Father Joseph Orsini - Italian family cooking: unlocking a treasury of recipes and stories

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Contents

TO MY BELOVED DECEASED FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

Giuseppe Orsini, my father

Carmela Orsini, my mother

Dominick Orsini, my nephew

Oreste Orsini, my brother

John Orsini, my brother

Marie Orsini, my sister-in-law

Leo Orsini, my brother

Reggie Conti, my friend

There are many special people who helped and supported me in writing this book. Those listed below deserve an award for putting up with me.

C ARMEL O. F ERRANTE My niece, who patiently edited the galley sheets to conform with the rules of syntax and grammar. She has retired from teaching English, but once a teacher, always a teacher.

M ARY M ARCK Her professionalism in word processing is incomparable. Her long hard hours of work are most appreciated. You see, I write all my books in longhand, so I need a person like Mary to type for me.

P ETER W OLVERTON My editor, whose great patience and talent made this a better book.

J OHN M URPHY My publicist, whose experience and contacts sent me running all over the place to push my book.

M ARY O RSINI My sister-in-law in whose kitchen all the recipes were tested and shared. Mae did all the cleaning up and never complained.

A LL MY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS They generously gave me their family treasures (recipes) to share with you. They are named throughout this book.

T HE F RUGAL G OURMET He gave me advice and support by telephone and fax during the process of writing the book.

H ELEN B ARBERIO Who patiently proofread my original manuscript and suggested changes that cleared up obscure sentences and directions.

I know, I know. It sounds like a movie script. An Italian version of that great old movie about Catholic priests, Going My Way. Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald played the roles of unforgettable Irish Catholic priests. That was fiction, but this story is true. There is a Father Joe Orsini. He is an Italian-American Catholic priest. We call him Father Joe. He is not only a dedicated priest and a gourmet cook who writes cookbooks, but he is also one terrific guy. He has cooked on my show and we became instant friends. I have been a guest at his dining room table. Ill never forget his sauce or his pasta with perfect meatballs, authentic Italian sausage, gorgeous-looking pinwheels of lean flank steak stuffed with imported Italian cheeses, savory bread crumbs, flecks of hard-boiled egg whites (he left out the yokes so my cholesterol levels wouldnt rise), and tasty Genoa salami. Im salivating right now as I remember that wonderful meal.

I consider Father Joe my private chaplain. He is and continues to be a spiritual inspiration for me and a few of my friends and associates. Did you ever meet someone who lifts your spirits by just being there? Father Joe is also the kind of guy who combines his brilliant academic background with street smarts. You shake hands with him and you feel as if you have been to confession, and right afterward you sip a glass of good Italian wine with him and ask him, What are you cooking today?

Not too long ago, Father Joe started a food company. Its called Father Orsinis Italian Specialties. He asked me to be a member of his companys board of directors. I hesitated because Im involoved in so many things. Then I found out that Father Joe has dedicated all of his personal income from his books and the food company to charities, especially to the nuns of the saintly Mother Teresa of Calcuttas order of Sisters. I couldnt refuse to be a part of that kind of enterprise. I told you this is one sharp guy. And what a cook! He was taught how to cook by his beloved Mamma. On one of my Live with Regis and Kathie Lee shows, I asked him how he got started in cooking. He told me that once his mother realized that he was serious about becoming a priest, she marched him into the kitchen, put an apron on him, and taught him how to cook. After all she said, you wont have a wife to cook for you, so just watch me and do what I do. So from his Italian mom, he learned the basics of Italian cooking. Over the years, he perfected his cooking skills by countless research trips to Italy.

Now, not only does Father Joe know how to cook, he knows the food and where it came from. In the first chapter of this book, I was astonished to learn about the American roots of Italian cooking. When another Italian, Christopher Columbus, made his historic discovery of the New World, he opened the way for Native American foodstuffs to change the cuisines of the Old World. Father Joe tells us, Columbus could have made a fortune in Italy had he been able to patent or register the culinary innovations that he introduced into his native country. The new American foods he brought back were rapidly fused with ancient culinary practices and traditions and are still an essential part of the Italian diet and can be found all over the world. The most important foods from the Americas that have been Italianized are tomatoes, potatoes, numerous varieties of beans, new kinds of squashes, corn, sweet and hot peppers, turkey, and chocolate.

In his book Father Joe documents the fact that pasta was being made and used in Italy long before Marco Polo brought back noodles to Venice from his voyage to China. He tells us about the marriage of pasta with tomatoes that probably took place in Sicily, the invention of the pasta fork, the history of olive oil, Italian wines, and a detailed, almost poetic explanation of the most important Italian cheeses. And that just scratches the surface of this fascinating and informative cookbook.

Not only do you get great Italian recipes, but the anecdotes and true stories that introduce most of the recipes will make you chuckle and ponder. Father Joe writes in such a way that you can almost picture many of the people he has met during his lifetime. He slowly introduces you to the uniquely Italian style of human relationships. First you become friends, then compare and compari (God-parents), and finally members of the extended family. And the sharing of good food and wine is the cement that holds everything together.

Father Joe also recounts some poignant memories of the past, but he doesnt get stuck there. He has an entire chapter of recipes that make terrific use of microwave ovens to help us in our fast-paced modern lives.

Can a cookbook make you feel better? This one can and will. In his epilogue Father Joe tells us, My first loves are God, my mother and then Italy and its cuisines. I guess its because Im Italian. Italian Family Cooking makes you part of Father Joes family. It may be the best thing that ever happened to you. As father Joe often says, I wish you good food, warm friends, and a long life!

REGIS PHILBIN

At the end of this second millennium, there are some who fear that the beginning of the third will find us unprepared for the future. I count myself in that number. It is my firm conviction that unless we have been securely anchored in the values and belief systems generated by our ancestors, we will wander adrift into the future like unfortunate astronauts floating off into the darkness of infinite space, directionless and lost, because the tethers to the mother ship have been irreparably cut.