Thursday, January 25, 2018

Steak Night - Italian Style

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  Our McDougal Street group of friends has in the past few years cultivated quite a nice array of rituals and traditions that we adhere to. Rituals that have enriched all our lives, rituals such as our regular dinner parties which have never had any specific name or theme to them. Well yes a theme in that they are All pretty much Italian Meals (99%) and we always play lots of great music. It’s just that they were never labeled anything more than dinner parties, so we have these, then we started Mojito Mondays, and now the latest one that I’m about to tell you about. So, the main theme though is that we share times at the table, this is always behind our regular dinner parties, Mojito Mondays or other. That’s what it’s all about, spending time at the table with friends and family, eating, drinking wine, and chatting as we listen to great music (No Rap, Techno, or Metal are allowed, “Never!”). These get-togethers bring great joy to all of us, making living in a city as fast paced and sometimes un-homey as New York, that much more pleasant and livable, giving us all a better sense of family and togetherness. We all have own particular circles of friends. For some reason or another some of our closest friends have never, or rarely been to any of our meals and gatherings. Such has been the case of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Mr. Raoul Marti. Raoul has been to a few of our gatherings, but not nearly as much as we’d like him to be, and for the fact of being one of my closest and long term friend. He’s a great pal who’s always there no matter what. We all love him, Jimmy, Tanya, and I, so when Jimmy ran into him a few weeks ago they talked about getting together for dinner one night. Jimmy said, “Let’s do it!” Raoul says, “Let’s get Danny to cook, that Boy can Cook his Ass off. I’ll buy the Steaks and we’ll let Danny cook.” So it was set. We decided on the following Monday night, and Steak Night was on its way. We went to Ottomanelli’s and picked up some fine Prime Aged Sirloin Steaks, New York Cut, 2 inches thick. I picked up some potatoes and some good old Iceberg Lettuce and cucumbers for salad which we had as a starter with fresh roast red peppers dressed in olive oil and one of Mr. Marti’s favorites, Assiago Cheese. I started the sautéed potatoes first, just the way Raoul likes them, ever since we had them for lunch one day when we were in Paris with one of Raoul’s ex-girlfriends who was in Paris with some other friends working in the fashion industry during the Paris Spring Prete de Porte Shows. The girls were all working during the day, so Raoul and I went to a great little Bistro that our friend John Lee recom-mended to me a few years back, “La Palette” on Rue d’ Seine in Saint Germain de Pres. It’s a great little Bistro. We walked in there one day, and the place was packed. The owner, Jean Marie, has a reputation for be a little bit of a Hard-Ass. If he doesn’t like you, simply because he doesn’t like you, it’s not good. So I was a bit worried as to whether we’d meet Jean Marie’s approval or not. We walked in and he greeted us and telling us to wait at the bar and he’d have a table for us in a few minutes. “So-far-so-good.” La Palette is a real neighborhood place. Not a tourist in sight. Other than us that is, but hey, we’re not tourist, we’re Hip New Yorkers. Ha-Ha! It was lunchtime and the restaurant was full of businessmen, secretaries, hop girls, and elderly neighborhood l adies lunching solo or with a friend. The place was full of energy. It had a great Vibe and we were excited, and eager for a nice lunch. La Palette is your quintessential Parisian Bistro. It has a warm delightful feeling, as any good bistro should. It’s furnishing and décor fit the part. You know what I mean? The food is simple, delicious, and affordable. The waiters are dressed in the trad-itional Parisian Bistro Waiters Garb of; black pants with white shirts, Black Vest ( pockets filled with Pens and Corkscrew) Black Bowties, and long flow-ing white aprons, as is the proprietor Jean Marie, he dresses just like the waiters who work for him. So we sit down and look at the menu. I’m excited to see that they are serving one of my favorites that day, Pomme Daphinoise. I explain what they are to Raoul and he’s hopped-up to try them as well. We both order a couple steaks with Pomme Dauphinoise and when Raoul orders a ham and cheese sandwich as an appetizer Jean Marie looks at him sort of funny, but doesn’t say anything. He tells us that they have run out of Pomme Daupinoise, but they have Pomme Saute. We settle for them instead. Lunch was great! Our Steaks and the sautéed Potatoes were wonderful. One of the best Steak Dinners of ever had. Superb! When we finished eating, Raoul asked Jean Marie if we could smoke the Cuban Cigars that we had bought. “But of course,” beamed Jean Marie. We ordered a couple Cognacs, sparked-up the Cuban Cigars, and we were in Seventh Heaven; in Paris, at a great bistro, with tasty food, a cool vibe, and finishing up with some fine Cognac and a couple of Cuban Cohibas, and being accepted by Jean Marie. Now this was one fine day. We had a great time and were accepted by Jean Marie, so when it was time for lunch the next day and I asked Mr. Marti where he wanted to go for lunch, Raoul was quick to reply, “let’s go to La Palette.” I said suprisingly, “You want to eat there again?” “Why not? It was great,” Raoul retorted. And indeed it was. Raoul is smart enough to know that you stick with a winner, and La Palette is just that. When we walked into La Palette again that day, and it was packed as usual, Jean Marie beamed and said, “Hello my friends, I’ll have a table for you in a few minutes.” It’s good to feel accepted and wanted. Jean Marie gave us the same great corner table we had the day before. So Raoul and I sat down for another memor-able meal, a lunch at La Paltette on the Rue de Seine in the Great City of Light, Paris, France, Voila! “We had it made in the shade. Made in La Palette that is,” and all was fine in the World. Well, Paris anyway!  



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Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta, telling his Wife How to Cook the Steak.

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  See how you can bring up one subject and go on a tangent about it? I was talking about Steak Night and go off about Paris and La Palette. “Hey it’s a great little story, that is pertinent to this one about Steak Night.” So, let’s get back to our latest, greatest new tradition, “Steak Night.” It’s pretty simple and straight forward after I spent the time on Pomme Saute (sautéed potatoes). Here’s how it goes. We picked up some great Steaks from Ottomanelli’s. I make tasty sautéed potatoes, just the way my buddy Raoul likes them, as do I, along with Jim- my, and Tanya as well. Let us not forget my cousin Tony Bellino who once asked me, “How the Hell do you make the potatoes taste so good?” “Top Secret Tony.” Tony was once a little hurt and deflated one time when he asked his wife Debbie who is real Steak Lovers if she wanted him to cook a steak for her one night? Debbie said, “No thanks. Danny is coming over tomorrow, I’ll let him cook one.” Meaning, not that she doesn’t want Tony to go through all the trouble, but that she likes the way I cook a steak better than her husband Tony. “Sorry Tony, but Facts are Facts” Just kidding. In all fairness to my cousin Tony, he is actually an excellent cook. Of course he is. His mother, Fran Bellino was one of this country’s great Italian American Home-Cooks, and Tony’s Dad and Fran’s husband, Uncle Tony is as we’ve already mentioned, quite the good cook as well. But when it comes to Steaks, I cook one of the best, better than some famed Steak Houses. “No brag, just fact.” So there was a new tradition we started. We call it “Steak Night.” The participants will usually be myself and Raoul, Jimmy and Tanya will always be there, and we’ll invite one or two other guests, as well as any lady friends any of us happen to be seeing at the time sometimes. We get together with this close-knit group of friends, cook up some tasty Steaks, Potatoes, a Salad, and maybe some roast peppers and cheese. We listen to some good music, drink wine, relax, and chat about this and that, and we have the best time imaginable. It’s what we do, great times with friends and family around the table.




  EXCERPTED From La TAVOLA  by Daniel Bellino Zwicke    




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La TAVOLA

LEARN HOW to COOK STEAK

ITALIAN STYLE





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My Neighborhood Butcher

Italian Butcher

PINO'S PRIME MEAT

GREENWICH VILLAGE

NEW YORK






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Sunday, January 21, 2018

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Julia Roberts President Bill Clinton Eat Pizza in Napoli


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Julia Roberts

at Da MICHELE

NAPOLI , ITALY

EAT PRAY LOVE






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MANGIA la PIZZA

Julia Roberts

EAT PRAY LOVE






MANGIA ITALIANO

Memories of Italian Food

PIZZA PASTA PANINI

and ????

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke





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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Bourdain n Ozersky Keens Steakhouse Mutton Chops

 



Tony  Bourdain with Josh Ozersky


at KEEN'S STEAKHOUSE



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Inside KEEN'S






A  PRIME RIB of BEEF at KEEN'S








KEEN'S STEAK HOUSE

NEW YORK

"Back in The Day"






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MUTTON CHOPS at KEEN'S

The SIGNATURE Dish




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TONY and JOSH Do KEEN'S


Anthony Bourdain has the Late Great Josh Ozersky give him on Primer at KEEN'S
STEAK HOUSE in New York, one of the World's Great Steak House's, famous for their MUTTON CHOPS, KING CIT PRIME RIB of BEEF, and New YORK Cut SIRLOIN STEAK. Josh gives Anthony the total lowdown including telling Tony that SCTCH WHISKEY Is the only thing to drink when dining at Keen's.

You gotta love this wonderful look into Keen's with Anthony Bourdain and the late Josh Ozersky, one of modern days greatest Gourmand, Food Critic / Writer who had a wonderful style of his own. We miss it and Josh quite a bit and remember Josh here. RIP








ROAST BEEF HASH at KEEN'S








MICHAEL COLAMECO Does KEEN'S STEAK HOUSE







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KEEN'S CHEF Shows Michael The GOODS

DRY AGED PRIME BEEF

NEW YORK CUT SIRLOIN STEAKS

and PORTERHOUSE 'S




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The BADASS COOKBOOK

Learn How to Cook The PERFECT STEAK

BURGERS

PRIZE WINNING CHILI

and More ...








Being TONY BOURDAIN









TONY EATS PHO in HANOI





Carbone versus Roccos Old School Italian Restaurant

 
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The Old ROCCO'S Neon Sign

Before Major Food Group took over the Space
and Plastered CARBONE over this old Sign
photo Copyright 2009 Daniel Bellino Zwicke
 
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The New Sign

CARBONE Plastered on The Old ROCCO Restaurant NEON SIGN
photo Copyright 2015 Daniel Bellino Zwicke
 
 
 
EATING at ROCCO'S
Video







BEST SELLING Author Daniel Bellino "Z"

EATS at ROCCO'S RESTAURANT

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NEW YORK

with SISTER BARBARA

and BrotherInLaw NOEL

2005




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Artwork Copyright 2015 Daniel Bellino Zwicke
MANGIA ITALIANO !

Memories of Italian Food

by Daniel Bellino "Z"




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The $56 VEAL PARMIGIANO at CARBONE

"Definitely NOT OLD SCHOOL ITALIAN" ???


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WANNA MAKE OLD SCHOOL ITALIAN VEAL PARM at HOME ???

For a Lot LESS THAN $56 ???


RECIPE is in SUNDAY SAUCE



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SUNDAY SAUCE

by DANIEL BELLINO "Z"

VEAL PARM Recipe

SUNDAY SAUCE GRAVY

and More ...




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Thursday, January 4, 2018

President Trump Eats FriedChicken and Cheeseburgers in Bed TV Phone Calls

 

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Donald trump Eating McDonalds on his Private Jet

During 2016 Presidential Campaign 


  Donald Trump’s transition to the presidency was anything but smooth, as his first month in office was characterized by failed or contentious executive orders, huge protests, and an unhealthy obsession with the crowd size at his inauguration. Now, an excerpt from Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, a new book by Michael Wolff chronicling the first few months of Trump’s term, reveals the transition to the actual White House was equally rocky, as POTUS sparred with everyone from Secret Service to housekeeping. According to Wolff, one of Trump’s first orders of business was to install two additional TV screens in his bedroom. At the time, Melania was still living in New York with their son Barron, so Trump was left alone in the room at night. Sometimes Trump would have a 6:30 p.m. meeting with former chief strategist Steve Bannon, but if not, “more to his liking, he was in bed by that time with a cheeseburger, watching his three screens and making phone calls.” That may sound like a nice relaxing evening for the average person, but it’s not exactly the behavior one usually looks for in a head of state. Especially when you consider that, according to Wolff, these weren’t necessarily business phone calls Trump was making, but instead personal calls where he would ring up his friends and complain about how everyone is out to get him. On one 26-minute-long call, Trump reportedly vented to a friend about CNN chief Jeffery Zucker and the infamous piss dossier, and forcefully declared that Bannon, whom many were characterizing as the power behind the throne at the time, had “zero” influence over his decisions.





 
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TRUMP LAWYER CEASE-and-DESIST
on FIRE and FURY

FIRE and FURY by Michael Wolff is The Tell ALL Book on the Trump White House, Donald Trump, his Family and more. With Scathing Accusations by Steve Bannon and ?



      
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The BADASS COOKBOOK

SECRET SERVICE RECIPES
KFC SECRET RECIPE 
KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

Which is PRESIDENT TRUMPS FAVORITE
FRIED CHICKEN

The Recipe is
in The BADASS COOKBOOK

 
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KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN is DONALD TRUMP'S FAVORITE
Get The SECRET KFC RECIPE in The BADASS COOKBOOK



 
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Million Dollar Russian Vodka Stolen From Copenhagen Bar

   

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A bottle of vodka claimed to be worth over a million euros was stolen from a collection in Copenhagen in the early hours of Tuesday, says the owner of the collection.
The expensive spirit was lifted from the collection at the Café 33 bar in the Vesterbro district of the Danish capital, the bar’s owner told TV2 Lorry. The stolen Russo Baltique vodka is the only one of its kind and is worth eight million kroner (1.1 million euros), Brian Ingberg said to the media. Its high value is due in part to the three kilograms of gold and three kilograms of silver used to make the bottle. It is also adorned with leather from a 1912 Monte Carlo rally car, according to the report. “I had loaned [the bottle] from Russia from something called the Dartz Factory, which makes the world’s most expensive cars and vodka. It has been part of my collection for six months, but not anymore,” Ingberg told TV2 Lorry. The Dartz Motorz Company is a privately-held company based in Latvia that produces high performance armoured vehicles. “I am obviously very upset. It was the icing on the cake in my collection. Of the 1,200 bottles I have, this was a very special bottle to have there,” Ingberg added. The theft has been reported to Copenhagen Police. Security camera footage posted on the vodka collection’s Facebook page shows two masked men wearing baseball caps stealing the vodka, according to Ingberg.
   

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The THIEF Caught on CAMERA

 

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The Thief Stealing MILLION DOLLAR VODKA

   

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A Bottle of RUSSO BALLIQUE

RUSSIAN VODKA Cost 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS a Bottle

   
THE OWNER of The DANISH BAR in COPENHAGEN Posted this on Facebook
  Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 2.48.24 PM This is the ENGLISH TRANSLATION of the POST (Below)
Help... have for the first time need help... someone has last night been inside "with key" and steal my vodka russo baltique vodka Which is the world's most expensive vodka $ 1,3 mil Reward is given to those who can help find them!! There is only one bottle in the whole world... we have a lot more on surveillance, which we pt lie with the police
   

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The BADASS COOKBOOK

SECRET RECIPES

   

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Pictures Posted by the OWNER of CAFE 33

and THE MILLION DOLLAR RUSSIAN VODKA