Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sausage-stuffed mushrooms

  • Breadcrumbs on June 05, 2013

    p. 28 - Wow! These were a revelation! We’ve enjoyed many, many a stuffed mushroom over the years but none as tasty as these. Looking at online photos from the restaurant it seems they finish the mushrooms under the broiler and I will do this as well in the future. The flavours in this dish are really bright and we especially liked the acidity imparted by the pickled sweet peppers that go into the mix. I’m extremely excited to have discovered this recipe. It alone is an adequate return on my investment in the book IMHO. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904021#8117226

  • JEC on February 02, 2013

    There is a step that is left out in the copy of the book that I have. It has you brown the sausage and set aside. It never tells you to put it back in. I made the recipe for a Christmas party and it got rave reviews.

• White zuppa di clams

  • Breadcrumbs on August 20, 2013

    p. 46 - Sweet, spicy, briny and delicious! What more could you ask for in a dish?! No surprise that yet another recipe from this book was a huge hit. The dish came together in no time. I likely added a little more than a pinch of red pepper flakes as we like a little zip but otherwise I prepared as set out. The sweet clams were tender and juicy but the pièce de résistance was that soupy broth! We served this as an antipasti rather than a soup however that didn’t stop everyone from devouring every last bit of that broth. Wonderful, another favourite from Carmines. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/913696#8275864

• Carmine's famous Caesar salad

  • Breadcrumbs on July 17, 2013

    p. 57 – This was a much simpler dressing than my house favourite from Zuni and although I would describe this more as a creamy garlic dressing than a Caesar, we did really enjoy it. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/907947#8178333

• Pasta with white clam sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on June 02, 2013

    p. 89 - Extremely tasty, a wonderful version of this classic dish. One nit with the instructions though. In the preface to the book’s two pasta w clams recipes the author talks about always chopping the clams prior to plating the dish. The book’s photo also shows chopped clams. So, I cooked the clams first, removed and chopped the meat and reserved the broth then carried on with the recipe. I opted for linguini and would use it again for this dish. We loved the abundant, briny, chili-infused broth and the chiffonade of basil added a nice fresh element to the plate as well as a contrast in colours. Even mr bc, a non-lover of clams really enjoyed this dish. A keeper! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/903642#8111115

• Linguine with white shrimp sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on July 21, 2013

    p. 97 – Recipe produces an amazing, restaurant quality dish. Quick to prepare and I made one minor modification. Instead of partially cooking, then removing the shrimp, I simply added to cook immediately prior to serving. Shrimp were tender with a juicy “pop”. The sauce was light, perfectly briny, garlicky and mop-up-remainder-with-bread delicious!! Must repeat. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904846#8123604

• Country-style rigatoni

  • Breadcrumbs on January 03, 2014

    p. 100 – Outstanding! I decided to do a riff on this dish for New Year’s Day dinner. I substituted collards for the broccoli and black-eyed peas for the beans. I pre-cooked the collards in seasoned water (garlic & fennel) then stirred in to re-heat prior to serving. The peas were creamy, the buttery broth sauce was rich and delicious and overall this was a wonderful meal to kick off the new year. A “must repeat” dish at cucina bc! photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/929581#8550013

  • Gio on February 09, 2015

    Online recipe link: http://www.food.com/recipe/carmines-country-style-rigatoni-390929

  • kari500 on December 07, 2023

    This is delicious and hearty, wonderful on a cold evening. I didn’t have any herbs, used turkey sausage, and skipped the prosciutto. Didn’t matter, still loved it.

• Spiedini alla Romano

  • Breadcrumbs on June 14, 2013

    p. 21 – Exceptional! mr bc declared this to be his favourite appetizer ever! High praise indeed and in fact everyone agreed this was truly delicious and a really unique dish. The only change I made was to slice my cheese into 1/3” slices vs ½” . I don’t have much to say other than this was rich, exceptionally flavourful and a major hit. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904846#8123604

• Pasta with Carmine's meatballs

  • Breadcrumbs on June 14, 2013

    p. 117 - Fantasitco! This recipe is essentially instructions to combine 2 other recipes from the book. Carmine's Meatballs and Carmine's Marinara. My reviews of each component posted separately. This really was fabulous. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904846#8127837

  • chawkins on November 20, 2014

    Just as good if not better than what is served at Carmine's. I used whole wheat spaghetti. Served with a sprinkle of fresh basil chiffonade on top just like the photo on the cover of the book and grated Parmesan on the side.

• Penne alla vodka

  • Breadcrumbs on August 23, 2013

    p. 118 – Perfect really. mr bc is a big fan of rosé sauces and he claimed this to be his favourite thus far. Super quick and easy to prepare if you already have Carmine’s marinara made. This dish is full of garlicky goodness with a double dose (the garlicky marinara and the garlic added to the cream sauce). Fresh basil is a must as it brightens and somehow lightens the dish. I did need to stir in a bit of the pasta water to loosen the sauce in the end. Will definitely make this again. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/910184#8215841

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    Excellent recipe for vodka sauce. Our favorite!

• Fresh fettuccine with wild mushroom sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on June 16, 2013

    p. 132 – A wonderful recipe that’s a nice change of pace from the usual cream-based mushroom sauces. I simmered my sauce for about 45 mins, much longer than the 3 minutes the recipe suggests. IMHO this helped deepen the flavours of the sauce and, thicken it. I would not add porcini to the stump/stock next time since in the end you discard the solids. I may add some porcini powder instead. Also I thought the instructions about cooking the mushrooms were a bit unclear. At the point I was instructed to “Stir in the mushrooms,” I’d never removed them! Clearly with no issue. The dish is finished with some butter and we were pleasantly surprised how much that bit of butter really smoothed out the flavours in the dish. A delicious sauce, hearty enough for a meatless meal. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/905688#8138524

• Salmon puttanesca

  • Breadcrumbs on January 05, 2014

    SALMON PUTTANESCA p. 155 – A delicious variation on a classic Italian sauce that proved to be just fabulous on fish. I made the sauce in the morning so it had plenty of time for the flavours to develop. Instead of frying the fish, I decided to roast it since I had 2kg’s to contend with. I think the clam juice really helps marry the sauce with the fish and it also lightens an otherwise heavy sauce. Thrilled to have discovered this as we eat salmon on a regular basis and it’s nice to mix things up a bit.

• Shrimp scampi

  • Breadcrumbs on July 01, 2013

    p. 161 – A very good dish with an interesting twist on an old standard. Shrimp are baked with a topping of Carmine’s garlic butter and Carmine’s breadcrumbs. I tend to prefer my seafood straight up so I found the herbs from the breadcrumbs and garlic butter to overwhelm the delicate flavour of the shrimp. That said, others loved this dish and provided you’ve already made the breadcrumbs and butter, this comes together in no time. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/907372#8169460

  • chawkins on April 23, 2016

    It tasted good but what a disaster recipe if you follow it to a T. It calls for 16 large shrimp and 4 t of garlic butter, and you are supposed to smear 1/2 t garlic butter on each shrimp, you do the math. Then it tells you to double the sauce ingredient if you want to serve it over pasta, since the garlic butter is spread over the shrimp, the bread crumbs pressed onto it and the lemon for garnish, that left the garlic and the 3/4 c clam juice as the sauce ingredient. I used a gratin dish, the shrimp covered the entire surface of the dish, I spread about 3 to 4 T of garlic butter on top and sprinkled the bread crumbs over the butter, doubling the sauce ingredient would mean 11/2 C of clam juice (I used shrimp shell broth), I started to pour in it around the edge of the dish and after about 3/4 C, the broth level was even with the shrimp, any more, the bread crumbs would all be soaky. Looking at Breadcrumbs' picture from the previous comment, I probably should have used a bigger dish.

• Porterhouse steak contadina

  • Breadcrumbs on June 05, 2013

    p. 177 - This steak and vegetable dish is outstanding and would make for a lovely company dish as it presents beautifully and all components other than the steak could be prepared in advance. We ended up using a (huge) prime rib steak vs the porterhouse and it was truly delicious. This got top marks across the board. Fabulous dish with lots of variety. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904021#8117226

• Pork chops with sweet and hot vinegar peppers

  • Breadcrumbs on June 30, 2013

    p. 195 - Delicious! The brined chops are tender, juicy and full of flavour. We grilled ours vs pan frying then added them into the simmered pepper mixture. This was a wonderful dish and we enjoyed the smokiness of the grilled meat as a contrast to the bright flavourful sauce. My only complaint was that there weren’t enough peppers and I’d definitely double the quantity next time. Perhaps mine were smaller than the book anticipated (green were peperoncini). I used the full quantity of vinegar suggested. The sauce was somewhat reminiscent of a piccata sauce. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/907372#8167082

• Grilled sausage ring with parsley and provolone over pepperonata

  • Breadcrumbs on June 16, 2013

    p. 197 – A perfect pepper explosion! We veered off the recipe’s course by grilling vs frying the peppers initially then added them into the pan of garlic and onions. I used a mixture of hot and sweet peppers as the recipe suggests. This really was outstanding and made for a beautiful presentation despite the butcher’s best efforts to foil my plans by mixing up the labels on my Barese sausages. He does a ring and fatter loose link singles. So somewhere in my freezer is a package labeled “Barese Links” that’s actually a ring! This dish presents well no matter which version of the sausage you use and would be great for a casual company meal. Today we’re topping the leftovers w marinara and serving as sandwiches. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/905688#8139681

• Green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes

  • Breadcrumbs on July 21, 2013

    p. 239 – A great dish that’s even better in the summer months when all ingredients are fresh-picked! I’d never have considered combining these 3 ingredients as a side dish but boy am I glad to have found this recipe as we loved the dish. The oregano could be replaced with any fresh herb to marry the flavours with other items on your menu. Though intended as a side dish, the recipe is hearty enough to make for a satisfying main. A must repeat! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/909248#8197757

• Carmine's bread crumbs

  • Breadcrumbs on June 05, 2013

    p. 283 - This recipe is called for in many other recipes in the book. I used some day old Calabrese bread and found it interesting that this recipe calls for the crusts as well. I froze what breadcrumbs we didn’t need for future use. These smelled incredible when I lifted the lid of the food processor!

  • chawkins on November 20, 2014

    Most flavorful breadcrumb I've ever made. I quartered the recipe to make one cup so I don't have that much leftover.

• Garlic butter

  • Breadcrumbs on July 01, 2013

    p. 266 – I initially prepared this for use in the Shrimp Scampi (p. 161) but there was plenty left over so I rolled it into a cylinder and froze it so I could cut pieces off as needed. Our preferred use for this is to make a quick grilled garlic bread. A nice staple to have in the freezer. I imagine it would make for a quick pasta too – just toss some of this butter into cooked noodles.

• Carmine's marinara sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on June 05, 2013

    p. 289 - Though we prefer my recipe, this produced a very tasty and quick marinara that I’d definitely make again when time is tight. It definitely reminded us of marinara’s we’ve been served at those little family owned Italian hot-table home-style restaurants. I withheld most of the herbs and stirred them in at the end as I don’t find basil in particular benefits from a long cooking process. Very tasty indeed.

  • chawkins on November 20, 2014

    I was somewhat leery of the large amount (a quarter cup) of garlic used, but I soldiered on. The end result was delicious. I used home canned tomato from the garden and the whole amount of herb and then added some more fresh basil when served.

  • katiesue28 on May 10, 2020

    This is a good base marinara sauce. Nice and quick, I can see how this is ideal when cooked with the meatballs or other ingredients. On it's own, I'd rather have Marcella Hazan's Butter and Tomato Sauce.

• Carmine's meatballs

  • Breadcrumbs on June 14, 2013

    p. 298 – I was a little skeptical due to the absence of pork however this recipe produces a tender, juicy, flavourful meatball that we all loved. The recipe doesn’t instruct you to drain the bread you soak in milk so I only partially squeezed out the milk and I think that may have been the secret to making these so tender and juicy. I baked my meatballs for 20 mins at 375° vs frying. We thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/904021#8127869

  • chawkins on November 20, 2014

    These meatballs were great tender, juicy and delicious. I used 1.5 lb of ground beef and .5 lb of meatloaf mix. Not only did I not squeezed the milk out of the bread, I added the unabsorbed milk into the meat mixture as well. I weighed out each meatball to be about 3.1 ounces and I got 17 meatballs instead of 12. I also added a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan as the onions did not do a very good job of dissolving the fond.

  • katiesue28 on May 10, 2020

    I could not find veal during the pandemic, so I used a mixture of ground beef and pork. I feel that the meatballs were a bit underseasoned, though a good template. I will try adding more seasonings next time. This recipe, complete with the double serving of Carmine's Marinara sauce, make a lot of food! I'm excited to know there's a full container of sauce and meatballs awaiting me in the freezer for when the mood strikes!

• Shrimp Parmigiana

  • JoanN on December 21, 2015

    The bread crumb recipe is key here; so flavorful. Need to be careful not to overcook the shrimp when frying since it takes a while for the cheese to melt under the broiler and shrimp can get overcooked. Served this with the marinara poured over spaghetti and the shrimp on top.

• Pasta with broccoli, sausage, and tomatoes

  • JoanN on December 16, 2015

    Made this with rigatoni and Fairway bulk sausage. Very good, but think it could be better. It was probably the sausage. Try a different vendor or hot Italian next time. Could also use more broccoli. Maybe my heads were too small.

• Baked stuffed shells

  • chawkins on November 30, 2014

    Shoddy editing. Instruction tells you to saute sausage and vegetables and cool to room temperature, then mix egg and cheeses in bowl and refrigerate for 1/2 hr, but nowhere do they tell you to mix the two together. Also the ingredient list says one cup plus two tbs of Romano cheese, but the instruction directs you to mix 1/2 cup in with the other cheeses and the egg and sprinkle two tbs on top during assembly, so there is 1/2 cup of Romano that is not accounted for. The shells, however, were delicious, the smoked mozzarella brought a touch of smokiness to the filling which was lovely. For the record, I used 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs of Romano and had 12 well stuffed shells as stated by the recipe.

• Meatball heros

  • chawkins on December 31, 2014

    Broiling the split rolls for a few minutes made a world of difference to the sandwich. I used smoked mozzarella left over from another recipe.

• Pasta pomodoro

  • stockholm28 on December 16, 2023

    I enjoyed this classic combination of tomatoes and garlic. It was easy and flavorful. I screwed up and dumped the tomatoes and their juice into the pan before noticing that they were supposed to be drained. This turned out to be fine. I would definitely make this again. I used rigatoni and thought that worked well.

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    Fast, easy, and delicious. We love it.

• Carmine's salad

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    This is a crowd-pleaser every single time.

• Manicotti

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    The recipe for the crepes is way off IMO. I always have to add a ton more milk than what is called for. Other than that, this dish is fantastic.

• Carmine's lasagna

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    This dish is a labor of love but it is worth it. I usually make 2 at a time because it is just as much work (a ton) to do 2 as it is to do 1.

• Chicken or veal saltimbocca

  • NJChicaa on January 24, 2018

    The best saltimbocca I've ever had.

• Chicken Parmigiana heros

  • katiesue28 on July 22, 2020

    Absolutely delicious. Ate the Chicken Parmigiano with a side salad. I used Marcella Hazan's famous tomato butter sauce and it was incredible. Highly recommend making Carmine's breadcrumbs for this.