it through the hot steak mixture.

Taste it.

If it needs another handful, add another handful. If it needs more kosher salt, add it.

If it needs more olive oil, add it. If it needs more pepper heat, adjust it.

This is Italian cooking. It is not baking.

The measurements are estimates.

You add. You taste. You adjust. You taste again.

Once it tastes great, you’re done.

10. Stuff the grinders.

Open the toasted grinder rolls.

Using tongs, fill each one heavily from end to end with the hot steak mixture.

Make sure every grinder gets some of everything:

Steak. Onions. Red peppers. Mushrooms. Pepperoncini. Hot cherry peppers. Sweet red cherry peppers. Fresh basil. Pecorino.

And that beautiful sauce.

Get some of the sauce into the bread. That is why you toasted it.

Do not make one magnificent grinder and seven disappointing ones.

11. Add the whole-milk mozzarella.

Top each grinder generously with shredded whole-milk mozzarella.

Use about 2 pounds total for all 8 grinders.

That works out to roughly 1 cup per grinder.

No reduced-fat mozzarella.

No nonfat mozzarella.

Whole milk.

Period.

12. Melt and brown the mozzarella.

Brick oven:

Place the open grinders in a cooler area of the brick oven, around 500°F to 550°F.

Bake for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the whole-milk mozzarella is completely melted, bubbling, and beautifully golden brown.

Regular oven:

Place the grinders on baking sheets and bake in a hot conventional oven until the mozzarella is melted and browned.If necessary, finish briefly under the broiler. Watch them carefully. You have come too far to burn the grinder now.

13. Finish with Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

As soon as the grinders come out of the oven, give each one an absolutely unreasonable shower of Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Don’t be shy. It’s just cheese.

Serve immediately while the mozzarella is bubbling, the bread is still crisp, and the sauce is soaking into the toasted roll.

Reek-ee’s Rules

FROM THE ITALIAN EXPRESS COUNTER

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Open the rolls.

Split each roll, leaving one side attached like a hinge. Pull out a little bread from the top half so the fillings have room.

2. Cheese goes first.

Line the bottom of each roll with provolone. It keeps the bread from getting soggy.

3. Stack the meats.

Fold the salami, capocollo, and ham loosely on top of the cheese. Loose folds, not flat sheets. That is what makes it tall.

4. Add the toppings.

Lettuce, tomato, onion, and hot peppers.

5. Dress it.

Drizzle with olive oil and a splash of vinegar. Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper. Close, press down, and cut in half on an angle.

MARIUCH SAYS

If the oil isn’t running down your arm, you didn’t make a grinder. You made a sandwich.

The pizza gods of New London

When Italian Express was still a food truck, there was another truck selling brick-oven pizza.

Reek-ee tried it.

He had one thought: Hmm. I can make this a lot better.

This was probably not the beginning of peaceful relations between local food trucks.

So Reek-ee went back to Mariuch.

They started experimenting.

Dough. Water. Yeast. Fermentation.

How much sauce. How much cheese.

How much was too much—which, in that family, was always a difficult question.

They tested toppings. They changed combinations. They learned what could survive the heat and what had to be cooked first. They figured out that wet vegetables could destroy a crust, that a brick floor and the oven dome were two completely different kinds of heat, and that once a pizza went into a properly fired oven there was no time left to stand around discussing anything.

Then Italian Express became a restaurant.

And Mariuch and Reek-ee did exactly what they had threatened to do.

They bought a brick oven.

Not an imitation. Not a conveyor belt.

A real brick oven with fire in it.

Then they started making the pizzas they had been working on.

Mariuch had the Classico Italia and the Bianco. Reek-ee eventually came up with the Agita.

Then came the others—meat, vegetables, ricotta, sausage, eggplant, artichokes, buffalo chicken, bacon, pesto-minded ideas, and combinations that probably would have caused serious concern in Naples.

Nobody seemed particularly worried. The oven was hot. People were hungry.

And before long, Italian Express had become very good at pizza.

Possibly too good.

There was even a slight problem with terminology.

Italian Express sold pizza by the slice.

Except one “slice” was apparently two pieces.

We were generous people.

Or terrible at fractions.

Either explanation works.

The fire kept going. The dough kept disappearing. And somewhere between the food truck, all those experiments with Mariuch, and the brick oven inside the restaurant, we reached the only reasonable conclusion:

We had become the pizza gods of New London.

Not officially.

There was no ceremony.

But we had a brick oven, fourteen pizzas, and absolutely no intention of asking permission.

THE FIRE WAS REAL. SO WAS THE PIZZA.

Mariuch & Reek-ee’s Italian Express

THE DOUGH / PART ONE

Four dough balls. No excuses.

Ingredients

1. Dissolve the yeast.

Measure the cool water into a large mixing bowl. Crumble the fresh yeast directly into the water and stir until completely dissolved.

2. Add the salt, then the flour.

Stir the sea salt into the water. Gradually add the Type 00 flour, mixing with your hands until a shaggy ball forms.

3. Knead it.

Turn the dough onto the counter and knead for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

4. Give it a bulk rest.

Cover the dough with an inverted bowl or a damp towel and leave it at room temperature for 1½ hours so the gluten relaxes and the fresh yeast gets to work.

5. Make four balls.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Each should weigh about 9 ounces. Roll and tuck each piece into a tight, smooth ball.

6. Cold ferment.

Place the balls in individual lightly oiled containers or a covered proofing tray. Refrigerate at 35°F–39°F for 24–48 hours.

7. Wake them up.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator exactly 2 hours before you plan to bake. Cold dough fights back. Warm dough cooperates.

THE PIZZA STATION

Prep everything before you stretch anything.

Neapolitan pizza gives you about 60–90 seconds to get it right. Once the first dough ball is stretched, this is not the time to discover that the sausage is raw, the spinach is wet, or the ricotta is still hiding behind the milk.

The three core bases

• San Marzano tomato sauce: Hand-crush three 28-ounce cans of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes. Mix with 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt and a few torn basil leaves. Do not cook it.

• Mozzarella: Shred or small-cube 3–4 pounds low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella. If using fresh mozzarella, slice it and drain it in a colander for 2 hours first.

• Garlic oil: Finely mince 2 whole heads of fresh garlic. Stir half into 1 cup excellent extra-virgin olive oil for white pies. Keep the other half dry for sprinkling.

Station A / Pre-cooked meats

Station B / Deli meats

• Pepperoni, ham, Genoa salami and hot capicola: slice thin enough to heat through quickly and crisp at the edges.

Station C / Vegetables

THE PIZZA STATION / PART TWO

The wet stuff loses.

Station D / Cheese, fruit and finishing sauces

BRICK OVEN RULES

The oven does not negotiate.

FIRE THE OVEN

Floor first. Dome second.

1. Stoke it.

Build a live fire until the dome turns white. Keep a small active flame burning at the side; do not let the oven fall back to dead coals.

2. Check the floor.

Use an infrared thermometer and aim at the exact center of the brick where the pizza will land. Target about 750°F–800°F.

3. Know the danger zone.

If the floor is over about 850°F, the bottom can burn before a heavily topped pie is ready.

4. Adjust the bricks.

If the floor is too hot, sweep the cooking surface with a slightly damp brass-bristle oven brush. If it is too cool, pull hot coals over the cooking spot for about 5 minutes, then sweep them back.

5. Launch and turn.

Launch directly onto the clean brick floor. Wait 20–30 seconds for the crust to set and puff, then turn the pizza 180 degrees. Continue turning as needed.

6. Dome it when necessary.

If the crust is ready but a heavy pie needs another few seconds, lift it toward the dome on the peel. The radiant heat will finish melting and crisping without sacrificing the bottom.

THE ITALIAN EXPRESS PIES / PART ONE

Red pies

For every red pie: stretch one dough ball, use a light layer of San Marzano sauce, add mozzarella, then the toppings listed below. Unless a finish is specified, it goes straight from the oven to the table.

FORMAGGIO

San Marzano tomatoes • mozzarella • Locatelli Pecorino Romano

Finish with torn basil and a drizzle of excellent olive oil.

CLASSICO ITALIA

Pepperoni • ham • Genoa salami • hot capicola • paper-thin red onions • roasted red peppers

CARNE ITALIA

Pepperoni • cooked crumbled sausage • sliced cooked meatball • crisp bacon • ham

RICARDO’S AGITA

Cooked crumbled homemade sausage • roasted red peppers

VALATTA SUPREMO

Pepperoni • cooked sausage • thin onions • thin mushrooms • peppers • small dollops of ricotta

HAWAIIANO

Ham • very well-drained pineapple

MOUSSAKA

Sliced cooked meatball • pre-cooked eggplant • dollops of ricotta

CLASSICO VERDURA

Thin mushrooms • roasted red peppers • thin red onions • squeezed-dry spinach

Finish with cold sliced vine-ripened tomatoes.

THE ITALIAN EXPRESS PIES / PART TWO

White pies and the ones that refuse to behave

For white pies, brush the stretched dough lightly with garlic oil before adding mozzarella. Specialty pies follow their own rules because apparently fourteen pizzas were not enough opportunities for disagreement.

MARIUCH BIANCO

Garlic oil • mozzarella • pre-roasted eggplant • blanched broccoli • extra fresh garlic

ERICO SPECIALE

Garlic oil • mozzarella • crisp bacon • roasted red peppers

MEDITERRANEO A LA RHONALDA

Garlic oil • mozzarella • drained artichoke hearts • roasted red peppers • squeezed-dry spinach • dollops of ricotta

AURORA BUFFALO DI POLLO

Mozzarella • cooked buffalo-marinated chicken • blue cheese crumbles

No tomato sauce. Finish with extra buffalo sauce if desired.

FATTORIA POLLO E BACON

Mozzarella • cooked crispy chicken tenderloins • crisp bacon

Bake without ranch. Finish with cold diced tomatoes and homemade ranch.

REEK-EE PIZZA RUSTICO / RED

San Marzano tomatoes • mozzarella • fresh minced garlic

After baking, add cold sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and torn fresh basil.

REEK-EE PIZZA RUSTICO / WHITE

Garlic oil • mozzarella • fresh minced garlic

After baking, add cold sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and torn fresh basil.

MARIUCH’S RULES

• Type 00 flour means Type 00 flour. We have fourteen pizzas waiting. This is not the moment for a flour identity crisis.

• Cold ferment the dough 24–48 hours, then give it the full 2 hours to warm up. Dough remembers when you rush it.

• Raw meat does not become cooked because the oven is hot. Cook it first.

• Drain the artichokes, peppers, pineapple, tomatoes, mozzarella and spinach. Wet toppings are how good pizza becomes soup.

• Onions and mushrooms go paper-thin. The pizza is only in there for about a minute; they do not have time to reconsider their life choices.

• Use San Marzano sauce lightly. More is not always more. Yes, we said it. Write down the date.

• White pies get garlic oil. Buffalo gets no tomato sauce. Ranch stays out of the oven.

• Locatelli Pecorino Romano is the house Pecorino. Don’t be shy. It’s just cheese.

• Keep a live flame in the oven. Coals alone are not going to give you the top heat these pies need.

• Check the floor with the infrared gun before every launch. The oven has opinions and the thermometer translates.

• Start with a simple pie before you attempt the Carne Italia or Valatta Supremo. Learn to turn the dough before you load it like a moving truck.

• If the bottom is done and the top needs help, dome it. Five or ten seconds near the roof can save the pie.

Whatever floats your boat

Nobody ever said a calzone had to behave itself. Start with the cheese, add whatever sounds good, and if you suddenly decide it needs sausage, mushrooms, peppers, or something nobody else in the family would have thought of, go for it. The only real rule is that when you take a bite, you should want another one.

Ingredients

Build what you love.

1. Make the internal San Marzano sauce.

Put the whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Set aside.

2. Make the cheese filling.

Put the ricotta in a large bowl. Add the mozzarella, Locatelli Pecorino Romano, eggs, parsley, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Mix until thoroughly combined. The filling should be creamy but firm enough to stay where you put it. If the ricotta is very wet, drain it first.

THE METHOD / PART ONE

3. Bring the dough to room temperature.

Take the dough balls from the refrigerator about two hours before baking, just as you would for pizza. Keep them covered while they warm.

4. Heat the oven.

For the brick oven, bring the floor into the same general range used for Italian Express pizza—hot enough to blister the dough quickly without burning the bottom. For a home oven, heat a pizza stone or steel at the oven’s highest setting for at least 45 minutes.

5. Stretch the dough.

Working with one ball at a time, gently stretch it into a round approximately 11 to 12 inches across. Do not roll it paper-thin. You need enough structure to hold the filling.

6. Fill it.

Place a generous amount of ricotta mixture over one half of the dough, leaving roughly a 1-inch border. Add whatever additional filling you are using. Then spoon about ¼ to ⅓ cup of the blended San Marzano sauce over the filling. Do not put too much. It is a touch of internal flavor, not enough to make the calzone wet or prevent it from sealing. Do not overload it. A calzone that cannot close is not a calzone. It is an argument.

THE METHOD / PART TWO

Fold it, seal it, bake it.

7. Fold and seal.

Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling. Press the edges together firmly, then crimp or roll the edge over itself to create a strong seal. Cut two or three small vents in the top so steam can escape.

8. Oil it.

Brush the top lightly with excellent extra-virgin olive oil. A little Locatelli Pecorino Romano over the top before baking is good too.

9. Bake.

Slide the calzone into the brick oven. Turn it as necessary so the crust colors evenly. Bake until the outside is deeply golden and blistered and the dough around the seam is fully cooked. In a home oven, bake on the preheated stone or steel until puffed, browned, and crisp, usually about 10–15 minutes, depending on oven temperature.

10. Let it sit.

Give it several minutes before cutting into it. The filling is molten. Italian food should hurt your feelings occasionally. It should not remove the roof of your mouth.

11. Serve.

Finish with a little grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Serve Mariuch’s Marinara hot on the side for dipping or spooning over each bite. Sunday Sauce can work, but Marinara is the standard choice.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the dressing.

Shake the oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper in a jar.

2. Build the base.

Spread the romaine and radicchio on a big platter.

3. Pile it on.

Arrange the meats, cheeses, peppers, artichokes, chickpeas, olives, pepperoncini, and tomatoes in rows or piles on top.

4. Dress and serve.

Drizzle the dressing over right before serving, or toss it all together at the table.

MARIUCH SAYS

It’s a salad because it has lettuce. Don’t ask any more questions.

STARTERS & SALADS

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the croutons.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Toss the bread with the oil and garlic and bake 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and crunchy.

2. Make the dressing.

Mash the anchovies and garlic into a paste. Whisk in the yolks, lemon juice, mustard, and Worcestershire. Slowly whisk in the oil until thick. Stir in the Locatelli and pepper.

3. Toss.

Toss the romaine with the dressing until every leaf is coated. Add the croutons and shave more Locatelli on top.

MARIUCH SAYS

You don’t like anchovies? You’ve been eating them in the dressing for forty years. Sit down.

STARTERS & SALADS

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the tortellini.

Boil until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and toss with a little oil so they don’t stick.

2. Make the dressing.

Shake everything for the dressing in a jar.

3. Toss.

Toss the tortellini with the salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, peppers, onion, and half the dressing.

4. Chill and finish.

Chill at least 1 hour. Right before serving, add the rest of the dressing, the basil, and the Locatelli.

MARIUCH SAYS

Make extra. There’s always somebody standing at the bowl with a fork.

STARTERS & SALADS

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the macaroni.

Boil until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well.

2. Make the dressing.

Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.

3. Mix.

Fold the macaroni, celery, onion, pepper, eggs, and relish into the dressing.

4. Chill.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Stir and add a spoonful of mayonnaise if it looks dry. Dust with paprika.

MARIUCH SAYS

It’s not Italian, but neither is half this family. Make it anyway.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the rice.

Simmer the rice in the broth with the saffron, stirring often, about 18 minutes, until thick and creamy. Stir in the butter and Locatelli. Spread on a sheet pan and chill until cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Shape them.

Beat 2 eggs into the cold rice. With wet hands, flatten a scoop of rice in your palm, add a cube of mozzarella and some diced pepperoni, and close the rice around it into a ball.

3. Bread them.

Roll each ball in flour, then beaten eggs, then panko.

4. Fry.

Heat 3 inches of oil to 350°F. Fry a few at a time, 4 to 5 minutes, until deep golden and hot in the center. Drain on a rack.

5. Serve.

Spoon warm Mariuch’s Marinara over the hot arancini and scatter the shredded mozzarella on top. Put them under the broiler briefly, just until the mozzarella melts. Serve right away.

MARIUCH SAYS

Cold rice. If the rice is warm, the ball falls apart, and so do I.

BEFORE EVERYBODY SITS DOWN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the topping.

Toss the tomatoes, basil, minced garlic, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Let it sit 15 minutes so the juices come out.

2. Grill the bread.

Brush the bread with oil and grill or broil until golden and crisp on both sides.

3. Rub with garlic.

Rub one side of each hot slice with a cut garlic clove.

4. Top and serve.

Spoon the tomatoes on at the last minute so the bread stays crisp. Shave Locatelli over the top if you like.

MARIUCH SAYS

If the tomato doesn’t smell like a tomato, wait till August.

BEFORE EVERYBODY SITS DOWN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Prep the mushrooms.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Wipe the mushrooms clean, pop out the stems, and finely chop the stems.

2. Cook the filling.

Brown the sausage in the oil, breaking it up fine, until cooked through. Add the chopped stems and garlic and cook 5 minutes.

3. Mix.

Off the heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, Locatelli, cream cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.

4. Stuff and bake.

Mound the filling into the caps. Set on a sheet pan, drizzle with oil, and bake 18 to 20 minutes, until golden and the mushrooms are tender.

MARIUCH SAYS

Wipe the mushrooms, don’t wash them. They drink water like a sponge and then they cry in the oven.

BEFORE EVERYBODY SITS DOWN

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Cook the eggs.

Put the eggs in a pot, cover with cold water by an inch, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit 12 minutes. Move to ice water until cold.

2. Halve them.

Peel the eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Pop the yolks into a bowl.

3. Make the filling.

Mash the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, Locatelli, salt, and pepper until smooth.

4. Fill and finish.

Spoon or pipe the filling into the whites. Dust with paprika and sprinkle with parsley. Keep cold until serving.

MARIUCH SAYS

Make two dozen. One dozen is for the table. The other dozen disappears in the kitchen while you’re making them.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the dough.

Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter. Add the egg and Marsala and knead into a firm, smooth dough. Wrap and rest 1 hour.

2. Roll and wrap.

Roll the dough very thin. Cut 4-inch circles, wrap each around a cannoli tube, and seal the overlap with egg white.

3. Fry the shells.

Heat 3 inches of oil to 350°F. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, until blistered and golden. Cool slightly, then slide the shells off the tubes.

4. Make the filling.

Beat the drained ricotta with the powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill.

5. Fill and serve.

Pipe the filling into the shells right before serving. Dip the ends in pistachios and dust with powdered sugar.

MARIUCH SAYS

Fill them when people sit down, not in the morning. A soggy cannoli is a crime in this family.

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the cream.

Whisk the yolks and sugar in a bowl over simmering water until thick and pale and the mixture reaches 160°F on a thermometer. Cool. Beat in the mascarpone until smooth.

2. Whip the cream.

Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold it gently into the mascarpone.

3. Dip the ladyfingers.

Mix the espresso and liqueur. Dip each ladyfinger quickly, one second per side, and lay them in a 9 × 13-inch dish.

4. Layer.

Spread half the cream over the ladyfingers. Repeat with a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and the rest of the cream.

5. Chill.

Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight. Dust heavily with cocoa right before serving.

MARIUCH SAYS

One second in the coffee. Two seconds and it’s a sponge. Three and it’s soup.

SAVE ROOM

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Bake the cake.

Heat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch round pans. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and the zest. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt alternately with the milk and lemon juice. Divide into the pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

2. Make the cream.

Beat the mascarpone, cream, powdered sugar, limoncello, and zest until thick and fluffy.

3. Soak and layer.

Slice each cake in half to make four layers. Brush each layer with the limoncello syrup and spread with the cream.

4. Finish and chill.

Cover the top and sides with cream. Chill at least 2 hours. Decorate with lemon zest or thin lemon slices.

MARIUCH SAYS

A little limoncello in the cake, a little limoncello for the baker. It’s called balance.

SAVE ROOM

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Make the crust.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 325°F.

2. Make the filling.

Beat the cream cheese and ricotta until completely smooth. Beat in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time on low speed. Mix in the sour cream, flour, zest, and vanilla.

3. Bake it gently.

Wrap the outside of the pan in foil and set it in a roasting pan. Pour in the filling. Add hot water to the roasting pan halfway up the sides. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes, until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly.

4. Cool slowly.

Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave it inside 1 hour. Then refrigerate overnight.

MARIUCH SAYS

Everything at room temperature. Cold cream cheese makes lumps, and lumps are not invited.

SAVE ROOM

Ingredients

THE METHOD

1. Prep the bread.

Toss the bread cubes with the melted butter and spread them in a buttered 9 × 13-inch dish. Scatter the raisins if using.

2. Make the custard.

Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

3. Soak.

Pour the custard over the bread and press it down. Let it soak 30 minutes so every piece drinks it up.

4. Bake.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puffed, golden, and set in the center (160°F).

5. Serve warm.

Let it cool 10 minutes. Serve warm with caramel or whipped cream.

MARIUCH SAYS

Stale bread is not garbage. It’s dessert waiting for its chance.

The Plan

Carnevale ends on Martedì Grasso, Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. The lasagna is a weekend project, so the ragù is made on Saturday, the lasagna is built on Monday, and it bakes Tuesday while the house fills up. The sweets are all made a day ahead.

SATURDAY

• Make the ragù. It needs about three hours. Divide it into shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours.

SUNDAY

• Make the little meatballs and cook the sausage through. Refrigerate promptly after cooking.

• Hard boil the eggs.

• Set the ricotta for the migliaccio in a strainer in the fridge to drain.

MONDAY

MARTEDÌ GRASSO (FAT TUESDAY)

• Keep the lasagna refrigerated until the oven is ready. Bake it until the center reaches 165°F, then let it rest 30 minutes.

• Dust the chiacchiere with powdered sugar and set them out with a bowl of sanguinaccio for dipping.

• Slice the migliaccio for dessert with coffee.

BEFORE LENT

Anything Goes at Carnevale

Carnevale is the party before the fast. The name is often linked to old Latin words for "taking away the meat." In the older fasting tradition, the weeks beginning on Ash Wednesday meant giving up much of the rich food on the table. The last days before Lent were for using it up, with masks, parades, pranks, and generous cooking. Italians say "a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale," at Carnevale, every joke is fair game. In Naples, the mask of Carnevale is Pulcinella, the clever, hungry clown in white with the black half mask, who never met a plate of pasta he did not love.

CARNEVALE

RAGÙ

LITTLE MEATBALLS

LAYERS

THE METHOD

1. Make the ragù: warm the oil in a big heavy pot and brown the ribs and beef on all sides. Add the onion and cook until soft. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away.

2. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, basil, a pinch of salt, and a cup of water. Simmer, partly covered, about 3 hours, stirring now and then, until thick and dark. Take out the meat and serve it another day, or shred some into the sauce.

3. Make the meatballs: mix everything except the frying oil with your hands. Roll into tiny balls the size of a marble. Fry in a little oil until browned and cooked through, reaching 160°F, then drain.

4. Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into small crumbles. Cook through to 160°F, then drain.

5. Cook the lasagna sheets in salted boiling water 2 minutes less than the package says. Lay them flat on oiled sheet pans so they do not stick.

6. Stir a ladle of ragù into the ricotta to loosen it.

7. Spread a ladle of ragù in the pan. Lay down a layer of pasta. Dot with ricotta, then scatter meatballs, sausage, egg slices, mozzarella, and grated cheese. Spoon ragù over it all.

8. Repeat for about four or five layers, leaving room below the rim. If the pan cannot hold everything, use a second pan; do not force it into one. Finish with pasta, a generous layer of ragù, the last of the mozzarella, and a heavy shower of grated cheese.

9. Heat the oven to 375°F. For a deep, chilled lasagna, cover with foil and bake about 50 to 60 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 to 30 minutes more. Check the center reaches 165°F and the top is browned; shallow pans may finish sooner.

10. Let it rest at least 30 minutes before cutting, so the layers hold.

THE SWEETS

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, wine, and zest and knead into a smooth, firm dough, about 5 minutes. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.

2. Cut the dough into four pieces. Roll each one paper thin, about the thickness of a playing card. A pasta machine makes this easy; go to the second thinnest setting.

3. With a fluted pastry wheel or a knife, cut into strips about 2 by 5 inches. Cut a small slit in the middle of each one.

4. Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F.

5. Fry a few at a time, 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until blistered and light golden. They cook in a blink.

6. Drain on paper towels. When cool, pile them high and cover with powdered sugar.

THE SWEETS

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and cinnamon.

2. Whisk in the milk a little at a time so there are no lumps.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble, about 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Take it off the heat. Stir in the chopped chocolate, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the candied peel if using.

5. Transfer to a shallow container, press food-safe wrap onto the surface, and refrigerate within two hours. Chill at least 4 hours; keep chilled until close to serving.

6. Serve cold in a bowl in the middle of a platter of chiacchiere.

THE SWEETS

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Bring the milk, water, butter, zests, and salt to a simmer in a saucepan.

2. Pour in the semolina in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Switch to a wooden spoon and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until very thick. Spread it in a bowl and let it cool.

3. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch round pan and dust it with semolina.

4. Beat the ricotta and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.

5. Add the cooled semolina and beat until everything is smooth, with no lumps.

6. Pour into the pan and smooth the top.

7. Bake about 50 to 60 minutes, until golden on top and set in the center; check the center reaches at least 160°F.

8. Cool in the pan, then refrigerate within two hours of baking. Dust with powdered sugar before serving; bring out only the portions you need shortly before the meal.

GOOD TO HAVE

A Few Things You Can Buy

• Masks and confetti for the kids. Carnevale is for dressing up.

• A bottle of Marsala, for the chiacchiere dough and for the cook.

• Good Italian bread for the leftover ragù.

The Plan

St. Joseph's Day falls in the middle of Lent, so the table is meatless and the cooking is humble, until dessert. The pastry cream and the ricotta filling are made the day before, and the beans soak overnight. On the day itself, you cook the pasta, warm the soup, and fry the pastry as close to serving as you can.

TWO DAYS BEFORE

• Set the ricotta in a strainer in the fridge to drain.

• Order a St. Joseph's bread from an Italian bakery if you want one for the table.

THE DAY BEFORE

• Soak the fava beans and dried chickpeas separately in cold water in the refrigerator for the maccu. If using canned chickpeas, drain them on the day of cooking.

• Make the pastry cream for the zeppole and the ricotta cream for the sfinge. Chill both.

• Toast the breadcrumbs for the pasta and keep them in a jar.

MARCH 19, MORNING

• Cook the maccu. It reheats beautifully.

• Make the choux dough and fry or bake the zeppole and sfinge.

MARCH 19, DINNER

• Cook the pasta con la mollica and bring it to the table with the breadcrumbs on the side.

• Fill the pastries just before serving so they stay crisp.

MARCH 19

The St. Joseph's Table

St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers, carpenters, and the poor, and March 19 is Father's Day in Italy. The story goes that during a terrible drought in Sicily, the people prayed to St. Joseph for rain and promised him a feast if it came. It rained, the crops grew, and they kept their promise with a table full of food shared with anyone who was hungry. Families still build that table at home and in churches, piled with bread, meatless dishes, and sweets. Every guest takes home a dried fava bean, the "lucky bean," to keep in a pocket or wallet so they never go without.

THE TABLE

TOASTED BREADCRUMBS

PASTA

THE METHOD

1. Make the crumbs: heat the 3 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir constantly 4 to 6 minutes, until deep golden brown. Take off the heat, stir in the lemon zest and salt, and spread on a plate to cool.

2. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta 1 minute short of the package time. Save a cup of the pasta water.

3. While it cooks, warm the 1/2 cup oil in a large pan over low heat with the garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes. Stir until the anchovies melt into the oil and the garlic is pale gold.

4. Drain the pasta into the pan. Toss over the heat 1 to 2 minutes, adding pasta water a splash at a time until it looks glossy.

5. Toss in the parsley and half the breadcrumbs.

6. Serve with the rest of the breadcrumbs in a bowl so everyone can add their own.

THE TABLE

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. The night before: soak the fava beans and the dried chickpeas in separate bowls of cold water in the refrigerator. Skip the chickpea soaking if using canned.

2. Drain them. In a large heavy pot, warm the oil and cook the onion, celery, and fennel 8 to 10 minutes, until soft.

3. Add the favas, soaked dried chickpeas, lentils, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. If using canned chickpeas, hold them until the last 20 minutes.

4. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until the favas fall apart into a thick, creamy soup. Add a little hot water if it gets too thick.

5. Mash with a potato masher or a wooden spoon for a smoother texture. Stir in the chopped fennel fronds, then season well with salt and pepper.

6. Serve in bowls with a good drizzle of olive oil on top.

THE PASTRY

PASTRY CREAM

CHOUX DOUGH

TO FINISH

• Amarena cherries in syrup

• Powdered sugar

THE METHOD

1. Make the cream the day before: heat the milk with the lemon peel until steaming. In a bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Slowly whisk in the hot milk, then pour it all back into the pot.

2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and bubbles, about 2 minutes. Take out the lemon peel and stir in the vanilla.

3. Transfer the cream to a shallow container, press food-safe wrap onto the surface, and refrigerate promptly, within two hours. Chill at least 4 hours and keep refrigerated until filling the pastries.

4. Make the dough: bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Dump in the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides, 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Move the dough to a bowl and let it cool about 5 minutes, until warm rather than hot. Beat in the first three eggs one at a time, fully mixing each before the next. Beat the fourth egg separately and add only enough to make a smooth, glossy dough that falls slowly from the spoon in a thick V. Beat in the lemon zest.

6. Cut 12 squares of parchment, about 3 1/2 inches each. Using a pastry bag with a large star tip, pipe a ring about 2 1/2 inches across on each square, then pipe a second ring right on top.

7. To fry: heat 2 inches of oil to 340°F. Lower each zeppola into the oil, paper side up. After a minute, pull the paper off with tongs. Fry 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep golden and puffed. Drain on a rack.

8. To bake instead: bake on a sheet at 400°F for 20 minutes, then lower to 350°F for 15 minutes more, until deep golden. Turn off the oven and leave them inside with the door cracked for 10 minutes so they dry out.

9. When cool, pipe a big swirl of pastry cream into the center of each one. Top with an amarena cherry and a little of its syrup, and dust with powdered sugar. Fill close to serving and keep filled pastries refrigerated; do not leave them out longer than two hours, or one hour above 90°F.

THE PASTRY

RICOTTA CREAM

CHOUX DOUGH

TO FINISH

• Chopped pistachios

• Candied orange slices or candied cherries

• Powdered sugar

THE METHOD

1. Make the filling the day before: push the drained ricotta through a strainer, or beat it until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla, then fold in the chocolate chips and candied orange. Cover and chill.

2. Make the dough: bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil. Dump in the flour all at once and stir hard until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Move to a bowl and cool until warm rather than hot, about 5 minutes. Beat in the first three eggs one at a time. Beat the fourth egg separately and add only enough for a smooth, glossy dough that falls slowly from the spoon in a thick V. Beat in the orange zest.

4. Heat 2 inches of oil to 340°F.

5. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons into the oil, a few at a time. They will puff and turn themselves over as they cook. Fry 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until deep golden and light in the hand.

6. Drain on a rack and cool completely.

7. Split each puff open on the side, or cut off the top. Fill generously with ricotta cream.

8. Spread a little cream on the outside edge, press on chopped pistachios, top with candied orange or a cherry, and dust with powdered sugar. Keep the ricotta filling and filled pastries refrigerated until close to serving.

GOOD TO HAVE

A Few Things You Can Buy

• A St. Joseph's bread from an Italian bakery, shaped like a staff, a beard, or a cross, for the center of the table.

• A jar of amarena cherries in syrup, such as Fabbri. Maraschino cherries are not the same.

• A bag of dried fava beans, so every guest can take one home for luck.

• Fresh fennel, oranges, and lemons to dress the table.

The Plan

Most of this feast is made ahead. The pastiera actually tastes better after two days, and the breads and pies can be brought briefly toward room temperature for serving. Refrigerate the egg, meat, and dairy dishes promptly after cooling. Sunday morning you are only boiling eggs, setting out a platter, and cooking the lamb.

THURSDAY

• Bake the pastiera. Cool and refrigerate it within two hours. Set the ricotta for the pizza chiena in a strainer in the fridge to drain.

FRIDAY

• Shop for the salumi and cheeses for the fellata. Prep the dough for the pizza chiena if you like and refrigerate it.

SATURDAY

• Shape the casatiello Friday night for its slow refrigerated rise, then bake it Saturday morning. Bake the pizza chiena in the afternoon. Cool and refrigerate both within two hours; do not leave them out overnight.

EASTER SUNDAY

• Morning: hard boil the eggs and build the fellata platter with the casatiello. Keep perishables refrigerated until close to serving.

• About 2 1/2 hours before dinner: start the lamb. Put the potatoes in the oven about an hour before dinner and braise the artichokes alongside.

• Last 5 minutes: finish the lamb with the egg and cheese, checking the finished sauce reaches 160°F. Serve pastiera for dessert.

EASTER MONDAY (PASQUETTA)

• Pack the leftovers for an outdoor lunch: casatiello, pizza chiena, and raw fresh fava beans in the pod eaten with chunks of Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Transport perishables in a cooler with ice packs. Refrigerate within two hours, or one hour if it is above 90°F.

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. For the eggs: put them in a pot, cover with cold water by an inch, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit 12 minutes. Move them to ice water, then peel or leave in the shell.

2. Slice the meats thin and the provolone into wedges. Fold or roll the meats on a big platter.

3. Add the ricotta in a small bowl, the other cheeses, the eggs halved or whole, and olives.

4. Set the casatiello beside it and let everyone help themselves.

FILLING

TOPPING

• 5 raw eggs in the shell, clean and uncracked

THE METHOD

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix the flour, yeast, and pepper. Add the warm water and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Add the salt.

2. Knead in the lard a spoonful at a time, letting each piece disappear before adding the next. Knead about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy.

3. Pinch off a piece about the size of a golf ball and set it aside, covered, for the crosses.

4. Cover the big dough and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

5. Grease the tube pan generously with lard.

6. Roll the dough on a floured counter into a rectangle about 16 by 10 inches. Scatter the two grated cheeses, the salami, pancetta, and provolone evenly over it.

7. Roll it up tightly from the long side into a log. Lay it in the pan and pinch the two ends together to close the ring.

8. Keep the reserved dough for the crosses covered in the refrigerator. The whole eggs will go on just before baking.

9. Cover and refrigerate overnight for a slow second rise. The next day, let the loaf stand at room temperature until puffy, up to two hours. For a same-day loaf, let the filled dough rise at room temperature for no more than two hours. Do not leave the meat-and-cheese-filled dough warm for a prolonged rise.

10. Press the 5 eggs into the top, spaced evenly, about halfway down. Roll the reserved dough into thin ropes and lay two strips in an X over each egg, tucking the ends into the loaf. Bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes, until deep golden brown. If the top browns too fast, lay foil over it loosely.

11. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then turn out. Refrigerate within two hours of baking; slice after it has cooled.

CRUST

FILLING

FOR BRUSHING

• 1 egg beaten with a splash of milk

THE METHOD

1. Make the crust: mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Rub in the lard with your fingers until it looks like coarse crumbs. Add the eggs and enough cold water to make a firm dough. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.

2. Make the filling: beat the ricotta and eggs together until smooth. Stir in the grated cheeses, then the diced meats and cheeses and plenty of pepper. No salt needed; the meats and cheese bring it.

3. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease the pan.

4. Roll out two thirds of the dough and line the bottom and sides of the pan, letting a little hang over the edge.

5. Pour in the filling and smooth it out.

6. Roll the remaining dough into a top crust (or strips for a lattice). Lay it on, pinch the edges to seal, and cut a few slits. Brush with the egg wash.

7. Bake 60 to 75 minutes, until deep golden and the center is set and reaches at least 160°F.

8. Refrigerate within two hours of baking, then chill at least 4 hours or overnight before cutting. It slices cleanly once it has rested.

LAMB

FINISH

THE METHOD

1. Pat the lamb dry and season well with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot. Brown the lamb in batches so it is not crowded, about 8 minutes per batch. Set aside.

3. Lower the heat, add the onion, and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic for one minute.

4. Return the lamb, add the wine, and let it bubble until reduced by half.

5. Add the rosemary and about a cup of water or broth. Cover and simmer gently 1 1/2 hours, until the lamb is very tender. Add a splash more liquid if it gets dry. You want a little sauce in the pot, not a soup.

6. Add the peas and cook 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove the rosemary stems.

7. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the cheeses, parsley, and plenty of pepper.

8. Take the pot off the heat. Temper the egg mixture with a little hot braising liquid, then pour it over the lamb and stir gently for 1 to 2 minutes. Check the egg sauce reaches 160°F with a thermometer. If needed, return the pot to very low heat, stirring constantly, just until it reaches that temperature. Do not let it boil or the eggs will scramble.

9. Serve right away.

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 425°F.

2. Toss the potatoes with the oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan, in one layer.

3. Roast 45 to 55 minutes, turning once halfway, until golden and crisp at the edges.

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Fill a bowl with water and squeeze in the lemon. This keeps the artichokes from turning brown.

2. Snap off the tough outer leaves until you reach the pale yellow ones. Cut off the top inch, peel the stem, and halve each artichoke. Scoop out any fuzzy choke with a spoon. Drop each one into the lemon water as you go.

3. Mix the garlic, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper.

4. Heat the oil in a wide pan. Lay the artichokes in cut side down and sprinkle the herb mix over and between them.

5. Add the wine and water, cover, and simmer gently 25 to 30 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the base.

6. Uncover for the last few minutes so the liquid cooks down. Serve warm or at room temperature; refrigerate within two hours.

PASTRY (PASTA FROLLA)

WHEAT CREAM

RICOTTA FILLING

TO FINISH

• Powdered sugar

THE METHOD

1. The night before (if you can): mix the ricotta with the sugar, cover, and refrigerate. This makes the filling smoother.

2. Make the pastry: mix flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Rub in the cold butter until crumbly. Add the eggs and yolk and press into a dough without overworking. Wrap and chill 1 hour.

3. Make the wheat cream: put the wheat, milk, butter, and lemon zest in a pot and cook on low, stirring, 10 to 15 minutes until thick and creamy. Mash a little with a spoon. Let it cool.

4. Push the sweetened ricotta through a strainer (or beat it well) until smooth. Beat in the 3 yolks, orange flower water, cinnamon, and orange zest. Stir in the cooled wheat cream and the candied fruit.

5. Beat the 3 egg whites until stiff and fold them gently into the filling.

6. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a deep 9 or 10-inch pie or cake pan, about 2 inches deep.

7. Roll out two thirds of the pastry about 1/4 inch thick and line the pan, trimming the edge. Pour in the filling.

8. Roll the rest of the pastry and cut strips about 3/4 inch wide. Lay them across the top in a diamond lattice (traditionally seven strips: four one way, three the other).

9. Bake on the lower rack 70 to 90 minutes, until deep golden and the filling is set with a slight wobble in the very center; check it reaches at least 160°F.

10. Turn off the oven, prop the door open, and allow an initial slow cool to help prevent cracking. Remove the pie and refrigerate within two hours of baking; do not leave it in the oven overnight.

11. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days before serving. Bring serving portions briefly toward room temperature and dust with powdered sugar.

A Few Things You Can Buy

• Colomba, the dove shaped Easter cake, is almost always bought from an Italian bakery. Set one out with coffee.

• Chocolate eggs with a surprise inside for the children.

• Fresh fava beans in the pod and a wedge of Locatelli Pecorino Romano for Easter Monday.

REEK-EE THE MENACE

Mariuch’s Neapolitan Easter Frittata

The Pascale Family Easter Recipe

Ingredients

THE METHOD

The Method

1. Get the oven and pan ready.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan that is at least 2 inches deep. Grease the corners too. If you miss the corners, that is exactly where it will stick.

2. Beat the eggs.

Crack all 24 eggs into your largest mixing bowl. Beat them well with a fork or wire whisk until the yolks and whites are completely combined. You are mixing them, not trying to turn them into whipped cream.

3. Add the cheese.

Add the ricotta and Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Mix everything thoroughly. A few small pockets of ricotta are fine. This is a frittata, not wallpaper paste.

4. Build the bottom.

Arrange the thinly sliced soppressata across the bottom of the greased pan. Cover the bottom evenly so every square gets some. Layer the sliced fresh mozzarella over the soppressata.

5. Pour slowly.

Slowly pour the egg and ricotta mixture over the soppressata and mozzarella. Give it time to work its way into the layers. Do not dump everything into one corner and expect it to fix itself.

Sprinkle the top lightly with salt and black pepper, if desired. Remember that the soppressata and Pecorino already bring plenty of salt.

6. Bake it covered.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue baking for approximately 15 minutes, until the frittata has puffed beautifully and the center feels firm when lightly touched. It should not jiggle or look wet in the middle.

7. Leave it alone.

Remove the frittata from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. It needs that time to settle. If you cut it immediately because everybody is hovering around the stove, it will fall apart—and they can wait.

Cut into generous squares and serve warm with Italian bread.

Mariuch’s Rules

The dishes are mine. The instinct is hers.

Let us establish something before Mariuch finds a way to correct the record.

She never made this Labor Day menu.

There was no weathered recipe card instructing me to grill artichoke hearts, roast a whole side of salmon, whip ricotta for asparagus, or put peaches beside heirloom tomatoes and burrata. Nobody carried this particular meal from Italy. It did not come from Mumma’s kitchen, Mariuch’s father, Aunt Eli on Staten Island, or the basement in 1969.

I made it up.

That does not mean I made it alone.

Mariuch taught me recipes, but recipes were never the whole inheritance. She taught me how to look at a table and know what it needed. Something rich needed something bright. Something soft needed something crisp. A heavy dish needed acid. A plate needed color. A meal needed enough food that nobody had to calculate whether taking another piece would leave too little for somebody else.

Most important, she taught me that tradition was not a museum exhibit. You did not preserve it by standing guard over it and refusing to let anything new through the door. You preserved it by learning its instincts so completely that you could carry them somewhere they had never been before.

Mariuch could encounter an idea that was not hers, study it, taste it, alter it, and make it belong at our table. She did not imitate. She absorbed. Then she added more garlic, better cheese, excellent olive oil, and enough food for three people who had not yet arrived.

I adapted her.

I took Mariuch’s flair—her generosity, her confidence, her refusal to serve anything timid—and used it to build a Labor Day meal that felt lighter, brighter, and a little more elegant than the usual parade of steaks, chicken, lobster, and everything else somebody could throw onto a grill.

The first idea was the lemon rotini.

I wanted pasta salad, but I did not want a bowl of cold noodles drowning in bottled dressing and waiting patiently beside a hamburger. I wanted something that tasted composed: grilled zucchini, blistered tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, arugula, basil, parsley, mint, pistachios, lemon, excellent olive oil, and shaved Locatelli Pecorino Romano.

Once that dish existed in my head, it told me what the rest of the table had to become.

The pork tenderloin took its direction from porchetta: fennel, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon, and enough black pepper to make itself known. It would be grilled, sliced, and served with a roasted garlic-rosemary salsa verde.

But not everybody eats pork, and inviting people to dinner should not require them to negotiate with the menu. So the table needed a second protein. A whole side of salmon, roasted with lemon and capers and finished with dill, parsley, and chives, gave the meal another center without competing with the first.

Each protein serves approximately eight. Together they feed ten generously.

That is not excessive. That is planning correctly.

The rest of the table followed the same logic. Grilled artichoke hearts with lemon-basil aioli opened the meal. Peaches, heirloom tomatoes, and burrata brought sweetness, acid, creaminess, and the colors of late summer. Grilled asparagus rested over whipped ricotta with lemon, herbs, and pistachios. Bakery focaccia went onto the grill after being brushed with garlic-rosemary oil because homemade bread is wonderful, but enjoying your own party is also wonderful.

Dessert became a lemon olive-oil cake with mascarpone cream and berries. It could be made the day before, which immediately made it a better dessert. The drinks followed the same bright line: a limoncello spritz for those who wanted one and a zero-proof lemon-basil spritz for anyone who did not.

Nobody gets handed a sad glass of plain sparkling water while everybody else celebrates.

There is no added salt in this menu. That was deliberate, not an omission. The capers, olives, Locatelli, focaccia, and other naturally seasoned ingredients already bring salt to the table. The food gets its intensity from lemon, garlic, herbs, pepper, smoke, good olive oil, and the ingredients themselves.

Salt was already at the party. There was no reason to invite it twice.

The entire meal was also designed to survive an actual gathering. Nearly everything can be served warm or at room temperature. The sauces can be made ahead. The cake is better the next day. The vegetables do not collapse if somebody arrives twenty minutes late. Only the salmon and focaccia require any meaningful last-minute attention.

A successful menu should not imprison the person who made it in the kitchen while everybody else sits outside drinking limoncello.

That part came from Mariuch too. Her food was generous, but it was never precious. It was meant to reach the table, feed the people around it, and allow life to continue while everyone ate. The point was not to demonstrate how exhausted the cook could become. The point was that somebody had made room for you.

Mariuch did not cook this Labor Day feast.

I did.

But I built it with the judgment she placed in my hands: make it beautiful, make it taste like something, give people choices, do not be timid, and make more than you think you need.

The dishes are mine.

The instinct is hers.

The table belongs to everyone.

Mangia.

THE COMPLETE FEAST

Grilled Artichoke Hearts

Lemon-basil aioli • Shaved Locatelli Pecorino Romano

FROM THE GRILL AND THE SEA

Porchetta-Style Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Roasted garlic-rosemary salsa verde

Lemon-Caper Whole-Side Salmon

Dill • Parsley • Chives • Lemon-caper herb sauce

AT THE TABLE

Lemon Rotini with Grilled Vegetables

Arugula • Fresh herbs • Castelvetrano olives • Locatelli • Pistachios

Peach, Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Platter

Fresh basil • Excellent olive oil • White balsamic

Grilled Asparagus over Whipped Ricotta

Lemon • Pistachios • Garden herbs

Garlic-Rosemary Grilled Focaccia

Lemon-infused olive oil

TO FINISH

Lemon Olive-Oil Cake

Mascarpone cream • Summer berries

TO SIP

Limoncello Spritz

Zero-Proof Lemon-Basil Spritz

START BRIGHT

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Wake up the table.

1. Season the artichokes.

Pat the artichokes very dry and halve them lengthwise. Toss with ¼ cup olive oil, half the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, oregano, and pepper.

2. Make the aioli.

Blend the mayonnaise, basil, Dijon, remaining garlic, remaining lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and remaining olive oil until pale green and smooth. Refrigerate.

3. Grill them.

Heat the grill to medium-high. Grill the artichokes cut-side down for 3 to 4 minutes, turn, and grill 2 minutes more, until charred at the edges.

4. Finish the platter.

Arrange on a platter. Finish with Pecorino and a squeeze of lemon. Serve warm or at room temperature with the aioli on the side.

PORCHETTA FLAIR / NO WHOLE PIG REQUIRED

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Give the pork time to become itself.

1. Build the rub.

Mix the fennel, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, pepper, and crushed red pepper.

2. Marinate the pork.

Rub the mixture over the pork; cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.

3. Prepare the grill.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Heat the grill for two-zone cooking, with one side at medium-high and the other cooler.

4. Sear and finish.

Sear the pork over direct heat, turning every 2 minutes, until browned all around. Move to indirect heat, close the lid, and cook until the center reaches 140 to 142°F.

5. Rest and slice.

Rest for 10 minutes; carryover heat should bring the pork to at least 145°F. Slice into ½-inch medallions and arrange with grilled lemon halves.

6. Make the salsa verde.

Slice the top from the garlic, drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil, wrap in foil, and roast at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes. Squeeze out the cloves, mash, then stir in the remaining salsa verde ingredients. Bring to room temperature before serving; loosen with a teaspoon of warm water if needed.

THE SECOND CENTER OF THE TABLE

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Let the salmon stay elegant.

1. Prepare the pan.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment or lightly oiled foil. Place the salmon skin-side down and brush with olive oil.

2. Season it.

Season with black pepper. Lay the lemon slices over the center of the fish and scatter the capers around them.

3. Roast it.

Roast for 15 to 22 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish flakes easily and reaches your preferred doneness. For fully cooked fish, the thickest part should reach 145°F.

4. Finish the platter.

Rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, scatter with dill, parsley, and chives, and serve with lemon wedges.

5. Make the lemon-caper herb sauce.

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, capers, mixed herbs, Dijon, honey, and black pepper together. Let stand 20 minutes before serving; stir again just before spooning over the salmon. Bring to room temperature and loosen with a teaspoon of warm water if it tightens in the refrigerator.

THE DISH THAT DECIDED THE MENU

Ingredients

THE METHOD

This is not ordinary pasta salad.

1. Make the dressing.

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, Dijon, honey, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

2. Grill the vegetables.

Brush the zucchini and tomatoes lightly with oil. Grill the zucchini until marked and tender; blister the tomatoes in a grill basket. Cool slightly, then cut the zucchini into bite-size pieces.

3. Cook the rotini.

Cook the pasta in unsalted water until just al dente. Drain and immediately toss with two-thirds of the dressing.

4. Build the base.

Fold in the grilled vegetables and olives. Cool, cover, and refrigerate.

5. Finish it at the right time.

Thirty minutes before serving, bring the pasta toward room temperature. Fold in the arugula, basil, parsley, mint, Pecorino, pistachios, and enough reserved dressing to make it glossy. Adjust lemon and pepper.

LATE SUMMER ON A PLATTER

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Restraint is still a cooking skill.

1. Prepare the produce.

Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and wedges. Cut the peaches into slim wedges. Keep them separate and chilled until shortly before serving.

2. Build the platter.

Arrange the tomatoes and peaches loosely on a large platter, leaving small open spaces rather than stacking everything in one mound.

3. Add the burrata.

Tear the burrata into generous pieces and tuck it among the produce. Add basil, olive oil, vinegar or lemon, and black pepper.

4. Keep the pork separate.

If using balsamic glaze, add only a thin thread. Place the prosciutto on its own small platter so the main salad remains completely pork-free.

COOL, CREAMY, CHARRED

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Give the asparagus somewhere to land.

1. Whip the ricotta.

Blend the ricotta, Pecorino, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and half the zest until smooth and airy. Spread over a broad serving platter and refrigerate.

2. Grill the asparagus.

Toss the asparagus with olive oil and black pepper. Grill over medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until marked and crisp-tender.

3. Bring the temperatures together.

Let the asparagus cool for 10 minutes. Let the ricotta sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before topping it.

4. Finish the platter.

Arrange the asparagus over the whipped ricotta. Finish with the remaining lemon zest, a squeeze of juice, olive oil, pistachios, and herbs.

BUY THE BREAD / MAKE IT YOURS

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Spend the effort where it matters.

1. Infuse the oil.

Combine the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes without browning the garlic. Cool, strain, and stir in the lemon zest.

2. Prepare the focaccia.

Cut each focaccia slab into large rectangles. Brush the cut sides lightly with the infused oil.

3. Grill it.

Grill cut-side down over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, just until crisp and marked. Turn for 30 seconds to warm the crust side.

4. Bring it to the table.

Finish with black pepper. Cut into irregular pieces and pile into a cloth-lined basket. Serve the remaining infused oil alongside for dipping.

BETTER TOMORROW

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Let dessert help the host.

1. Prepare the pan.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment, and grease the parchment.

2. Mix the dry ingredients.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. Build the batter.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 2 minutes. Stream in the olive oil; whisk in the yogurt, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.

4. Bake it.

Fold in the dry ingredients just until smooth. Pour into the pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

5. Whip the mascarpone cream.

Beat the mascarpone, cream, confectioners’ sugar, and a splash of vanilla at low speed, then medium speed, until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat.

6. Serve it.

Dust the cake lightly with confectioners’ sugar. Serve each slice with mascarpone cream and berries.

EVERYBODY GETS A REAL GLASS

Ingredients

THE METHOD

Build the bubbles at the last minute.

1. Make a limoncello spritz.

Fill a wine glass with ice. Add 1½ ounces limoncello, 2½ ounces Prosecco, and 2 ounces sparkling water. Stir once and garnish with lemon and basil.

2. Make the basil syrup.

Dissolve ¾ cup sugar in ¾ cup hot water, add a large handful of basil, steep 20 minutes, and strain.

3. Make a zero-proof spritz.

For each drink, combine 1¼ ounces lemon juice and ¾ ounce basil syrup over ice; top with about 5 ounces sparkling water. Garnish with lemon, cucumber, and basil.

4. Do not flatten the party.

Do not batch either drink with bubbles in advance. Set the chilled components together so guests can build their own spritzes.

FOR THE ACTUAL HOST

Finish the Cart

ZEPPOLE DELLA FESTA | VONGOLE CRUDE | TORRONE

The Plan

San Gennaro is street food, so this is a feast you can throw in the backyard. Put the sausage and peppers on the grill, set out clams on ice, and fry the zeppole to order, tossed in a paper bag with powdered sugar just like at the feast. The torrone is made the day before and cut into bars.

THE DAY BEFORE

• Make the torrone and let it set overnight.

• Shop for hot Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and rolls.

FEAST DAY, MORNING

• Buy the clams from a reputable licensed seafood dealer and keep them refrigerated.

• Prepare any other dishes you are serving and keep perishable fillings cold.

TWO HOURS BEFORE

• Make the zeppole dough and let it rise.

• Slice the peppers and onions.

WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVE

Recipes from Our Family Kitchen

• Mariuch’s Pasta e Fagioli
• Mariuch’s Sausage and Peppers
• Mariuch’s Sausage & Pepper Grinder

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and stir hard with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, sticky dough.

2. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled and bubbly, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3. Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350°F.

4. Lightly oil a dry tablespoon, scoop a rounded spoonful of dough, and use a second oiled spoon to lower it gently into the oil. Keep your fingers away from the hot oil.

5. Fry a few at a time, turning, about 3 to 4 minutes, until puffed, golden, and cooked through.

6. Drain on paper towels for a moment.

7. Put a big scoop of powdered sugar in a food-safe paper bag, drop in a handful of warm zeppole, fold the top, and shake. Serve them in the bag.

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Scrub the clams under cold water. Discard cracked shells and any clams that do not close when tapped.

2. Keep them refrigerated at 40°F or below until you are ready to open them. Do not store live clams submerged in fresh water or in an airtight container.

3. Protect your holding hand with a cut-resistant glove and a folded towel. Hold the clam securely on a stable work surface; use a proper clam knife.

4. Work the blade between the shells opposite the hinge and twist gently. Keep the blade directed away from your hand. If you are unfamiliar with shucking, ask the seafood dealer to demonstrate or open the clams for you close to serving.

5. Run the blade along the top shell to release the muscle, remove that shell, then loosen the clam from the bottom shell. Keep the juice.

6. Set the opened clams on crushed ice and serve immediately. Keep the platter cold and discard perishables left out longer than two hours, or one hour above 90°F.

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with edible wafer paper, or with parchment brushed with a little oil. Have the pan, spatula, and almonds ready before heating the syrup.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold stiff peaks. Leave them in the bowl.

3. Heat the honey in a small saucepan to 250°F on the candy thermometer.

4. With the mixer running on medium, pour the hot honey slowly down the side of the bowl into the whites, avoiding the moving whisk. Keep beating.

5. In another saucepan, heat the sugar and water without stirring to 300°F.

6. With the mixer still running, pour the hot sugar syrup slowly down the side of the bowl.

7. Keep beating about 5 to 8 minutes, until the nougat is very thick, glossy, and holds its shape.

8. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest, then fold in the warm almonds with a greased spatula.

9. Scrape into the pan and press flat with a greased spatula. Lay wafer paper or greased parchment on top and use the spatula to press again. Do not touch the hot nougat with bare hands.

10. Let it set at room temperature at least 6 hours or overnight. Once completely cool, cut into bars with a heavy knife wiped with oil.

A Few Things You Can Buy

• Good hot Italian sausage from a real pork store.

• Soft Italian rolls for the sausage and peppers.

• Food-safe paper bags for the zeppole and wax paper for the torrone.

• String lights and an Italian flag for the yard. It is a feast.

The Plan

Christmas in Naples is cooked over a whole week, not one day. The cookies can be made ahead, the salad improves after a day in the refrigerator, and the salt cod needs three days in water before it ever sees the frying pan. Spread the work out and Christmas Eve becomes frying and boiling pasta, not starting from scratch.

TWO WEEKS AHEAD

• Bake the roccocò and store them in an airtight tin once completely cool. Bake the softer mostaccioli closer to Christmas, or freeze them now and thaw before serving.

• Order the eel from the fish market if you are making it. It sells out.

DECEMBER 21

• Start soaking the baccalà in cold water in the fridge. Change the water three times a day.

DECEMBER 22

• Make the insalata di rinforzo and refrigerate it; use it within three to four days. Make the struffoli and cover once completely cool.

DECEMBER 23

• Make the broth and meats for the minestra maritata. Divide into shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours; chill overnight.

• Cook the octopus and make the insalata di mare. Cool promptly and refrigerate; keep chilled until serving.

CHRISTMAS EVE

• Afternoon: buy the clams, shrimp, calamari, and smelts. Keep the seafood refrigerated. Scrub and briefly purge the clams in cold salted water in the refrigerator; discard cracked shells and clams that do not close when tapped.

• Start the zeppoline dough about two hours before everyone arrives.

• Fry in this order: zeppoline, smelts, calamari, baccalà, eel. Serve each as it comes out.

• Last: the shrimp, then Mariuch’s Linguine alle Vongole.

CHRISTMAS DAY

• Lift the fat off the broth, blanch the greens, and finish the minestra. Serve the soup, then the meats.

• Set out the struffoli and cookies with espresso.

CHRISTMAS EVE

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

In Naples nobody calls it the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It is simply the Vigilia, the Christmas Eve vigil, a meatless supper of fish and fried things before midnight Mass. The families who carried it to America gave it the name and the number seven, and that is the version this kitchen grew up with. Some say seven for the sacraments, some say seven for the days of creation. Most families just say seven because that is what Mamma made.

• Zeppoline (to start)

• 1. Baccalà Fritto

• 2. Calamari Fritti

• 3. Mariuch’s Linguine alle Vongole

• 4. Gamberi all'Aglio

• 5. Smelts Fritti

• 6. Insalata di Mare

• 7. Capitone Fritto

• Insalata di Rinforzo (on the table all week)

CHRISTMAS EVE

WHAT YOU NEED

THE METHOD

1. Mix the flour and yeast in a large bowl. Add the warm water and the salt and stir hard with a wooden spoon until you have a sticky, stretchy dough. It should be too wet to knead.

2. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled and bubbly, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3. Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350°F.

4. Lightly oil a dry metal tablespoon. Scoop a spoonful of dough. If using anchovy, press a piece into the middle and fold the dough over it. Lower the dough gently into the oil; keep water away from the frying pot.

5. Fry in small batches, turning, 3 to 4 minutes until puffed and golden.

6. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt right away. Serve hot.

CHRISTMAS EVE

WHAT YOU NEED