Joe Germanotta - Joanne Trattoria Cookbook: Classic Recipes and Scenes from an Italian-American Restaurant

Joanne Trattoria

COOKBOOK

Classic Recipes and Scenes from an Italian-American Restaurant

Joe Germanotta

with Wenonah Hoye

A POST HILL PRESS BOOK

Joanne Trattoria Cookbook:

Classic Recipes and Scenes from an Italian-American Restaurant

2016 by Joseph Germanotta with Wenonah Hoye

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-68261-258-3

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-259-0

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Thanks to Alex Dolan, who provided many of the photos in this book.

We couldnt have done it without you! [Photos: page vii; p. 3; p. 8; p. 12; p. 14; p. 20 (top); p. 27; p. 49; p. 85 (both); p. 86; p. 93]

Thanks to Bethany Michaela Jones/Sojourner Society, who shot many great photographs just for this book.

Interior Design and Composition: Greg Johnson/Textbook Perfect

Post Hill Press

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

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Digital book(epub and mobi) produced by Booknook.biz .

This book is dedicated to my sister,
Joanne Stefani Germanotta.
Though her flame died out too early,
her light shines on
through my daughters,
Natali Veronica and Stefani Joanne.

Contents

Foreword

Joe with daughters Natali and Stefani.

Since my sister, Natali, and I were little girls, my mother and father made sure the kitchen was the centerpiece of our household. We had dinner as a family every night and ate delicious Italian-style meals that were made with love from recipes that had been passed down for generations on both sides of my family. Recipes from ancestors in Nasoa town in the Messina Province in SicilySanta Lucia and Venice live on through my family, each with its own distinct twist in flavor. The uniqueness of this cookbook and our family restaurant, Joanne Trattoria, lies in the influence of the immigration of our families from Italy through Ellis Island to New Jersey (where my father was raised) and West Virginia (where my mother was raised.)

The smell, every Sunday, of a pot of fresh gravy, as we would call it instead of tomato sauce, is one of the fondest memories I have from my childhood. I recall the smell of roasting sausages as they were dropped delicately into a slowly simmering 912 hour sauce. I remember the smile as my butter knife snapped open the outer layer and the juices filled my plate, sopped up by fresh pasta and followed by a crispy chopped salad made by my mother. Red wine that my father and grandfather Giuseppe made in our laundry room in the basement, sifted through cheesecloth as it was poured for everyone at the table.

We would say a prayer and then eat as a family. We ended each prayer in memory of my fathers sister, Joanne, whose name has become the symbol both of our familys majestic accomplishments and of our losses along the way. We always knew there was a plate at the table missing, and we ask that when you prepare these traditional family dishes you honor the memory of those you love and those youve lost, and cook with the intention of strengthening the bonds of family and friendship in the place us Italians think is best: The Kitchen.

Love, Stefani Joanne Germanotta

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

When my daughters were young I had my own business and I worked from home. For years, Id be up every morning at 5:00 a.m. My wife, Cynthia, and I would get the girls off to school, wed work all day, and then at around 4:30 meet up with a group of friends somewhere in the neighborhood to share a few drinks and some laughs. We did this religiously, every afternoon, for years. It was a nice way to unwind from the day. Around 6:00 p.m., or so, Id head home to cook dinner for my family.

The group of us started out like nomads. Wed settle into place after place only to have it close down without warning, and force us out on the move again. Eventually, on a quiet, tree-lined street just off of Central Park, we discovered this great little restaurant on the ground floor of a hundred-year-old townhouse. It was warm and friendly, with wood-burning fireplaces, a cozy patio in the back and a bar facing the street. It was instantly welcoming. Our little group swelled to maybe a dozen or so and we became regulars, or Irregulars as we liked to call ourselves.

Then one evening, at our usual time, I arrived at 70 West 68th Street to find the lights out and yellow city marshal tape across the door. Wed been gathering there daily for five years, but just like that our beloved local watering hole was gone. Not long after, out of the blue, the landlord contacted me and asked if I had any interest in taking over the restaurant space.

Ever since I was a little kid, hanging around my mothers kitchen, scribbling drawings into her cookbooks while she prepared our family meals, I have dreamed of opening my own restaurant. I had graduated from Michigan State with a degree in Hospitality and Hotel Management, but took a job right out of school with a public accounting firm and never made it back to the field I loved. Now, here I was, semi-retired, my daughters grown, presented with an opportunity that could bring my life full circle.

Cynthia and I did a walkthrough of the space with our daughters. We asked them what they thought about us taking on the challenge of opening our own restaurant, and without hesitation they said, Lets do it! From there, it was a whirlwind family project. We spent eight months gutting/renovating the restaurant, restoring the space to its former glory. We teamed up with Art Smith, former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, who was instrumental in developing the menu, and in helping us get the restaurant up and running.

When Joanne Trattorianamed in honor of my sister who died of lupus at nineteenopened its doors in February of 2012 it was the realization of my childhood dream. We are more than a neighborhood restaurant; we are a family. Most of the staff have been with us from the very beginning; my wife, Cynthia, did all the decorating; my younger daughter, Natali, has worked at the restaurant as a bartender and hostess; and my older daughter, Stefani (known to millions as Lady Gaga), has been known to stop in from time to time and when she does she always ends up behind the barthough we usually have a mess on our hands.

Every dish we serve is personal in some wayeither as a Germanotta family recipe or one that is significant to a member of the extended Joanne family. This book of our favorite recipes and stories is our gift to you.

Mangia!

~Joe Germanotta

Owner, Joanne Trattoria

Chapter 1 Gravy