Two Amer/Italian Dishes From "Patsy's Cookbook" RIGATONI SORRENTO & CHICKEN PORTOBELLO 🌞

[justaprogressive]

RIGATONI SORRENTO

"THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISHES," SAYS ANNA,
"AND IT was a favorite of Jackie Gleason's too. When he didn't have the
time to come to Patsy's, we would have this dish delivered to his hotel
suite. I think it's the use of three cheeses that makes it so delicious."

SERVES 6 TO 8

4 cups **Tomato Sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 1 pound)
1/2 pound fresh ricotta cheese
1 pound rigatoni, cooked al dente
I/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preheat the broiler.

In a large saucepan, bring the sauce to a boil.

Remove from the heat, pour half the sauce into a bowl, and reserve.

Add the ricotta and the cooked rigatoni to the saucepan with the sauce,
mix to combine, and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Spoon the hot rigatoni-sauce mixture into a baking dish and add the
reserved sauce.

Top with the shredded mozzarella and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and
broil until the cheeses have melted, about 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

**Tomato Sauce

TOMATO SAUCE

THIS IS THE SAUCE THAT MY GRANDMOTHER CONCETTA MADE FOR THE
entire family when we gathered at my grandparents' house for Monday dinner.
Back then, Patsy's Restaurant was closed on Mondays. (Today we're open
seven days a week.)

Here's my grandmother's version; you'll find many uses for it throughout the
book. If your time is limited, a jar of Patsy's sauce is a great alternative.

MAKES 7 CUPS

4 1/2 to 5 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1/3 cup)
3 garlic cloves, quartered
1 ounce Merlot or other dry red wine
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the stem core from each of the
tomatoes, and cut an X on the bottoms. Add the tomatoes to the boiling
water and cook for 2 minutes.

Drain and allow to cool, then remove the skins, coarsely chop, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium flame and saute the onion
and garlic until soft and golden, about 3 minutes.

Add the wine and tomatoes (with their juices), increase the heat to high,
and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaves, reduce the heat to low, and simmer,
covered, for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove and discard the bay leaves and continue to simmer for 25 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the tomato paste (if using) and add the basil and parsley. Simmer
uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic.

From "Patsy's Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1321331.Patsy_s_Cookbook

**********************************************************************************


CHICKEN PORTOBELLO

THE PORTOBELLOS ADD A HEARTY TOUCH TO A SIMPLY PREPARED DISH, AND
the balsamic vinegar gives the sauce a sweet-and-sour taste—called agrodolce in Italian.

SERVES 4

4 large portobello mushroom caps (about
1/2 pound), rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets, rinsed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Brush the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place
cap side down on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake in the preheated
oven for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove, allow to cool, then slice and reserve.

Coat the chicken with the flour. Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick
skillet over medium flame and saute the chicken until brown on both sides,
about 6 minutes.

Remove from the pan and reserve. Lower the heat, add the garlic, and
saute for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until garlic slices are
lightly browned. Return the chicken to the skillet and add the broth,
vinegar, wine, basil, and parsley.

Stir to combine, bring sauce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 5 to 6
minutes, or until all ingredients are heated through. Season to taste
with salt and pepper.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a serving dish. Spoon
mushroom slices around the chicken.

Combine the cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl and
mix thoroughly. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce over
medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until the sauce has
thickened. Spoon over the chicken before serving.


From "Patsy's Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1321331.Patsy_s_Cookbook


Yumm! Enjoy Everyone!

Patsy's Restaurant has been a New York City favorite
at its only location on Fifty-sixth Street for nearly sixty years.
It was first opened in 1944 by my grandfather Pasquale
Scognamillo and my grandmother Concetta. My grandparents
had arrived from Naples in the early twenties, and it was the
immigration officials on Ellis Island who shortened Pasquale
to Patsy. Emigrating to the United States hadn't been easy for
them. My grandfather had to go to Cuba first, where he took
whatever work he could find until he could come to the United
States. Once in New York, he worked a variety of jobs and
saved enough money to be able to send for my grandmother
and my aunt Anna.

It took fourteen years, with everyone working very hard—that
includes his children, Joe (my father) and Anna—before my
grandfather had the money to open his first restaurant, the
Sorrento, on West Forty-ninth Street. Flow and why Patsy's has
outlasted so many restaurants in a city where restaurants
appear and disappear with the speed of light, is, I think, due to
our family, and to the fact that we never expanded and
concentrated all our efforts on one restaurant.

Three generations of Scognamillos have created a very special
landscape at Patsy's, and there have been only three master
chefs at our restaurant: my grandfather Patsy; my father, Joe; and
me. None of us went to cooking school—not that there's anything
wrong with a cooking school. But our lessons were more persona
l, handed down from father to son to grandson (me). My father
says we did go to school—the school of hard knocks. Nothing can
compare with the hands-on lessons you learn when you work
with your father and you start out doing the simplest, most menial
tasks in the kitchen. Work your way up gradually, and you really learn
what makes a restaurant work.

From the preface of "Patsy's Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1321331.Patsy_s_Cookbook

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[multigraincracker]

2. I make Portobello burgers.

Take a large cap, get rid of the stem, flip over and put on microwave for about a minute.
Take it out and fill with goat cheese, slices of avocado, put some chopped greens on top.
Put it back in the microwave for a minute. Put on a seeded bun and YUM
If you look at the ingredients of those frozen fake burger and go yuck. Try this.
For got, have to blot out the moisture from the cap before filling it.

[justaprogressive]

3. Nice!

sounds delish!

[ProfessorGAC]

4. When Doing That...

...it really improves the flavor if you spoon scrap the dark gills from the under side of the cap.
That has an unpleasant bitterness that interferes with any acidity added to the recipe.
I've also used the stems, cut in half, sautéed in white wine & chicken stock, reduced and then buttered to make a sauce.
I throw the stems away to make the sauce pure liquid.

[multigraincracker]

5. I get about half of them out. 👍

[multigraincracker]

6. Use to put a few drops of Worcester sauce for

a meaty flavor.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Yep, I Do That Too

Not vegetarian but I've stuff portobellos with a crab meat stuffing. Even then a little Worcestershire or Asian fish sauce is a great touch.