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Authentic Southern Italian Cuisine
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The Great Italian Sandwich

July 6, 2013 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
"The secret to a great panini lies in the pressing"

“The secret to a great panini lies in the pressing”

The sandwich may have taken its name from an English earl, but the concept of wrapping delectable cured meats, cheeses and vegetables in bread reached its zenith in the hands of Italian cooks. Italy’s great salumi tradition and wealth of fantastic cheeses made sandwiches a natural evolution for Italian diners who wanted something to eat on the go. As Sicilians and Italians came to American shores, they brought their fondness for hand-held feasts with them, leading to unique regional delights.

Italian Subs

The classic sub, zeppelin or hoagie is so closely identified with its Italian origins that it’s called an Italian sandwich in many parts of the country. The Italian loaves used for sandwiches typically don’t contain eggs, so they have a crisp crust rather than the tender surface of a hamburger bun or roll. Italian cured meats, including salami, prosciutto, pepperoni and mortadella, complement a slice or two of creamy provolone or mozzarella. Think of an Italian sub as an antipasto plate on crusty Italian bread, and you’ll be right on target.

A classic Italian sandwich often has brined pepperoncini peppers along with the usual lettuce leaves and tomato slices, but toppings have as many regional variations as there are sandwich lovers. Some sandwich lovers prefer a drizzle of olive oil to marry the flavors and keep the bread from becoming soggy where it touches juicy tomatoes. Others prefer a dash of garlic-infused vinegar to add a bright tanginess to the sandwich. Some purists reach for both in the form of Italian dressing as a condiment.

Hot Italian sandwiches are like an Italian meal on bread. Veal parmigiana, meatballs and eggplant are just a few of the dishes that lend themselves beautifully to sandwich fillings.

Panini

In Italian, the word “panini” means “little bread” and refers to any sandwich on a traditional Italian small loaf such as ciabatta. Typically served hot, the Italian panini is only lightly pressed and grilled to melt the cheese and meld the filling’s flavors. In Italian restaurants in America, a panini might be served Italian-style or pressed and grilled more firmly into a compact shape that concentrates its vibrant taste.

You can order just about anything on your panini, but don’t skimp on the cheese. A pressed, grilled sandwich is at its best when the cheese inside it melts and fills every available space between layers of roast pork or bites of juicy marinated chicken. The melted cheese also holds the sandwich together nicely, making it easy to fit into a busy day. You may not have time to savor a traditional Italian sub sandwich with its thick, crusty bread and flavorful oil, but a panini’s slim profile fits easily in your hand when you’re eating on the go.

Regional Favorites

Throughout parts of the northeastern U.S., Italian sandwiches are synonymous with peppers and sausage. A typical sausage and pepper sandwich can be stuffed with freshly made sausage like our house-made Italian sausage or with a cured sausage variety, but it always has heaps of sauteed sweet peppers and onions. With the addition of an egg or two, a sausage and pepper sandwich becomes a classic weekend breakfast item.

In New Orleans, the Sicilian community developed its own  Italian sandwich, the muffuletta. The name comes from the round bread that forms the foundation of the sandwich, but the truly special part of the sandwich is the pungent, briny olive salad atop its layers of mortadella, salami and provolone. Workers who wanted a hearty lunch originally ate each element of the meal separately, but they quickly found that piling everything onto a round of bread transformed a simple lunch into a delicacy. While muffulettas are hard to find outside of their birthplace, topping an Italian sub with olives, peppers, onions and celery will give you a taste of this Sicilian treat.

Chicago’s contribution to the illustrious history of Italian sandwiches is the Italian beef sandwich. Loaded with chopped, seasoned roast beef and topped with pickled Italian peppers and vegetables, the Italian beef sandwich grew from the Windy City’s thriving beef processing industry. Italian workers bought inexpensive cuts of beef and made them delectably tender with long, slow cooking. The easiest way to eat the juicy meat was on a long Italian bun.

Try something better than a burger for lunch and go Italian with a panini or a meatball sub. No matter how you like your Italian sandwich, it’s authentic to somewhere.

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What’s The Difference Between Northern and Southern Italian Food?

May 4, 2013 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
carlinos-italy-map

“Both north and south contribute to classic Italian cuisine, but each has its own distinct set of flavors”

Italy’s a compact country about the length of California, but the culinary differences between northern Italian food and southern Italian dishes are tremendous. While northern Italians love their rich cream sauces, polenta and stuffed meats, people in the south embrace flavors such as tangy tomato sauces, olive oil and fresh steamed seafood. Both north and south have contributed their share to classic Italian cuisine, but each region has its own distinct set of flavors.

Southern Italian Cuisine

Southern Italian cooking features the bright, lively Mediterranean taste that most people associate with Italian cuisine. From salad greens to seafood, freshness is paramount to southern Italian chefs. Peppers,  eggplant and tomatoes thrive in the warm southern Italian climate, and they form the basis for some of the region’s most-beloved dishes. Eggplant parmigiana, tangy marinara sauce and minestrone enlivened with fresh herbs are southern classics. The wealth of great tomatoes led to the invention of Italy’s most popular food worldwide: pizza.

The Neapolitan pizza margherita combines the best of southern Italy in one delicious dish. Fresh tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese and a few leaves of peppery sweet basil turn a simply prepared crust into a feast. Purists can opt for the traditional pizza or choose some of the region’s other delicacies as toppings. Anchovies, freshly made sweet sausage, diced peppers and onions are practically made to go with pizza.

While northern Italy runs on butter, southern Italy makes the most of its abundance of olive oils. Olives grow beautifully in warm Mediterranean climates, but nowhere has olive oil become a greater culinary art form than in Italy. From deep green oils meant for salads to light yellow oils perfect for putting a golden crust on a piece of pan-seared fresh fish, olive oil is a southern Italian icon. You’ll find it in the kitchen and on the table as a dipping medium for the region’s crusty, open-textured breads.

Northern Italian Fare

Thanks to its mountainous terrain and its proximity to Switzerland, Austria and France, northern Italy loves the land. The Piemonte and Lombardia regions of northern Italy are prime cattle country, and their cuisine shows it. Butter-based sauces rich with cream grace northern Italian tables just as they do in France, but Italian chefs put their own delicious spin on them with fresh herbs and garlic. Stews and soups with the beef so abundant in the area are popular in the winter, but spring is for succulent veal. Thin breaded veal cutlets are as popular in Italy as they are in nearby Austria.

Hard sausages of every description helped northern Italians weather winters that came early to mountain valleys. Salami and other salted, preserved meats such as prosciutto are northern Italian delicacies that have gone worldwide. The Emilia-Romagna region of central northern Italy is home to prosciutto di Parma and another product synonymous with great Italian food: Parmesan cheese.

The mountainous terrain at the foot of the Italian Alps lends itself to pastures rather than fields, so cheese has been a staple for centuries. The sheep, goats and cows that graze there produce the milk that goes into Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, asiago and gorgonzola cheeses. With their variety of textures and tastes, northern Italian cheeses complement northern and southern dishes alike.

Whether you prefer a dish inspired by northern Italian cooking such as fettuccine Alfredo or a southern delight such as a Neapolitan pizza, you’ll find the same commitment to bold yet balanced flavor common to all great Italian cooking.

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Easter in Italy and Around the World

March 24, 2013 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
carlinos-easter
“Easter Sunday brings thoughts of egg hunts, Easter bonnets and chocolate bunnies”

For us, Easter Sunday might bring thoughts of egg hunts, Easter bonnets and chocolate bunnies, but the holiday has a different feel in other parts of the world. Marked with the solemnity of its religious origins and the lightheartedness of spring’s rebirth, Easter has a long and colorful history that even retains elements of ancient Roman festivals.

Russia and Eastern Europe

Russian and Eastern European countries’ Easter celebrations are most famous for their incredibly detailed decorated eggs. These aren’t the simple hard-boiled and dyed eggs most of us know for Easter; these works of art are often meant to be displayed for years. The eggs are a hold-over from the earliest celebrations of spring’s renewal. They represented new beginnings and fertility, and adorning them with festive decorations is a practice that predates not only Christianity but also recorded history; no one’s quite sure when the practice began. However, the Romans almost certainly contributed to the custom, carrying it to all corners of the far-flung Roman Empire.

While Easter Sunday is solemn, the Monday afterward is celebratory throughout Eastern Europe. It’s tradition to spank others with decorated willow switches – think of the friendly swats you might get on your birthday or the affectionate pinch you’d get if you forgot to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. Water-fights are also common, especially in Poland.

The dinner table almost always includes a ham, eggs and bread, often marked in the shape of a cross to honor the religious roots of the celebration. Some traditions also include cracking boiled eggs with a nail to symbolize Christ’s suffering.

Greece

Greek Orthodox traditions start with celebrations on Great Thursday with eggs dyed red and placed on altars or ikons. Easter is a more solemn holiday than it is elsewhere; traditional and devout households consider the next few days a period of mourning. On Holy Friday, church bells toll in funereal tones and flags fly at half-mast. Saturday’s observances have a distinctly modern twist; the Eternal Flame travels to Greece from Jerusalem by jet, a trip that used to be considerably longer. Each church gets its own flame that remains lit throughout the remainder of the week.

On Easter Sunday, the somber tone of the holy week is transformed to a joyful celebration. Whole spit-roasted lamb is a traditional centerpiece to an Easter feast, but any kind of lamb dish can work for those who don’t have time or space for a whole lamb. Heaps of delicacies grace every table, and the retsina and ouzo flow freely throughout the day. It’s no wonder, then, that Easter Monday is a time of restful contemplation in the Greek tradition.

Italy

The home of the Roman Catholic Church and of pre-Christian Roman celebrations of spring naturally has its own rich Easter traditions. It’s second only to Christmas in its importance socially, and for many devout Italians, it’s the most solemn feast in the liturgical calendar. Good Friday is filled with more solemn observances, including blessings from parish priests and meatless Lenten meals, but Sunday is a day for celebration.

Easter Sunday is for feasting on pork, lamb and veal as well as sweet treats in the shape of eggs. Chocolate eggs are as beloved in Italy as they are here for Easter, and the Italians have turned decorating the candies into an art form. Bakeries try to outdo each other with lavish confections and iced cakes. The colomba pasquale, or Easter dove, is a special sweetened, yeast-leavened Easter bread that is Easter’s counterpart to the traditional Christmas panettone.

Florence has a unique tradition, the Scoppio del Carro, loosely translated as the Bursting of the Cart. A cart filled with fireworks is paraded through the streets and set alight with flints from the Holy Sepulchre, bringing together a religious tradition with one that predates Christianity in a unique event that celebrates spring with a bang.

Whether you celebrate Easter as a traditional Christian holiday or as a celebration of spring’s arrival, Carlino’s wishes you Buona Pasqua!

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It’s Carnevale Time Again!

February 2, 2013 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
Carlinos Restaurant Carnevale
“Carnevale di Venezia is a day for masks, feasts and parties”

Do you know what’s special about February 12? It isn’t just another Tuesday; millions of Italians mark it as Carnevale, the last day of feasting and celebration before Lent. The French call it Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, but its roots are deep in Italian soil, particularly in Venice. The Venetian version of the holiday is one of the most spectacular and elegant affairs anywhere, and it’s recently enjoyed a resurgence.

The traditional Carnevale di Venezia is a day for masks, feasts and parties. What sets it apart is its age; as one of the first carnival celebrations in Europe, it’s a tradition almost a thousand years old. The first recorded Carnevale in Venice was celebrated in 1162 as a party to commemorate a victory on the battlefield that kept the region, then a republic, free. As people gathered in the Piazza San Marco, they brought their favorite delicacies and wore their brightest colors, turning the party into a memorable feast.

Eating well before Lent was a tradition even before the Venetian celebration, but the coincidental timing of the victory and the feast day transformed it into something special. Italians don’t need many reasons to celebrate with wonderful food, free-flowing wine and fancy clothes; having two great reasons to throw a party made Venice’s Carnevale an irresistible attraction.

As the party grew into an ever larger social event, the elegant clothes evolved into masks and costumes. Eventually, masks became a way to move beyond the bonds of social hierarchy, letting people from every walk of life celebrate the final day of feasting before the austerity of Lent. Mask-makers held high status; if painters were the rock stars of Renaissance Italy, then Venetian mask-makers were the back-up singers, earning invitations to all the best parties. Today, the masks Venetians and visitors wear are just for fun, although the crowning of the year’s most beautiful costumes has become an event for fashionistas worldwide.

Over the years, traditional mask styles became especially well known and are still visible on the streets of Venice during Carnevale. The traditional square bautta covers the whole face, while the delicate columbina hides only the eyes and is almost exclusively worn by women. Dama masks look like the serene face of a beautiful woman, and gato masks transform their wearers into cats. Other popular styles resemble traditional comedy and tragedy masks or jesters.

The food of carnevale is right in the name: meat, and plenty of it. The “carne” in Carnevale means meat, and for two weeks before Ash Wednesday, meat is a mainstay. Beefy meatballs, pork sausage and tender veal dishes are favorites for Carnevale. Anything creamy, rich or luscious also fits the celebratory theme, so cream-filled pastries and rum-soaked cakes have a place on the holiday table. Wine and spirits flow, keeping the party atmosphere lively well into the night.

However revelers call it – Carnevale, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras – it ends sharply at midnight. For all its excesses, Carnevale has a solemn heart, marking as it does the last farewell to feasting and frolics before Lent.

You don’t need to observe Lent to enjoy the festivities, though. Make February 12 special with a feast of your own at Carlino’s. Why have just another Tuesday when you could have a party instead?

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Spectacular Salumi

January 24, 2013 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
Carlino's-Salumi

"House-made specialties have led to a new boom in creative antipasto dishes featuring unique cured meats"

To the uninitiated, salumi might look like a typo for salami. The Italian word for cured meats, salumi does mean salami, but it also encompasses so much more: soppressata, pepperoni, mortadella, pancetta, capicola and the queen of preserved meats, prosciutto di Parma. Just reading the names aloud is enough to whet your appetite, isn’t it?

Salumi takes its name from the same root as “salt,” and salt is the active ingredient in many types of salumi. When food is salted, it sheds much of its moisture. Without moisture, flavors become intensely concentrated. That’s why a slice of salami or a lardon of pancetta has such potent flavor. Great salumi makers also boost the flavor with spices; cracked peppercorns, paprika, capers and garlic are just some of the flavors you might find in certain types of salumi.

Salting originated as a way to store meats before refrigeration was available. As salt removes moisture, it preserves foods and keeps them good to eat for months or even years. In warm Mediterranean climates, having flavorful meat that didn’t spoil was vital to health. Over time, the salting that was once a necessity became an art form, evolving into brine cures and dry cures, each of which also featured unique combinations of meats and spices.

Sometimes the salt in salumi came in the form of a pickling solution. Pickled meats aren’t as common in Italian and Mediterranean culinary traditions as in northern European ones, but individual salumi makers often try their hand at brining cuts of meat. When thinking of brine-cured meat, you might think of pastrami, but although its name sounds Italian, its roots are farther east in Romania. That hasn’t stopped the popular meat from sharing space in deli counters with salami and soppressata.

Smoked meats also count as salumi, including certain varieties of bacon and ham. Hard summer sausages are often smoked, too. Like salting, smoking started as a way to keep food fresh and tasty throughout the seasons. Smoky flavors have their own deliciously complex appeal, so salumi makers experimented with smoking, too. By varying the type of wood smoke used, incorporating herbs or spices, and using a cold-smoking or hot-smoking process, artisans could create distinct regional tastes.

While salumi became more uniform for decades, recent trends toward house-made specialties has led to a new boom in creative antipasto dishes featuring unique cured meats. The juicy, wine-infused Italian sausage we make in-house at Carlino’s is a great example of the culinary creativity that transforms an ordinary meat dish into something special. Although our sausage is made fresh and not preserved, it borrows from the age-old traditions of great salumi makers throughout history.

Salumi artisans had hundreds of years in which to refine their recipes. A single bite of prosciutto represents the culmination of centuries of effort, and an Italian sandwich stacked with many types of salumi is a veritable tour of Italy on a plate. The next time you enjoy a slice of pepperoni pizza or a paper-thin slice of prosciutto di Parma, savor it as one of Italy’s most enjoyable forms of art.

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Carlino’s Restaurant Customer’s Favorite Pizza Toppings Poll Results

August 18, 2012 Carlino's Restaurant no comments

Despite the trend towards tasting non-traditional pizza toppings the classic toppings are still people’s favorite. According to Carlino’s Restaurant latest poll 34% of our customers prefer plain cheese pizza, 28% sausage, followed by pepperoni, mushrooms & olives.

Carlino's Restaurant Customer's Favorite Pizza Toppings

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Italian Herbs: What Makes That Pizza Sauce So Good?

July 27, 2012 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
carlino's-herb-spices
“Spices distinguishes the tangy tomatoes in a luscious marinara sauce and makes them uniquely Italian”

The ingredients in southern Italian food are straightforward; you won’t find many things in the Neapolitan kitchen that you couldn’t pronounce. Many of them are so universally beloved that you’ll find them in Mexican, Indian and Greek dishes too. What distinguishes the tangy tomatoes in a luscious marinara sauce and makes them uniquely Italian? The secret’s in the spices.

Basil

Mediterranean basil finds its way into everything from pizza sauce to pesto. Slightly sweet with overtones of anise and pepper, the plant’s fresh leaves can also enliven a salad or top a pizza. In its dried state, basil’s perfect for adding to soups and sauces. Basil takes its name from an old word for “king.” It’s certainly the king of the kitchen for Italian chefs, and you’ll find it gracing much of Carlino’s menu.

Oregano

If basil is the king of the kitchen, then oregano is its queen. Its spicy scent and hint of bitterness is the perfect foil for basil’s sweetness. Oregano also complements creamy mozzarella cheese beautifully, so it’s a primary component in a good pizza sauce. You’ll also note its distinctive warm flavor in our house-made Italian sausage and in our lasagna.

Parsley

If green had a flavor, it might taste just like parsley. The bright green herb is so pretty that you’ll often see it garnishing a plate, but it’s far more than just a garnish to Italian chefs. Flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor than the curly kind that’s become synonymous with garnishes. Chopped parsley imparts a fresh, bright flavor to tomato-based sauces where it balances basil and oregano in a three-part harmony.

Marjoram

The subtlety of marjoram sometimes gets lost behind the big flavors of basil and oregano, but in more delicate dishes, you’ll definitely notice its almost flowery flavor. It’s a southern Italian staple in vegetable dishes and with broiled fish. Marjoram thrives in a warm Mediterranean climate; when it grows in cooler climates, it loses much of its flavor, but in southern Italy, it’s deliciously bold.

Fennel

Italian sausage just wouldn’t be the same without these aromatic seeds. Somewhere between anise and celery in taste, fennel is the predominant flavor in sweet Italian sausage. Fennel root tastes faintly of the seeds, but it’s eaten as a vegetable rather than used as a spice. Its popularity in Italian cooking dates back to the early Renaissance when dishes with sweet and savory overtones were popular among the Italian nobility. The fennel-laden Italian sausage you enjoy today hasn’t changed much from what the Medici family might have served.

Herbs and spices transform the simple, fresh ingredients of southern Italy into the magnificent cuisine it’s become. Taste a plate of sausage and peppers or a slice of pizza and see how many Italian herbs your palate can find.

Sincerely,

Carlo, Wali and all your friends at Carlino’s

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The Popularity of the Panini

May 16, 2012 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
"The secret to a great panini lies in the pressing"
“The secret to a great panini lies in the pressing”

Every cuisine that bakes bread has developed some variation on the sandwich, and Italian cuisine is no exception. However, only the Italian panini has become such a hit that it now rivals classics like spaghetti and meatballs in popularity on restaurant menus. What makes the panini so special?

Pressed to Perfection

Pressing a sandwich concentrates its flavors. Cheese melds with meats and vegetables. Herbs release their flavor into the surrounding sandwich fillings. Bread becomes toasty and crisp. It’s almost as magical a transformation as turning plain carbon into a sparkling diamond through pressure, albeit with much less force. A compact panini is also easier to eat than a thick sandwich, making it a great choice for a quick and hearty lunch. You want to eat your sandwich, not wear it, and a panini’s the perfect portable meal.

The secret to a great panini lies in the pressing; the chef must press firmly enough to blend flavors, but not so firmly that juices leave tender fillings like homemade sausage or roasted chicken. More delicate ingredients like eggplant, broccoli rabe and portobello mushrooms take a lighter hand with the press than stacks of sliced ham and provolone cheese. Knowing how far to go with the panini press is as much an art as a science, but a great panini is worth that attention to detail.

Some Like It Hot

Heat is another vital element to making the perfect panini. Without it, you’d just have a flat sandwich. It’s heat that toasts the bread, adding another layer of flavor to the rich assortment of tastes that comprise a well-made panini. That heat melts cheese, releases the volatile flavors in herbs and adds savor to meats. Hot food feels more satisfying, yet a panini still feels light enough to enjoy for lunch.

While its outer surfaces turn crisp in the heated press, the inner surfaces of the bread become infused with flavors from the meats or vegetables in the sandwich. Heat keeps the bread from softening under pressure, creating a crunchy crust around the sandwich that makes it easier to eat while adding flavor. Thick slices of Italian bread do more than hold a panini together; they’re an important element in the sandwich’s taste too. Toasting in the panini press brings out the full flavor of a robust Italian loaf.

Fillings and Flavors

Like any sandwich, the panini is incredibly versatile. Fill it with saucy meatballs, homemade sausage or a juicy chicken cutlet, and it becomes substantial enough for a hearty dinner. When it’s stuffed with roasted vegetables or grilled shrimp, it’s a satisfying lunch. Confirmed meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans may not share many favorite dishes, but they can all agree on one thing: a panini is always welcome. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in a panini.

Come to Carlino’s for lunch or dinner and tell us how you’d like your panini today. We’ll make it to order. After one bite, you’ll know what’s so special about a great panini.

Sincerely,

Carlo, Wali and all your friends at Carlino’s

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Restaurant Hunter “Best Italian Food In The World”

May 12, 2012 Carlino's Restaurant no comments

When Rob Petrone, the Emmy award-winning host of FiOS1’s “Restaurant Hunter,” got a letter proclaiming Carlino’s food “the best Italian food in the world,” he took it as a challenge that he had to taste for himself. After sampling our veal pizzaiola and house-made sausage with broccoli rabe as chef and owner Carlo Corteo looked on, the food critic certainly looked convinced. We’d like to invite you to find out what makes Carlino’s so special too. If you missed it during its original airing, get a glimpse behind the scenes in Carlino’s kitchen on this episode of “Restaurant Hunter” on our Gallery page.

Click Here To View “Best Italian Food In The World” Video

Carlo spent the first fourteen years of his life in Monte di Procida, a town just outside of Naples, Italy. He’s designed Carlino’s menu to reflect the skills he learned and the tastes he loved from his boyhood. “I try to remember the taste that my mother put into every one of her dishes,” he told Rob Petrone.

The bold, bright flavors of the Neapolitan coast come from simple, but exquisitely fresh ingredients. Watch Carlino’s chefs prepare tangy veal pizzaiola from fresh, ripe tomatoes and sweet, spicy basil. Thin-sliced veal gets a light coating of flour, salt and pepper before nestling in the pan next to the tomatoes until it’s crisp and redolent of all the rich flavors in the sauce. As Carlo notes, “It’s all in how you put it together,” and in the right hands, these simple ingredients become a savory memory of home.

You’ll also learn about another Italian classic that distinguishes Carlino’s: homemade sausage. The perfect Italian sausage requires balance between aromatic fennel seeds, black pepper and succulent meat. Carlino’s take on sausage adds a fourth flavor note that brings all the others into harmony: a dry white wine. The sausage rests in the refrigerator for 24 hours after making it to let all the flavors blend; then it’s sliced and cooked to order. Our rustic presentation of sausage with broccoli rabe and rigatoni tastes as good as it looks on “Restaurant Hunter,” but you’ll also find our sausage makes a perfect pairing with peppers or adorning a pizza.

With or without our homemade sausage, pizza is another one of our specialties. Naples invented pizza, so it’s no wonder that Carlo wants to do justice to one of the world’s most popular foods. For two decades, Long Island residents have loved Carlino’s grandma pizza with its crisp, thin crust and its light marinara sauce; watch it come out of the oven on our “Restaurant Hunter” segment, and you’ll see why it’s so beloved. It tastes even better than it looks, but don’t take our word for it – try it for yourself.

Come to Carlino’s and find out why the “Restaurant Hunter” found just what he wanted!

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The Italian Love Affair with Peppers

May 5, 2012 Carlino's Restaurant no comments
"Bright red beauty of peppers gives Italian dishes their character"

“Bright red, yellow and green beauty of peppers gives Italian dishes their character”

When you think of a brilliant red vegetable that’s synonymous with Italian cuisine, you undoubtedly think first of tomatoes. While that’s certainly true, another bright red beauty also gives Italian dishes their character: peppers. You’ll see them in the form of spicy red pepper flakes to shake on pizza or in their sweet green form with sausages on a sandwich. Pickled, they accompany sandwiches and salads. Whether roasted, marinated or fresh, this New World vegetable has found a new home in the venerable traditions of Italian cooking.

Sweet Peppers Green, yellow or red bell peppers are the surprisingly sweet heart of many savory Italian dishes. Called peperone in Italian, these mild vegetables impart a bright flavor that complements spicy Italian sausage. Pizzas with sausage and peppers are popular for a reason; the sweetness of the peppers makes a good foil for aromatic fennel and black pepper in the sausage.

Fresh bell peppers also roast and simmer beautifully. As they roast, their bright, sharp taste mellows into a softer, fuller flavor that goes well with creamy mozzarella, eggplant or cured meats like salami and pepperoni. You may not instantly recognize their characteristic flavor in a rich sauce, but chances are they’re there; they contribute an underlying sweetness to many tomato-based sauces.

Yellow peperoncini are almost always pickled to enhance their taste. Although a few kinds of peperoncini have a bit of warmth to them, they’re far closer to mild bell peppers than to their spicier cousins like pimento and cayenne peppers. The salt and vinegar brining liquid adds flavor while preserving the peppers’ fresh taste.

Even a pepperoni pizza couldn’t happen without peppers. One of the characteristic flavors of pizza’s perfect partner is paprika. The spice comes from powdered sweet red peppers, and they’re responsible for the bright orange-red hue of pepperoni slices.

Hot Peppers Italians aren’t averse to a little heat on the plate. Hot cherry peppers are a spicy accompaniment for sweet sausage or mild roasted vegetables if you have a taste for something with a kick to it. You’ll often find these spicy pimento peppers pickled with garlic and spices or marinated in oil to concentrate their flavor. Cherry peppers are great for waking up a simple sandwich or salad.

Plenty of pizza connoisseurs wouldn’t dream of enjoying a slice without a generous sprinkling of hot red pepper flakes. The red pepper shaker that graces pizzeria tables doesn’t contain just one kind of pepper; the coarsely ground spice is a mixture of a number of pepper types you might not associate with Italian food. The cayenne peppers found in Cajun dishes and the ancho chilies popular in Mexican food contribute heat and flavor to the blend; bell peppers and pimentos add sweetness.

Those pepper flakes do more than pep up a pizza. They can also add a new dimension to herbed olive oil for dipping bread or spice a sandwich loaded with meatballs or sausage.

Peppers aren’t likely to unseat tomatoes as the king of the Italian kitchen, but they’ve certainly earned their place as the second most popular Italian vegetable. Pick a pepper to enjoy on your pizza or sandwich; you’ll see why they’re so beloved in Italy too.

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