Here’s To A Tasty Celebration Of “The GODFATHER”!
Time to bite into the greatest film ever made…and it’s also a great way to give a film buff a DINNER IN A MOVIE, MOB STYLE!
Behold Clemenza’s Meatballs!
Not only is “The Godfather” the greatest movie ever made, but it is chock full of food – family meals, wedding cakes, executions that take place in a diner that serves “the best veal”…food as part of life, and death. For example, Don Corleone’s daughter Connie makes a meal for her obnoxious husband, who announced that he’ll eat out later – you know, with his mistress…
Connie goes into a fit and flings the dinnerware around the house, causing her husband to beat her…what we find out later is that this was instigated for one reason: to lure Sonny out of his compound, and to one of the many iconic death scenes in the movie: at the toll booth.
Time To “Go To The Mattresses!”
When the five families start their mob war, they go “to the mattresses”, which means they all sleep in one place to be ready for battle at any time. Clemenza teaches Mikey how to make Sunday sauce for this house full of guys…here is the scene, and the recipe – first, the scene from the movie, courtesy of “The Godfather” blu-ray!
And here is that recipe again, courtesy of Clemenza:
“Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh? And a little bit o’ wine. An’ a little bit o’ sugar, and that’s my trick.”
Let’s Get Cooking!
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
1 (10-ounce) or 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
1 pound cooked meatballs (use your favorite recipe)
Dry red wine
¼ cup sugar
Hot cooked pasta
First, take whatever ground meat you like and add some fresh minced garlic and onion, plus some italian herbs….roll those into meatballs and sear them off in a pan…now, make the sauce.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes; do not let the garlic burn. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistency is reached.
Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar, according to taste. As you can see, Clemenza is very serious about making a good meal for his men…
Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Serve over hot cooked pasta.
And whatever you do, don’t insult the head of the family when it comes time to eat:
The Godfather – “Dinner IN A Movie!”
So, make the meatballs, put in the movie’s special edition blu-ray, and enjoy! And what a great gift idea for the holiday: buy the special edition blu-ray and a big container of italian food items, add a nice bottle of red wine, and treat your film fan to a great holiday night!
Oh, you may want to plan your meal so you’re not taking a big bite during this scene!
“Goodfellas Garlic!”
And yes, I did post about how to make pasta “Goodfellas Garlic thin!” Here is the story:
http://johnrieber.com/2012/01/16/dinner-in-a-movie-goodfellas-thin/
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Books / Media, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Writing, Movies, Recipes, Uncategorized, Wine
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
And what about the cannolis”s?
Bernadette, you know I own a book about the making of “The Gdogatehr” titled “Take The Gun Leave The Cannolis!” HA!
That was me, John. Bernadette