Sinatra Sunday Dinner

 

THE SINATRA'S

DINNER at DOLLY'S HOUSE

"SUNDAY DINNER"

"Nancy Sinatra about Sunday Dinner at her grandparents’ home:

A true Italian meal can last several hours, and Sunday dinner at Marty and Dolly's house usually consisted of as many as nine courses. First an antipasto—marinated olives, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese sliced with tomatoes, potatoes and red onions, eggplant parmigiana, marinated garbanzo beans, anchovies, mushrooms. Then a starter course—shrimp scampi with garlic butter, or clams, or calamari, accompanied by a raw vegetable tray. Next a pasta course—spaghetti or ziti or mostaccioli, homemade cavitelli or homemade gnocchi, or perhaps ravioli or canneloni or fettucine. A meat course—beefsteak, pork, or veal, possibly meatballs and homemade sausage, or a real treat, braciole, veal pounded thin and spread with herbs and pine nuts, then rolled like crepes and cooked in tomato sauce. Still another course—cooked greens, usually bitter, like escarole or broccoli di rapa, with a little olive oil and garlic. Then chicken—cacciatore style or with a white wine and herb sauce. And finally a cold, crunchy green salad, followed by dessert and espresso with Anisette or Sambuca.

Each course would be accompanied by an appropriate wine and followed by a rest or break, which was always filled with great conversation. The time spent at the table was warm and happy and guests shared in the warmth that radiates from Italian families, shared the camaraderie and the passions of Italians.

Italians *love* food. Italians *love* music. Italians *love* Italians. There's a lot of hugging among Italians—I grew up with so much *hugging.* And Italian men embrace other men, warmly and without restraint. The love and loyalty in an Italian family is so pervasive, so important.

Photo: Dinner at Frank Sinatra’s parents’ home. Sinatra’s mother Dolly has just told a story and gets a hug from her grandson Frank Jr. and applause from family and friends. Sinatra’s close friend Jilly Rizzo to the left."