Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (40 page)

¼ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives

3 anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup
Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1.
Wash the escarole well in several changes of cold water to remove all the grit. Place the wet escarole in a large saucepan and heat over high heat until steaming. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the escarole has completely wilted, about 10 minutes. Drain well.

2.
Heat ½ cup of the oil and the garlic together in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the raisins, capers, pine nuts, olives, and anchovies. Add the escarole, mix well, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the escarole is very tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Just before serving, reheat over medium heat, stirring often, until hot, about 3 minutes.

3.
Position a broiler rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler to high. Spread the escarole in a flameproof baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and drizzle with the remaining oil. Broil until the crumbs are toasted, about 1 minute, watching carefully to avoid burning. Serve hot.

^◆
Christmas Dinner
^◆

Eggplant Caponata

Neapolitan Meatball and Rice Pie

Meatball Lasagna

Crown Roast of Pork with Sausage Stuffing

Giambotta

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Onions

Roasted Broccoli Rabe with Olives, Cherry Peppers, Capers, and Anchovies

Yummy Butter Cookies

Fried Bows

Anise Biscotti

Struffoli

Christmas was a very special day to us because it was the one holiday for which we always closed, and the entire family could be together. Dinner was actually lunch, starting about 1
P.M.
after everyone returned from Mass. It was a meal eaten in waves, not courses.

First, a huge antipasti spread with salami, cheeses, pickled vegetables, and always Grandma’s caponata with toasted bread, was spread out. You could fill up on that alone! Next came a pasta course with manicotti or lasagna augmented with meatball and rice pie. To “open up our appetites” for the next onslaught of food, my grandfather would pass around sticks of fresh fennel to munch on. And then came a roast of some kind, and an array of side dishes.

Dessert was always a beautiful selection of cookies from various women in the family, each presenting their specialty. Even if we were too full, a platter of struffoli, the tiny fried dough balls stuck together with honey syrup, was brought out to nibble at while we sipped our last cup of coffee. This was my favorite part of the meal because my grandfather would make me feel like a grown-up by giving me a tiny sip of the Sambuca that he always drank with his espresso.

Neapolitan Meatball and Rice Pie

MAKES 10 TO 12 FIRST-COURSE SERVINGS

Patsy used to make this for my grandmother Concetta’s name day and other family holidays. We enjoyed it in small slices as a first course, but you can have it as a main dish as long as you serve something light, like salad, as the side dish. You might ask why we don’t use short-grain Italian rice here. It is simply because Grandpa couldn’t get imported rice, and we got used to making it with the long-grain American variety.

2 cups long-grain rice

Salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon softened, 3 tablespoons cut into small cubes

½ cup plain dried bread crumbs

7 cups
Tomato Sauce

½ recipe
Meatball-tini

1 cup (½-inch) cubed fresh mozzarella cheese

½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 cup thawed frozen green peas

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving

½ cup fresh basil chiffonade (see
here
), for serving

1.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and cook (like pasta) until al dente, about 17 minutes. Drain, but do not rinse. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool, stirring often.

2.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter the inside of a 9½-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch sides. Coat with ¼ cup of the bread crumbs, tapping out the excess.

3.
Add 4 cups of the tomato sauce, the mini meatballs, mozzarella, ½ cup of the Pecorino Romano, the peas, parsley, and 2 tablespoons of the basil to the rice and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gradually stir in the eggs. Spread in the pan. Sift the remaining ¼ cup bread crumbs through a wire strainer over the top of the rice mixture. Dot with the cubed butter. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until the pie is lightly browned and looks set in the center when the pan is shaken lightly, about 50 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.

4.
To serve, heat the 3 cups of remaining tomato sauce. Remove the sides of the pan. Cut the pie into wedges and transfer each to a salad plate. Spoon the tomato sauce over each and sprinkle with basil and Pecorino Romano. Serve warm.

Crown Roast of Pork with Sausage Stuffing

MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVINGS

My dad likes to make a big roast for the holidays, and crown roast of pork is one of his specialties. It is an impressive roast, made from two pork loins tied together in a large round. Be sure to order it ahead from your butcher. The open center of a crown roast is perfect for a stuffing, and we usually use our
Scognamillo Italian Sausage and Bacon Stuffing
. For a lighter alternative, you can fill the center with sautéed seasonal vegetables or even a big batch of
Christmas Escarole
.

One 8½-pound crown roast of pork, with 12 to 14 ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Scognamillo Italian
Sausage and Bacon Stuffing

½ cup dry white wine

2 recipes
Quick Brown Sauce
(about 3½ cups

1.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

2.
Place the roast in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably. In a small bowl, combine the sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Brush the roast with the oil, then season all over with the herb mixture. Le the roast stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3.
Loosely fill the center of the roast with some of the stuffing. Transfer the remaining stuffing to the oiled baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate. Cover the exposed stuffing in the roast with foil. Cover each of the bone tips with a small piece of foil.

4.
Bake the roast for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast, without touching a bone, reads 145°F, about 2 hours. During the last 15 minutes of roasting time, remove the foil from the stuffing and bone tips so they will brown. Using a wide spatula (or a rimless baking sheet or even the flat bottom of a tart pan), transfer the roast to a warmed serving platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.