I often turn facebook conversations with my friends into blogs. I love seeing the pictures and recipes my fellow foodies post and partaking in the interesting discussions (and even occasional disagreements) that we have.

I think it’s safe to say that my cooking circle all agree that a few of the TV chefs out there have ruined the idea of what the “home cook” should be—especially one in particular who does “semi-homemade” cooking. (Name rhymes with Sara Lee.) I’m not one of these pretentious nose-in-the-air types, I’m all for old-school comfort food. I feel that while you may not have the time to grind your own sausage, at least learn how to dice an onion and sauté it.

You may not be making your own mozzarella, but buying a “pizza kit” with jarred sauce and a pre-shredded “pasteurized processed cheese product” is ridiculous to me.

Take my paisan Anthony who posed this question on facebook: “I know there are people out there doing it…But, let’s be honest, how many people that you personally know pickle lamb’s tongues, cure and smoke bacon, cure and hang pancetta, confit duck legs, make homemade ricotta and mozzarella, brew beer, etc.” To me, Anthony is beyond the home cook, he is the executive chef whose fine dining restaurant is his home kitchen. I put him in the category of an Alton Brown type. Meticulous and by-the-book, but always testing himself with techniques and seeking out exotic ingredients. It’s his passion and that’s what counts. The only thing I think would make him happier is if he lived on a farm in Sicily and was able to grow everything he used in his recipes. Let’s face it though, the general population out there isn’t making their own mozzarella at home.

My grandparents had an enormous garden, they jarred their own tomatoes, made wine in the garage, hand-rolled gnocchi twice a month, grinded sausage in the basement and made lots of other beautiful things. Christmas meant fresh-caught eels swimming in the bathtub before heading to the pan. Easter meant raising a live baby lamb in the yard—now that’s really fresh! With each generation, these extra steps disappear for many reasons. But a “pizza kit” is pointless. Might as well just nuke a Mama Celeste.

See, there are different levels of cooks and chefs. I consider myself a modernized home cook with basic old-school values. What I make is inspired from growing up and watching my mother, grandmothers and aunts at the stove, with influences from books and TV which enable me to add my own influences. I think what I do is homemade (call it “semi” if you wish, and I don’t take offense). Making your own sauce with just a few easy steps and with love is genuine quality—not popping open Ragu. That is NOT semi-homemade, that is doing nothing. Out of the 43 blogs I published last year, there were at least 25 recipes. None contained jarred sauce or a pasteurized processed cheese product. I do use canned stuff here and there or frozen vegetables in my cooking (not talking microwavable veggie side dishes), but overall, I try to make as much from scratch as I am capable of.

Italian-American classics are my forte, but classic all-American is as well. I love a burger or a dog almost as much as bracioles or zuppa di pesce. I love preparing Buffalo wings, ribs, pulled pork and broiling up a steak any day of the week makes me a happy camper. Maybe I’ll eventually expand into whipping up other ethnic delights too but for now when I want foods of other nationalities like sushi, Chinese (or Mexican to name a few) I usually dine out for them. You have to understand, with my Italian roots traced to the mainland, Sicilian riceballs were a “foreign” dish when I first made them for my mother. I do make more than just food in “ball” form—if you are my facebook friend, you can see all the pictures I post.

My wife is a fantastic cook as well, and I’d say we share cooking duties 60/40 in our home. And we love cooking for our family and friends. Last year we hosted Thanksgiving (did turkey with about a dozen sides and also had a macaroni course) and we also hosted Easter (did a leg of lamb with homemade tzatziki, a Virgina ham, and yes, at least a dozen sides). Preparing the Feast of The 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve has not been passed on to me yet, that’s still in my mother’s hands and we actually went out to eat on Christmas Day. Today, I’m gonna share a little compilation of some of the best dishes that I think I create in our kitchen using chicken, turkey, veal and pork so there’s something different every day. These are just a week’s worth of the many recipes I feel that I’ve perfected (my cookbook is coming soon—I promise!) All are real simple and real friggin’ tasty…

SUNDAY: MEATBALLS & MACARONI DAY
Ok, you had to know this would be here. As my faithful “Meatball Minions” know, Johnny’s Meatballs are made with the holy trinity of veal, pork and beef, my savory “special 10-spice blend” and sweet caramelized onions. It took a lot of trial and error to master this recipe but I have it down to a science now and no other meatball can compare. If you aren’t gonna roll your own it’s ok to pick up a six-pack of Johnny’s Meatballs. I know this may contradict what I said earlier, but unlike any frozen dinner on the market, mine are 100% natural and made exactly how your nonna would do it. Whether you can it sauce or gravy, this is what Sundays are all about for me. Period.
Accompaniments: Any cut or size dry pasta or some Star Ravioli stuffed shells. What a pairing!

MONDAY: VEAL ROLLATINE
Season veal cutlets with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Wrap each cutlet with a slice of fontina cheese, followed by a sage leaf, a slice of prosciutto di Parma and secure with toothpicks. Dip in flour. Melt butter in a large skillet and add in the veal when the butter starts to foam. Cook until there is a slight golden crust on both sides, and then pour in about four tablespoons of organic low-sodium chicken broth and a half cup of Pinot Grigio (careful—there may be flames!) Wait until wine reduces, and then add in another half cup of wine. Allow to simmer for fifteen minutes on a low flame. Remove from pan, drizzle sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Is that a breeze or what? Why pay $22 in a restaurant when you can do it at home?
Accompaniments: Rice pilaf or orzo are superb sides. Keep in mind, this dish also works well with chicken (or even pounded out flank steak) and any kind of meat or cheese combo you select—such as provolone and salami, Swiss and ham, mozzarella and pepperoni.

TUESDAY: ROAST TURKEY & GRAVY
I make a pretty mean roast turkey and gravy. Not talking red Sunday Gravy here but Thursday (Thanksgiving) Gravy. It’s made with homemade stock from water poured around the bird (with a few bouillon cubes and neck bones—always keep a supply in your freezer) and maybe some diced bell peppers, shallots or fennel if I have it in the house. You can use canned organic stock here but with the water you really have more control of the final product. The additional infusion of flavor comes from the “Mirepoix” of onions , celery stalks and carrots floating in it (all which get strained out with the other aromatics), whole garlic cloves that eventually get roasted into the water and the drippings of the bird (drippings which contain a mixture of thyme, oregano and rosemary infused olive oil and melted butter—my rub on the outer skin). It’s all whisked up and thickened by a roux of butter and flour. I do add in a few special touches to the pot like a little of my 4pm coffee for color at the end, and my trick of just dropping in a few tablespoons of malt vinegar, a splash of rosé wine (you can also use Carlo Rossi “Sweet Red”) and fresh cracked pepper. These additions bring a real unique dimension to the gravy. If you like more of a “lumpy” gravy, you can actually forego doing the roux and throw the aromatics into a food processor with a few strips of skin (or even bits of dark meat) and spoon some in. Not all of it though we aren’t making soup, although my aunt would actually leave little chunks of carrots in. Of course you can also use the giblets if you choose (I personally am not a fan of doing either.)
Accompaniments: Roasted potatoes, homemade stuffing (click here for the recipe: http://www.i-italy.org/bloggers/16123/johnny-meatballs-turkey-day ).

WEDNESDAY: ITALIAN SAUSAGE (SOZ-EEGE)
I know I call myself The Meatball King and don’t get me wrong, my Meatballs in Sunday Gravy are my pride and joy. But I have to say that my Italian Sausage version is equally as amazing. The best sausage out there is from Corrado’s, so if you aren’t grinding your own, go get a package and some yellow onions. First, sauté onions in a bit of butter and olive oil, salt and sugar until soft (not completely caramelizing them here as we do with the meatballs, just going for a little color.) Add diced garlic and let it brown (be careful to just brown it, if it turns any darker it will burn and be bitter, thus ruining the entire sauce and you’d have to start over.) Remove the casings from the sausage and pan-fry them with the onions and garlic until you don’t see any pink (breaking them into half inch chunks as they cook.) You wanna do this in a pot or a deep pan because you are now going to add in the tomatoes. Pour in one 28 oz. can of Jersey Fresh crushed, a 14 oz. can of Del Monte Italian-Style stewed and a 14 oz. can of Cento puree (I love the combo of the Jersey, California and imported Italian tomatoes—all three are slightly different and blend perfectly.) At the end, splash a little vino in with some chopped basil and season with sea salt and cracked pepper. Simmer for a minimum half hour. Boil up some macaroni (after all, Wednesday is “Prince Spaghetti Day”) and once aldente, toss in with the sauce and top with shredded Asiago cheese.
Accompaniments: Garlic bread, some good vino!


THURSDAY: BBQ CHICKEN WITH CHEDDAR & BACON
This is so basic but it’s so delicious for the whole family. Using a table-top grill (George Foremans are great), grill up some chicken breasts. In the meantime, pan-fry bacon. When the chicken is done, coat each piece in honey-barbecue sauce (I like to make my own) and then place them into a roasting pan with a slice of extra sharp cheddar on top and the crumbled up bacon. Top with a dash of fresh cracked garlic-pepper (McCormick sells this in a grinder container) and finish in the oven for about 20 minutes. I’m one of these people who like to make a sandwich out of a lot of my dishes so if you have some good Italian bread, slice it open and do the same.
Accompaniments: Baked potato with honey-butter, iceberg lettuce with bleu cheese.

FRIDAY: PIZZA NIGHT (AH’PIZZ)
I always had pizza on Fridays as a kid. I’d say half the time it was homemade, half the time it was from Donna’s in my old neighborhood (best in town since 1965). Making your own pizza is easy as pie. You can do the dough from scratch like my grandmother and just freeze some so it’s always ready to be baked, or you can utilize the corner pizza parlor (or bakery) and pick up some from them for just a few dollars. If you don’t own a nice pizza stone, go get one. They aren’t that expensive and really work well. If you don’t have one you can make it “Grandma Style” in a sheet pan. Stretch and roll out your dough with flour, brush the outer perimeter (crust area) with some olive oil and ladle on your sauce (hopefully you have some left from Sunday Meatballs or Wednesday Sausage so you don’t have to make any.) Top with mozzarella di bufala (the best) and whatever else you choose and bake till crisp. I like mushrooms, ham and fresh cherry tomatoes—had an outrageous pie with those toppings when I was in Venice—madonne!
Accompaniments: I grew up eating a side salad with my pizza and probably always will. Don’t forget the cold Peroni!

SATURDAY: ANTIPAST’ PLATTER
I’ve said it in several other blogs before…an Italian antipast’ with assorted coldcuts and cheese is a thing of beauty to me. A perfect platter has Genoa salami, dried cured sausage, thick-cut pepperoni (not pizzeria pepperoni), capicola, soppressata, prosciutto, mortadella, Italian roast beef, sharp provolone, mozzarella, giardiniera (cauliflower, carrots, sweet roasted red peppers, pepperoncinis, artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, olives), nuts and fruits (figs, sliced pears, grapes, clementines and finook). That’s the best stuff in the world right there! I assemble one whether we have five or fifty guests. I’m salivating.
Accompaniments: Anything. Or stands wonderfully alone if you ask me. (Must have thick crusty bread. This should go without saying).

All the above recipes and sides (with the exception of the roast turkey & gravy) should take no more than 45 minutes to an hour to prepare. If you’re feeling overwhelmed to cook every night at least start doing it once a week and you’ll soon see how much more satisfying a dish that you make with your hands is over that Big Mac or—gasp!—can of SpaghettiOs. Even though most of the time there is only three of us eating, I usually cook enough for an army and I freeze the rest. Try this and you’ll always have a gourmet meal on hand ready to reheat in the oven. No need for Swanson or Marie Callender!