#COOKING WITH CLORIS--TRADITIONAL ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE FROM AUTHOR JOAN LEOTTA

Joan Leotta is a writer and story performer who presents one-women shows specializes in strong women and folklore. Learn more about her and her books at her blog. 

An appetite for reading and writing? While it has become quite fashionable to include recipes in books over the past few years, the combination of literary and culinary arts has been around for much longer. Many famous books, poems, and even plays, focus on a family meal or a single food.

In my case, being Italian, I’m sure no one is surprised that my books are permeated with the aroma of tomato sauce cooking on the back of the stove and that much of my poetry and many of my short stories were instigated by favorite foods or recipes.

My Legacy of Honor Series is an example of that. Meals are mentioned in each book of the series. While writing them, I remembered the strong women of my own childhood who put tasty meals on the table while conquering other worlds at the same time—education, war efforts, journalistic pursuits, careers, and family crises.

Giulia Goes to War, the first book in the series takes on the issue of honoring tradition while breaking out into modern life. The book takes place during World War II. Giula leaves home to work for the war effort, thwarts spies and falls in love with a young man who is not Italian-American.

In the late 1960s my own time to break with tradition came. Unlike Giulia, my move was not due to war or over education or about a boy. My father simply said, in response to my request that he go apartment hunting with me, that once I had finished college, even after I had a job, I would be living at home. I had already lived in Europe during college and attended college in another state. Still, my father maintained that a good girl, in the same city as her parents, lives at home. I moved my job search to another city.

Food and traditional holiday celebrations are one way I maintained my ethnic pride and identity while in that “other” city, a place where there were few Italian Americans—Washington, DC. People were excited to receive invitations to my house for dinner—hoping I would make pasta with red sauce or braciole or lasagna or …any one of my grandmother’s recipes. 

When Giulia marries her non-Italian sweetheart, I imagine this sort of culinary attachment to her culture. The core recipe of all of this is the Sunday Sauce—a tomato sauce served over pasta on Sunday and probably at least one other day during the week.

For the purpose of this blog, I’ve included the quick sauce—no meat—only needs to cook twenty minutes—easy to make. Leaves you without excuse when facing those jars of sugared chemical-filled sauces on the grocery shelves. If you want to add meat, cook meatballs and other meats first, double the sauce recipe, add the meat and cook for two-three hours minimum. Enough for two meals.

Family Marinara Sauce

This is the sauce you can smell on the pages of my books

Ingredients:

One pound of your favorite dry pasta

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 can water

1 clove garlic, sliced in half

2 T olive oil

2 T fresh flat Italian parsley or 1T dried parsley

2 basil leaves or 1T dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

grated pecorino romano cheese (optional)

Brown the garlic in hot oil. Be careful not to let it burn. Remove garlic after it’s browned. Add tomatoes, one can of water, herbs and salt. Stir. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, more if you want the sauce to be thicker.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain. Place in bowl. Toss with sauce and top with grated cheese if desired.

Giulia Goes to War

Wartime works draws Giulia DeBartolo out of her close Western Pennsylvania family into a world of intrigue, spies, and new friends in Wilmington, North Carolina’s shipyard building Liberty ships.

Giulia soon discovers supporting the war effort can include fun evenings like dancing with young servicemen at the local USO. It is at one of these dances she meets John O’Shea, an unsuitable suitor according to her old-fashioned parents.

As they grapple with the problems of their own budding relationship, John and Giulia encounter a Nazi spy tasked with blowing up part of the Wilmington shipyard. Saving the shipyard from the spy may prove easier than convincing her parents to let her marry John. Giulia must decide what it means to be a good daughter while still following her own heart.

Giulia Goes to War is currently out of print, but the author has copies for sale. If you’re interested in purchasing this book, contact her through Facebook. 

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR ROSIE GENOVA

A Jersey girl born and bred, national bestselling author Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for her Italian Kitchen Mysteries. Her debut novel, Murder and Marinara, was named a 2013 Best Pick by Suspense Magazine and was a finalist for a 2014 Daphne Award. You can learn more about Rosie at her website.

My current release, A Dish Best Served Cold, not only features a cold case, but some cold recipes as well. One of them, the recipe I’m including here, has an interesting back-story—just like a good murder suspect!

The recipe comes from my friend Tom Ficarra, an enthusiastic foodie and pretty formidable home cook. (He also provided the inspiration for Father Tom, an important character in my story.) Italian dishes are his specialty, particularly those he samples in his yearly travels to Italy. The last time Tom visited Sicily, he stopped in a small town to fill up his rental car. He interrupted the gas station owner just as he was about to have his pranzo, or late day meal—pasta with arugula and fresh tomatoes that had been marinating in garlic. Served over hot pasta, the vegetables form a “sauce” that doesn’t require cooking.

As you can see, the measurements are not exact, and Tom’s original wording (“Chop the crap out of the tomatoes!”) has been, shall we say, adjusted, for public consumption. If arugula is not to your taste, you may use any green you like in this dish; the heat from the pasta will wilt it slightly. Also, if you find raw garlic a bit too pungent, do what I do: before marinating, lightly sauté the cloves in olive oil until soft but not browned.

The sweetness of the tomatoes really balance the bite of the greens. And here’s what else I love about this meal—your salad is on top of the pasta! All you need to add is some crusty bread and a medium-bodied wine for a complete meal.

Buon appetito!

Father Tom’s Cold Tomato Sauce

This recipe makes more than enough “sauce” for a pound of pasta. It’s also good the next day as a cold pasta salad—add olives, cubed cheese, and chickpeas for a different take on the dish.

approximately 10 fresh plum tomatoes

5 oz. package of fresh arugula or other hardy baby green

3/4-1 cup of olive oil 

1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on taste

salt and freshly grated pepper to taste

Chop tomatoes, arugula, and garlic well; place in large bowl and mix thoroughly. At this stage, I season with two generous teaspoons of sea salt and several twists of the pepper grinder. Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings to preference.

Pour olive oil over the mixture. Let the mixture marinate for at least three hours, taking care to stir the mixture several times. The arugula will soften and sweeten in the oil and juices from the tomatoes.

Serve over hot pasta of your choice (I used the double twists known as gemelli) with a generous amount of grated Romano cheese.

A Dish Best Served Cold 
At the Casa Lido, the end of summer means a party, and hit whodunit writer Victoria “Vic” Rienzi and her family are cooking like crazy for the restaurant’s seventieth anniversary celebration. As they chop onions and garlic, old family friend Pete Petrocelli stops by, saying he knows something that would make for a good mystery novel. Curious, Vic asks Nonna to elaborate on Pete’s claim and learns of a relative who mysteriously disappeared back in Italy…

The night of the party brings a crowd—and a full throttle hurricane. When the storm finally passes, everyone thinks they’re in the clear—until the first casualty is found, and it’s Pete. Remembering his visit, Vic isn’t certain Pete’s death was an accident and decides to dig deeper into his story. What she finds is meatier than Nonna’s sauce…

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MEATBALLS & SAUCE WITH GUEST AUTHOR ELIZABETH JOHN

Elizabeth John writes sweet contemporary romances and cozy romantic suspense novels. She loves dogs, the beach, and books, of course! Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

In my book, Judging Joey, Madeline White rarely had a home cooked meal growing up. Her dad had his hands full taking care of her neglectful mother, so Madeline had to fend for herself unless he remembered she was too young to turn on the stove. Macaroni and cheese from a box became the closest thing to real cuisine until she moved in with her elderly aunt and uncle. Her aunt introduced her to a world filled with nutrition, recipes, and family time at the dinner table. Sadly, her aunt passed years later, and Madeline took over the kitchen duties. Uncle Mark could make toast and tea and that was all. His attempts at preparing meals became an inside joke to the two because Madeline had to beg him to let her do all the cooking after one of his ‘Tuna Surprise’ casseroles.

Madeline takes pride in her culinary talents. Just like she prepares her lesson plans for teaching her students, she preps her meals in advance too. Sometimes the meal is elaborate such as her stuffed roasted pork loin. No matter what, each morning she knows what she and her uncle will have for dinner. That is until Laura, her widowed next door neighbor, begins to frequently stop by with her famous hot chili or freshly baked apple pie to whet her uncle’s appetite. Madeline thinks their blossoming relationship is cute and appreciates the diversion from her uncomfortable reunion with Joey O’Neill. When Madeline comes home from a stressful day at work, she is thrilled to find Laura stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

All the foods cooked in this book are recipes I’ve learned from my mother. My German mother learned how to cook Italian from my father’s sister, who of course, learned from my grandmother. However, my family never said spaghetti sauce. The red paste was called gravy. When the grandchildren were born, calling spaghetti sauce gravy was confusing. The kids insisted gravy was brown. Although, my mother still calls spaghetti sauce gravy, nobody cares since her dish tastes magnifico by any name. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs

Meatballs:

1/2 cup of each: ground beef, veal, pork (All beef or a combination is fine, too.)

1 small onion, minced

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

olive oil

Mix together by hand. A large melon scooper will help keep the size of the mixture the same. Use hands to roll into golf-sized balls.

Coat frying pan with olive oil and allow to heat up. Brown meatballs lightly on all sides.

Sauce:

2-3 garlic cloves

olive oil

1 can crushed tomatoes

oregano

salt

pepper

fresh basil

Slice garlic. Sauté in olive oil. (Garlic can be removed before serving guests.) Add tomatoes.

Add oregano, salt and pepper to taste, plus several fresh basil leaves.

Let the sauce simmer with the meatballs and continually stir the sauce so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Be careful not to break up the meatballs. The sauce should simmer at least an hour, but the longer, the better.

Serve with al dente pasta.

Judging Joey

Madeline White must return to her hometown to help her uncle, her only family. She gets a job teaching and sees the man who broke her heart back in high school. Then she discovers he’s the school’s Safety Officer and his nephew is her student! Madeline’s determined to clear the air with him and hopes they can be civil to one another. When she builds up the courage for a painful reunion, she is shocked that he doesn’t remember her.

Officer Joey O’Neill is committed to his job, so after the beautiful redhead accuses him of the contrary, he takes offense. When Madeline informs him they’ve met before, he insists she’s mistaken. Although his family wants him to settle down and judges his carefree bachelorhood lifestyle, it doesn’t mean he forgets the people in his life. Past or present.

Like years before, people begin to whisper about her when things go missing in the school. Joey starts to wonder if what they say is true. As the past comes back to haunt Madeline, she struggles with a secret that jeopardizes her job and hopes she can trust Joey. Has he finally out grown being a wise-cracking jock?

Buy Link  

COOKING WITH CLORIS--CHICKEN CACCIATORE WITH GUEST AUTHOR CAROLINE MICKELSON

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_9797080_cacciatore.html'>yatomo / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Caroline Mickelson has attending graduate school in a Scottish castle, ridden a camel around the Pyramids in Giza, and taken a best-in-a-lifetime road trip to Graceland. She also writes the Little Italy mystery series. Learn more about her and her books at her website. Today she joins us to share a recipe for chicken cacciatore and a little bit about From Mangia to Murder.

One of the most enjoyable parts of having published the first book in my Little Italy cozy mystery is hearing from readers. Some of them are Italian-Americans, some aren’t, and I enjoy hearing what they thought of my book. One comment that I’ve heard many times is, “All the food in your book brings back so many memories.” Because my own grandfather was Italian-American, I know just what they mean when they reminisce about family gatherings and holidays that center around family and food.

My main character, Sophia Mancini, could say much the same. Sophia’s best quality is that she cares deeply about her family. Naturally, this is the quality that gets her into trouble when she decides to play amateur sleuth after a chef is killed at a restaurant where her family is celebrating the opening of their new private detective agency. On the menu that night was zuppa di ceci (creamy chick pea soup), pasta with mascarpone, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach, followed by gnocchi caprese and finally chicken cacciatore. Throughout the book, the characters sit and hash out the mystery over – what else? – food. Coming up with new-to-me recipes to try has been a fun part of the research for both this book and the next in the series, Lights Out in Little Italy, which takes place at a dinner party where one dinner guest doesn’t survive the meal.

Chicken Cacciatore

(four servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3-4 lbs cubed chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 chopped onion

2-3 minced garlic cloves

1 chopped green pepper

1 12-16 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

2 cups sliced mushrooms

Oregano, salt and pepper to taste

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes and mix until coated. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the chicken until browned. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Sauté the garlic, onion, and green pepper in the skillet until all are lightly browned. Return chicken to the skillet. Add tomatoes and wine. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper as desired and simmer for another 10-12 minutes. Serve over pasta or with a salad and fresh loaf of garlic or Italian bread.

From Mangia to Murder

Little Italy, 1946 - Sophia Mancini would have enjoyed the grand opening celebration of her family's private detective agency if the volatile chef at Vincenzo's Ristorante had actually survived the meal. But before Sophia's chilled spoon hit the spumoni, someone plunged a knife into Vincenzo's back, and the word on everyone's lips went from mangia to murder.

Sophia soon finds herself trailing crime boss Frankie Vidoni, chatting with his mouthy mistress Maria, and dodging henchman Mooch DiMuccio. She's suspicious of Vincenzo's widow Stella and his assistant chef Eugene because they don't appear the least bit dismayed by Vincenzo's passing.

There is no conversation Sophia won't eavesdrop on, no question shewon't ask, and no danger she won't face to find the killer.

Buy Links

paperback

ebook

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR ALICE LOWEECEY

Mystery author Alice Loweecey is a former nun who went from the convent to playing prostitutes on stage to accepting her husband’s marriage proposal on the second date. Her teenage sons clamor for dramatic roles in her next book, but she keeps threatening them with Redshirt cameos. Force of Habit is her first book in her Falcone and Driscoll Investigation series. The second, Back in the Habit, is already available for preorder at Amazon, and arrives in stores on Feb. 8, 2012. Learn more about Alice and her books at her website.

Alice has generously offered copies of Force of Habit to two lucky readers who post comments this week. -- AP

Italian women + food = Enough to feed an army. It’s not a cliché if it’s true, right? I come from a long line of Italian women who bring new meaning to the words, “Eat! There’s plenty more!”

I also write a mystery series starring Giulia Falcone, ex-nun, private investigator at Driscoll Investigations, and Italian woman who cooks. In the convent, Giulia had no problem cooking for a dozen nuns. Now that she’s on her own, she’s had to learn how to cook small.

The thing is, cooking is one way we show our families how much we love them. My maternal grandmother used to make homemade manicotti for Christmas. My mother has a way with chicken cutlets. My paternal grandmother taught me how to make sausage bread. And of course we all make sauce.

Like Giulia, I grow my own tomatoes, garlic, and herbs for my cooking. Giulia’s on-again, off-again romance with her boss (Frank Driscoll of Driscoll Investigations) doesn’t lend itself to cozy suppers over spaghetti and garlic bread. Because (she says) making a scratch meal for a man is a sign that the relationship is intimate. I agree. One of the first gifts I presented to my future husband was homemade chocolate chip cookies.

In my first book, Force of Habit, Giulia and Frank had just begun a tentative romance. In my second, Back in the Habit, Giulia goes undercover in her old convent, and Frank has trouble seeing the Giulia he knows under the habit and veil. But she pushes this potential issue to the back burner as she goes back behind the wall and finds power-mongering, suicide, drugs, and lousy institutional food. (In the interest of fairness, I will say that I encountered no drugs or suicides during my years in the convent.)

But lousy institutional food? Plenty of it. Fake eggs in particular are a crime against humanity. Thus Giulia, now that she’s out in the world again, makes it a point to cook real food that people want to eat, despite her tight budget. People angle for weeks to be the recipient of one of her home-baked or home-canned Christmas gifts.

Back in the Habit won’t feature any of Giulia’s cooking, just longing for food that doesn’t taste like cardboard. And intrigue, backstabbing, catfights, and gratuitous pawing of lacy underwear. (This isn’t your great-grandmother’s convent!)

But in the spirit of all Italian women everywhere, here’s one of Giulia’s family recipes. She—and I—hope you enjoy it:

Sausage Bread

Oven 375^o

45 minutes

1 lb pizza dough

1 lb cooked, crumbled sausage

2 C shredded mozzarella

Divide dough in half. Roll the first half in a rectangle with a rolling pin. Sprinkle half the sausage over the dough, then sprinkle half the cheese over the sausage. Roll up like a jelly roll; seal. Repeat for second half of dough.  Bake till nicely browned, 35-45 minutes. (The "tap on the bottom for the hollow sound" test does not work for this.)

Thanks, Alice. Sounds yummy! What do you think, readers? Post a comment to enter the drawing for one of two copies of Force of Habit. Include your email address or check back on Sunday to see if you’re the winner. -- AP