Favorite Sicilian American Cookbook Recipes

 

GIUSEPPINA SALEMI BELLINO

"NONNA BELLINO"

NONNA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

GRANDMA BELLINO ITALIAN COOKBOOK

"RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA"

by Daniel Bellino Z

AMAZON.com

NONNA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

Daniel Bellino Z

Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook – Recipes From My Sicilian Grandmother is the latest book from Best Selling Cookbook author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke. The book is a collection of recipes from Daniel’s maternal Grandmother (Nonna) Giuseppina Bellino. Most recipes are from Giuseppina, but not all. There are a few recipes from other Bellino family members, as well as from close friends. And as the recipes in the book are mostly Sicilian, there are recipes from other regions, like; Campania (Neapolitan), Apuglia, and Rome (Lazio) as well. 

If you’re and avid fan and of Italian Food and Italian Cookbooks and are looking for both well-known and popular Italian dishes as well as rare and obscure ones that offer something new from the everyday, then you’re sure to love this wonderful new Italian Cookbook. Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook makes a great addition to anyone’s cookbook library, especially a Italian one and more specifically a Sicilian one. 

There are recipes for some of the most popular and beloved dishes with recipes for Lasagna, Stuffed Artichokes, Grandma’s Tomato Sauce, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Rice Balls, and Stuffed Artichokes. Then there are some recipes of rare and unique dishes like; Melanzane Beccaficio (Savory Stuffed Eggplant), Maccheroni with Cauiflower, Timballo di Aneletti and more. 

Daniel is well known for his stories of the Italian Food, Italy, Italian-Americans, and rituals of the table, of which this book has many. There’s even a chapter on how to make Espresso at home in the famed Italian Coffee Pot the Napoletana. Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook is a pure delight and sure to please all who love Italian Food and cooking it, and for those who want some great history and recipes of Sicilian Food and the wonderful story of Sicilians immigrants families in America.

The BELLINO'S

LODI, NEW JERSEY

Circa 1939 - 1942

L - R -  FILLIPO, LUCIA (My Mother)

TONY & GIUSEPPINA

Giuseppina Salemi Bellino

Of Lercara Friddi, Sicily

New York City & Lodi, New Jersey

NONNA BELLINO 

Nonna Bellino refers to Giuseppina Salemi Bellino, the maternal grandmother of Italian-American author Daniel Bellino Zwicke. Her traditional Sicilian recipes and family heritage inspired his popular book, Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook: Recipes From My Sicilian Grandmother. [1, 2, 3]

The Cookbook & Culinary Legacy

• Traditional Sicilian Dishes: The book features authentic family recipes like caponata, cucuzza, Sicilian stuffed artichokes, maccu (fava bean soup), timballo, and mussels marinara. [1, 2]
• The Sunday Sauce: The Bellino family of Lodi, New Jersey is widely celebrated for preserving the multi-generational tradition of cooking a massive Italian-American "Sunday Sauce" packed with meatballs, sausages, and pork spare ribs. [1, 2]
• Cultural History: Alongside recipes, the book and the author's social media channels offer a nostalgic look at immigrant life, featuring vintage family photos dating back to 1939.

NONNA BELLINO

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Author SUNDAY SAUCE - The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

And GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

aka The NONNA BELLINO COOKBOOK

Amazon.com

Sicilian Sesame Cookies Reginelle Recipe

REGINELLE

SICILIAN SESAME COOKIES

Among the many culinary Sicilian specialties, these biscotti (cookies) are a real institution not only in Palermo, the city where they were born, but in all Sicily. You can find these crispy and savory cookies in bakeries, pastry shops and even in the best supermarkets of the island. Usually, in bakeries, they are prepared with lard (and, therefore, have a crunchy texture) while in patisseries is privileged butter. In both cases, the taste is unique and special because of the presence, in the mixture, of saffron and toasted sesame covering cookies, giving an unmistakable scent.

Younger diners, eat Reginelle for breakfast (or for snack) “dunked” in milk. Adults and the most refined palates, as tradition dictates, accompany these delights with a good glass of Marsala (Sicilian dessert wine). ?My recipe provides the use of olive oil, in substitution of animal fats, usually used in the preparation of these cookies. Raw sugar and honey are the finishing touch to a typical home made rustic recipe, to share with people we love.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup Sesame Seeds
• 1 cup Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 4 tablesoons Milk 

Instructions

• Dry roast the Sesame Seeds until they are a light brown color. Let them cool and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep it aside.
• Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and keep it aside.
• Whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine well.
• Add milk little by little and make a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into 25 small 2" long cookies and roll them in the toasted sesame seeds.
• Place them on the lined baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the bottoms are browned.
• Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.

RECIPES from My SICILIAN NONNA

JOSEPHINA SALEMI BELLINO

LERCARA FRIDDI, SICILY

AMAZON.com 

.

Octopus Salad Recipe Polpo

 

INSALATA di POLPO

 

"OCTOPUS SALAD"

 

 

 

 

   Octopus Salad

 

Along with Tuna, Swordfish, Sardines, and Mussels, Octopus is one of Sicily’s most favorite of seafood items. If you like, use the preparation here for cooking the octopus, and you can make the Octopus Salad, or at the point where the Octopus is finished cooking you can serve it hot as Bolito di Polpo, along with boiled potatoes or some sautéed Broccoli Rabe or other vegetable as you like it. We love our Polpo, and if you make it either of these two ways, boiled and served hot or as the Octopus Salad, you’re sure to love it too! Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

 

RECIPE :

 

1 – Frozen Octopus about 2 lbs. washed

1 Bay Leaf

2  or 3 Corks

¼ cup Olive Oil

2 large Potatoes, boiled until tender

2 stalks Celery, washed and cut to ½” pieces

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

½ teaspoon each of Sea Salt & Black Pepper

¼ teaspoon Red Pepper flakes (optional)

¼ cup Fresh Parsley, washed, dried, and chopped

 

 

 

Place the Octopus in a large pot with Bay Leaf and Corks if you have the. Cover the octopus with water and bring to the boil, then immediately lower heat so the octopus is cooking at a gentle simmer. Let cook for 1 hour, uncovered. Turn lid off and let the octopus sit in the hot water. After 30 minutes, remove octopus from the water and drain in a colander. Shake off excess water and let the octopus rest in the colander for 30 minutes.

 

Cut the potatoes into 1” cubes. When the octopus is cooking, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just slightly tender, about 7 minutes.

 

Drain the potatoes and let cool.

 

Cut the Octopus into 1 /2 inch pieces and put in a large glass or ceramic bowl with the potatoes. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix.

 

Your Insalata di Polpo is ready to serve. Serve as an antipasto, as part of a mixed antipasto or as a main course if you like.

 

 

 

This recipe has been Excerpted from GRANDMA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

 

Courtesy of author Daniel Bellino "Z"

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

 

DANIEL BELLINO "Z"

 

MANGIA BENE !

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HOW to COOK OCTOPUS ?

 

RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS

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