Rodgers Rick - Carrabbas Italian Grill Cookbook: Recipes from Around Our Family Table , Italian Grill Carrabbas

Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Texts and Photographs 2011 by Carrabbas Italian Grill.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Co-edited by Rick Rodgers

Project Manager for Carrabbas Italian Grill: Sara Bittorf

Food Photography by Michael St. John

Italy Photography by Geoff Barish

In-restaurant Photography by Chase Strickland, Michael St. John, and Pam McClean

Family photography contributed by The Carrabba and Mandola Families

Photograph of Johhny and Damian by Jake Harsh

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN: 978-1-118-19733-2 (pbk); 978-1-118-29800-8 (e-book); 978-1-118-29783-4 (e-book)

Printed in the United States of America

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Acknowledgements

This cookbook is a compilation of time, talent and hard work from some very special people at Carrabbas Italian Grill. Our most sincere thanks to:

Johnny and Damian, for telling your stories so we could share them with others.

Joel Barker, Vice President of Research and Development and Restaurant Operations, and Jay Smith, Senior Corporate Chef, for recipe development, book proofing, and providing the details of the lengths we go to source the best ingredients.

Ana Malmqvist, Director of Marketing Communications, and Barbara Lunseth, Print Production Manager, for art direction and producing and compiling the many photographs in this book.

Sirpa Anderson, for coordinating the countless details that enabled this book to be published.

Rick Rodgers, our writer, who so quickly picked up the essence of Carrabbas and brought it to life on these pages. Thank you for all you did to test and adapt the recipes to make them work for home cooks.

Rich Covey, Proprietor of Carrabbas East Brunswick location, for many courtesies extended to Rick and his colleague, Mary Goodbody.

Elie Massoud of Euro Mid Inc., who is a constant source of information, a valued supplier of some of our favorite ingredients, and a long-time friend of the Carrabbas Italian Grill family.

Pam Chirls, Executive Editor, Culinary, for her vision and guidance. Alison Lew of Vertigo Design, for designing a book worthy of our name. And to the many others at John Wiley and Sons, who touched this book to make a dream a reality, especially Eden Bunchuck and Abby Saul.

Carrabbas Italian Grill

Introduction

At Carrabbas Italian Grill, nothing makes us feel better than looking around the dining room and seeing contented guests. The dining room is large and airy, redolent with the aromas of garlic, tomato sauce, and basil. It has just the right balance of comfort and old world style to make it the right restaurant for any occasion.

On any given night, a survey of the room will show a large group celebrating a special birthday; a couple sharing a meal; a boisterous family with kids enjoying a simple supper because they were too busy to cook at home that night; and other combinations of folks that you might find at any restaurant.

At Carrabbas, we are both an extraordinary dining experience and your favorite neighborhood restaurant. This may sound like a case of dual personality, but it isnt. We want to make everyone who walks into the restaurant feel happy. This commitment to hospitality has been in place since the day we opened our doors. And it all goes back to one thing: delicious Italian food, cooked from the heart.

Almost thirty years ago, two men, a restaurateur and his nephew, both well versed in Italian cooking at both the home and professional levels, opened a small family restaurant in Texas. This book represents the amazing growth and success of those unassuming beginnings.

My grandmothers took pride in their food, says founder Johnny Carrabba. We learned from them and so its the same thing here. We try to impress and to satisfy everyone who walks in the door. That is what we mean by cooking from the heart.

Johnnys uncle, founder Damian Mandola, echoes his nephews thoughts. Simplicity is important, as is sticking with classic ingredients and using a light hand. What brings customers back to Carrabbas is that the tomato sauce tastes like tomatoes; its just delicious food that showcases fresh ingredients.

These words are about how a single restaurant grew into a collection of neighborhood restaurants where diners bask in warm Italian hospitality and savor fresh, authentic meals. The Carrabbas culture of excellence is based on four generations of family traditions. Our goal is to serve exceptional food in a lively, casual setting where planning and training ensures that everything runs like a beautiful, well-made clock. We hope this book is a memento of the good times youve had as our guest, and inspires you to try your hand at some of our heirloom recipes at home.

The Carrabbas Culture

Carrabbas Italian Grill began as the dream of two young men who were in love with food. At first, the original Carrabbas served only the Sicilian food of Damian and Johnnys family kitchens. But as the founders traveled, the menu expanded to include specialties of Calabria, Tuscany, the Piedmont, and Lombardy. Damian says, As long as its Italian, we try it.

The Mandola-Carrabba family is a close-knit one with a family tree that traces its way back to Rosa Testa, who arrived in Louisiana from Sicily not knowing a word of English. Family legend says she taught herself English from the local newspaper. Arguably, Carrabbas is her legacy. There are reminders of the familys love of home-style Italian cooking across the menu: