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MEMMOLO FAMILY
RECIPES SINCE 1859
Special thanks to Lou Flammia for all
his hard work
LA CUCINA
MEMMOLO
A publication of ethnic foods
Most of these recipes come from a collection of the
Memmolo, Petrillo, and Flammia families. Some of these were taught to me
by my father Pasquale Memmolo. Pasquale was an excellent cook with years
of culinary experience utilizing ingredients that were available in the Italian
ethnic section of Boston Massachusetts.
Most of the inhabitants in this little community
of East Boston were immigrants who passed through Ellis Island seeking a new
life in a new world. East Boston was once known as "Noddle Island", and sits
just across the Mystic River from the seaport of Charlestown. This section of
land is connected to downtown Boston via the Sumner, Callahan, and now the newly
completed Ted Williams tunnels. These tunnels are a direct link to Logan
International Airport, and the north shore of Boston.
Although most of these folks were Italians, there were
Portuguese, Irish, Polish, Rumanian, and Hungarians dispersed amongst them.
The Italian influence was so prominent, that my parents
(although born in this country), did not learn to speak English until the
entered the Boston Public School system. There were several Italian butcher
shops, bakeries, and assorted grocery stores where one could find the very best
in authentic Italian foods.
There was nothing fancy here, just hard working, very
religious, family loving people doing the best they could. Some of these
immigrants opened restaurants that have survived to this day. Some have
even become tourist attractions, and are run by the same families who opened
them in the early nineteen hundreds.
One such place that comes to mind is "Santarpios
Pizza". Located on a small corner of Chelsea street, just outside the north end
of the Callahan tunnel, they have been serving the finest pizza available
anywhere. They even have a charcoal fired oven that cooks up the best tasting
lamb and pork sausage a person could ever put in their mouth.
I just grin when a tourist begins to rave about their
finding Santarpios in their worldly travels. I just chuckle to myself and remember my father
and I picking up pizza for Friday evening's dinner for sixty cents a whole
pizza.
Being roman catholic, Fridays were meat free. We ate
tomato and cheese pizza from Santarpios along with a home made salad. As most
Europeans, we served the salad after the meal. In addition to the pizza, we
would also consume some of Pasquale's "Zeppolis", a sweet fried dough concoction
sprinkled with sugar. Again there was nothing expensive or fancy here. These
were working people that unknowingly prepared and served some of the best food
in the world. We hope you will try some of these recipes and enjoy the
authentic charm of Italy.
My mother and father taught us to cook as we grew up. I
was making spaghetti sauce by the time I was 13 years old. We called it
"Macaroni Gravy". There were no "Yuppie" pasta machines either. My Dad and I
would make eight to ten dozen large cheese filled raviolis from scratch. Each
one was hand filled, cut, and the edges sealed & scalloped using a water glass
to cut, and a table fork to edge.
Be brave and give these a try. You will delight
your family and friends as you serve them some of these authentic, old world
delights that you cannot buy in stores outside of the "Little Italy" sections
of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Please feel free to pass these down in your
family to develop and continue a tradition.
Stay tuned, soon you will find pictures of many of our
recipes as they come out of the ovens and off the stove tops of La Cucina
Memmolo. You will also experience our love of food, dogs, and classic cars.
INGREDIENTS:
1
12 oz pkg Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1 cup Water
1 cup Sugar **
Sugar substitutes...
**no sugar apple sauce and no sugar Orange Marmalade, Stevia, Honey,
Your favorite sweetener and/or your favorite Liquor
all or any combo of the above to equal approx 1 cup, this is
all to taste, so don't worry about quantity
If you have no flavored sweeteners around, you might consider normal
sweetener and add a cinnamon stick and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. |
Cranberry PickUp
Mix Water and Sweetener in Sauce Pan, keep pan cover
close by
bring to a simmer, add cranberries, return to simmer, put heat on low.
Might want to partially cover.
We put a screen over the top.
Simmer till most berries have popped.
We usually double or triple this recipe and
place the extra in seal tight glass containers. |
INGREDIENTS:
1lb Ricotta Cream Cheese
1lb Cottage Cheese
1 pint Sour Cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 Eggs slightly beaten
2 Tbl Lemon Juice
1 Tps Vanilla
3 Tbl Flour
3 Tbl Corn Starch
1/2 LB Melted butter |
Cream Cheese Cake
Mix Flour, Corn Starch and Sugar together
Sour Cream is last here... Mix Cheese together
until smooth - Add remaining ingredients one at a time at low speed, add Sour
Cream last.
Grease spring form pan
Bake at 350 for 1 hour
Turn off oven but leave the cake in the oven for 2 hours with door open
Chill then serve.
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INGREDIENTS:
BUTTER
2 EGGS
1/2 tps. SALT
1 CUP MILK
1 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
4 6oz. CUSTARD CUPS |
Poppingest Popovers
Butter custard cups lavishly. If you have a blender,
put eggs, salt, milk, and flour in or just blend in a mixing bowl, until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared custard cups 3/4 full, set
wide apart on a
baking sheet.
Set baking sheet in a cold over until ready to bake, this means until next
morning if you wish. The batter can remain safely in the oven overnight.
Turn oven to 450F and bake popovers for 30 minutes. Toward end of baking
time, check popovers, if becoming too brown, turn temp down to 400F and bake
until crisp.
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INGREDIENTS:
4 CUPS FLOUR
2 EGGS
2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
1/4 TEASPOON SALT
1/2 CUP WARM WATER |
Basic
Pasta Dough
Pour flour onto pastry board and form a well in the
center. Add the eggs, oil, and salt. Gradually add warm water while
mixing. Knead thoroughly until smooth. Cover and let rest for 10
minutes. Knead thoroughly again. Form into your favorite pasta
shapes and varieties.
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INGREDIENTS:
5 lbs POTATOES
2 CUPS FLOUR |
Potato Gnocchi
Boil Potatoes, cool peel, and mash. Mix with
flour and knead thoroughly. Roll into 3/4 inch ropes, cut into 1 inch
pieces. Roll pieces over the back of a fork to create the grooves.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.. Drop Gnocchi into the boiling
water. They are done when they float up to the surface. Be sure to
sample one or two to insure they are cooked throughout. Drain in a
colander and serve piping hot with your favorite sauce.
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INGREDIENTS:
4 EGGS
1 CUP FLOUR
1 CUP WATER
1 LB RICOTTA CHEESE
TOMATO SAUCE |
Manicotti
Wisk ingredients together. Warm small greased
skillet over medium heat. Add a small amount of batter to pan. Roll
pan around to spread mixture in a thin even layer. Flip the shell out of
pan when the bottom is golden (the top should be dry). Add ricotta by
spoonfuls onto shells, and roll edges together to form a tube. Arrange
into a casserole dish and cover well with your favorite tomato or marinara
sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes, or until sauce bubbles.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 PACKET YEAST
1 TEASPOON SUGAR
3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
1 CUP WARM WATER
1 TEASPOON SALT
3 CUPS FLOUR |
PIZZA DOUGH
Mix ingredients, place dough in large oiled bowl,
cover and let rise. When risen, punch down (that-a-lota-fun-a) then roll out
for pizza or for Zeppolis (fried dough). Makes 2 large traditional thin
crust pizzas or one thick crust pan pizza. Top with a mixture of tomato
sauce, mozzarella cheese, and any of your favorite toppings. Bake in oven
until crust is crisp on bottom.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 LB SPAGHETTI COOKED
1 LB RICOTTA CHEESE
1 TEASPOON PARSLEY
6 - 8 EGGS DEPENDING ON SIZE
1 CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE |
PASTIERI
Mix ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and grated
cheese well, mixture should be moist. Add more eggs if needed. Add
cooked spaghetti and mix well. Pour into an oiled Pyrex dish and bake at 350 for
about 1 hour. Top should be golden brown. Insert knife, and when it
comes out clean, it is done. Serve hot or cold.
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INGREDIENTS:
6 EGGS
3 1/2 CUPS FLOUR
1 1/2 CUPS SUGAR
1 CUP BUTTER
4 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
2 TABLESPOONS ANISE EXTRACT |
PIZZELLE (a Pizzelle iron is required)
Beat eggs, add sugar gradually, mix until smooth.
Add cool melted butter and anise. Sift flour and baking powder into
mixture while stirring. Drop spoonfuls onto hot pizzelle iron, cook 30
seconds, until golden brown. Sprinkle with 10X sugar or drip with Honey.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 STICKS BUTTER
6 CUPS FLOUR
4 EGGS
2 CUPS CONFECTIONERS SUGAR
6 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER
1 CUP MILK
1 PINCH SALT
1 TEASPOON OF ANISE EXTRACT |
BISCOTTI
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add anise, add
dry ingredients and milk alternately, a little at a time. Knead well and
form into loaves. Bake on greased cookie sheet @ 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.
Let cool, then slice. Arrange on cookie sheet, sliced sides up.
Toast lightly under broiler. Enjoy with good Italian or dark roast coffee.
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INGREDIENTS:
2 CUPS FLOUR
2/3 CUP BUTTER or SHORTENING
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
FILLING INGREDIENTS:
1
1/2 POUNDS RICOTTA CHEESE
1 TABLESPOON CHOPPED CITRON
-(candied fruits)
1 TEASPOON VANILLA
1/2 CUP SUGAR
4 EGGS
2 TABLESPOONS POWDERED SUGAR |
PIZZA DOLCE (Ricotta Sweet Pie)
Sift flour and salt. Cut in butter or
shortening. Add 1/4 cup COLD water to hold mixture firmly. Do not kneed
too much. Roll enough pastry into a circle about 1/8 inch thick to fit 9
or 10 inch buttered pie plate. Cut balance of pastry in 1/2 inch wide strips for
the lattice top.
FILLING: Beat eggs and sugar well, then add
vanilla. Add ricotta and citron mixture and stir until well blended and
smooth. Pour filling into prepared pastry in pie plate. Place strips
over top pinching edges together lightly. Bake at 375 degrees for 45
minutes, or until mixture is firm, but not dry. The crust should be a
golden brown. Remove and cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just
before serving.
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