Best Grande Spuntino Recipes

MEATBALLS: THE SPUNTINO WAY

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Put the fresh bread in a bowl, cover it with water, and let it soak for a minute or so. Pour off the water and wring out the bread, then crumble and tear it into tiny pieces.
• 2. Combine the bread with all the remaining ingredients except the tomato sauce in a medium mixing bowl, adding them in the order they are listed. Add the dried bread crumbs last to adjust for wetness: the mixture should be moist wet, not sloppy wet.
• 3. Shape the meat mixture into handball-sized meatballs and space them evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm but still juicy and gently yielding when they're cooked through. (At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.)
• 4. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the meatballs comfortably.
• 5. Dump the meatballs into the pan of sauce and nudge the heat up ever so slightly. Simmer the meatballs for half an hour or so (this isn't one of those cases where longer is better) so they can soak up some sauce. Keep them there until it's time to eat.
• 6. Serve the meatballs 3 to a person in a healthy helping of the red sauce, and hit everybody's portion-never the pan-with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Reserve the leftover tomato sauce (it will be super-extra-delicious) and use it anywhere tomato sauce is called for in this book.

GIADA'S CHICKEN SPEZZATINO (STEW)

Steps:

• Saute celery, carrots and onion in a large saucepan/stockpot in oil over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in salt, pepper, tomatoes, broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme.
• Add chicken breasts with ribs and press them down to submerge under the liquid and bring liquid to a simmer.
• Reduce heat and gently simmer the chicken, turning them over often for about 20 minutes, or until chicken breasts are almost cooked through.
• Add kidney beans and simmer for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
• Take chicken out of saucepan and let cool 5 minutes, then cut chicken into bite-size pieces and discard bones and skin.
• Discard bay leaf and put chicken pieces back into stew and bring back to a simmer, adding salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with biscuits for dunking and enjoy!

FRANKIES SPUNTINO PORK BRACIOLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cutlets up on a clean work surface with the shorter sides on top and bottom (seam side up, if made from a butterflied cut). Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with minced garlic, parsley and cheeses. Roll a cutlet into a tight log. Stretch butcher's twine along the length of the roll; wrap string tightly around one end and continue wrapping to the other end, each turn an inch from the previous one; tie loose ends. Repeat with remaining braciola.
• Empty two cans of tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Use your fingers to break tomatoes apart, and discard firm cores and tops. Pour half the sauce into a deep-sided roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add oils. When oils are hot but not smoking add braciola and sear, rotating every minute or so, until browned all over. Reduce heat to medium, add whole garlic cloves and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer braciola to roasting pan, allowing garlic to continue cooking until golden. Add a cup of remaining sauce to skillet, and scrape browned bits from bottom; shut off heat, and pour over braciola. Add remaining sauce to braciola, completely covering braciola. (If there isn't enough sauce, use another can of tomatoes.) Cover tightly with foil, and bake until tender, from 1 to 3 hours. Check frequently for doneness.
• Snip twine off braciola. Arrange, whole or sliced, on a platter, drizzle with some sauce and transfer remaining sauce to a serving bowl. Serve hot or at room temperature. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

GRANDE "APPASSIONATO RUSH"

Steps:

• First, pour the vanilla syrup into the bottom of a cup. Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon on top of the syrup. Add both espresso shots and mix well. Add the steamed milk until cup is 3/4 full, holding back foam. Top off the drink with velvet foam from steamed milk. Garnish with cinnamon.

FRANKIES SPUNTINO RESTAURANT NEW YORK - ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the bread in a large bowl, cover with water and let soak until saturated, about 1 minute. Pour off the remaining water, wring out the bread, and tear it into tiny pieces (place back into bowl).
• To the bread, add all of the ingredients, except for the dried breadcrumbs (which you will add in last, using more or less as necessary).
• Using your hands, combine all the ingredients together. Form the mixture into golf ball size meatballs.
• Lay out your meatballs on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes in a 325F oven.
• At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.
• Serve 3 meatballs per person with a healthy helping of your favorite red tomato sauce (homemade or store bought). Top each portion with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Buon appetito!