SOPRESSATA AND PROVOLONE, HOLI DAY-STYLE
Since when did they start callin’ this charcuterie? Charwhat? Charwho? To us, it was always just “sopressata and provolone,” even when there were about a hundred other things on the table. Unlike regular Sopressata and Provolone (here), which was just for everyday company, this is a beefed-up version, because on the holidays, there’s no holdin’ back. This spread is also good for any party. After we moved out, there were never any Doritos or salsa and chips at our houses for watchin’ the game or whatnot. It was cold cuts and cheese and olives all the way. We remember Fran’s older brother comin’ over once with his friends and goin’, “What’s wrong with you guys? You eat like old men.”
There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Just buy a lot of what you like and keep the food comin’.
First, there’s the cold cuts: sopressata, mortadella, prosciutto, cappicola (“cappy” or “gabagool,” as they call it), ham, dried sausages from the pork store (the ones hangin’ from a rope over the counter; the more like leather, the better). If you don’t have a good neighborhood pork store, Boar’s Head makes an excellent product.
Then there’s cheese. On our table it was always a soft provolone, Muenster, and pecorino that bites you back. And if we had Parmigiano-Reggiano, we’d put that out too. Set out a few big hunks and a knife and let people pick at ’em.
Now, the olives; you gotta get all different kinds—Sicilian olives, black olives, kalamata olives, olives stuffed with garlic, olives stuffed with cheese.
You could also put out the Pickled Eggplant (here), Eggplant Caponata (here), or Jay’s Roasted Red Peppers (recipe follows). If you were goin’ to the pork store, you could get some of the little stuffed cherry peppers or maybe the ones stuffed with prosciutto. You could even put out a can of anchovies.
And no matter what, you need some good Italian bread, like the braided loaf with sesame seeds and some seeded breadsticks.
JOY’S ROASTED RED PEPPERS
The way Fran’s mother makes these is the best—she has a gas stove at home with the metal racks over the burners, and she roasts the peppers right on there. It makes the house smell mint. After that, all you have to do is add a little olive oil and some fresh garlic.
1 large red bell pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Place the pepper directly over the flames on a gas stovetop burner and let it cook until the skin turns black. Rotate the pepper so that it gets evenly charred. If you don’t have a gas stove, broil the pepper on a baking sheet on the top rack of your oven.
Remove it from the heat, let cool, then remove the stems, seeds, and skin, and slice it into thick pieces.
Place the pieces in a bowl, toss them with the olive oil, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper, and serve.
STUFFED ARTICHOKES
SERVES 6
As kids, we always loved these. They were something that we had on holidays, especially Easter. All our aunts and our moms and our grandmother made ’em exactly the same way—stuffed with bread crumbs and grated cheese, and sometimes with pignoli nuts to make ’em a little fancier. They took a long time to make and called for a good amount of prep, but for special occasions, it was really worth it. So worth it that we named our pizzeria after the things. In the beginning, we wouldn’t even open the doors to the store if the stuffed artichokes weren’t ready and on the counter. After all, the name of the place is “Artichoke”—how could we not have the best stuffed artichokes in the city? We needed at least two big trays’ worth because they went so fast. No one had ever sold ’em like that before, like fast food, and people went nuts for ’em. No kidding!
3 cups Secret Bread Crumbs (here)
½ cup pignoli nuts
4 cups chicken broth
½ cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
6 whole artichokes, rinsed
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs and pignoli nuts until well blended. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture in a separate bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the chicken broth, olive oil, garlic, and parsley.
Trim the stems off the bottom of the artichokes and trim about 3 inches from the top (so almost half is trimmed off).
Stuff the bread crumb mixture between the artichoke leaves as tightly as possible. Arrange the artichokes in a deep baking dish or roasting pan, then pour the chicken broth dressing into the bottom of the pan. It should come about halfway up the sides of the artichokes.
WHAT WE WERE DRINKIN’
The people in our family weren’t really big drinkers, but when they did drink, it was usually one of two things—Dewar’s or Coke and red wine.
DEWAR’S
In our family, Dewar’s is pretty much everybody’s drink. Fran remembers our grandmother teachin’ him to drink it. There was a time when we were runnin’ around to all the bars, drinkin’ just about anything—tequila, Absolut and cranberry, all that stupid stuff—until our grandmother straightened us out. It was Fran’s mother’s fiftieth-birthday party, and Fran got so sick off Cuervo that he ended up lyin’ on the bathroom floor, his face on the cold tile. Our grandmother, she pulled him aside and said, “You drink that shit, you’re gonna feel like shit the next day. Dewar’s on the rocks is what you drink. You won’t get all sick and stupid.” It wasn’t fashionable, especially for a twenty-one-year-old, and bartenders would look at him like he had nine heads when he ordered it—then go dust off the one bottle they had—but Grandma was right. To this day, it’s all Fran drinks.
COKE AND RED WINE
Nothin’ much to it.
½ cup Coca-Cola
½ cup red wine, preferably Carlo Rossi Paisano
Mix equal parts Coke and wine; serve with one ice cube.
