When It Tastes Good, It's Done. Mangia!

By John Tramontana

This book is a compilation of recipes I learned from my grandmother (Phyllis), my mother (Joanne), and others I developed on my own through numerous iterations over many years. It is not a cookbook for specific diets, but it is more like a road map that leads you to your own recipe that becomes one of your family favorites. I am delighted to share these recipes, and I suggest you make additions or subtractions to the recommended spices as you see fit. Follow the advice of my nana, "Taste, Johnny, taste! When it tastes good, it's done." Mangia!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887636948

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Preface

Appetizers

Bruschetta

Sauces

Marinara

Alfredo Sauce

Francaise Sauce

Soups

Roasted Garlic Soup

Minestrone Soup

Pasta E Fagioli

Beans and Greens

Cioppino

Entrees

Prepping—Pounding and Breading

Shrimp and Asparagus

Linguine with Clam Sauce (Red or White)

Penne Vodka

Gnocchi and Pears

Eggplant Parmesan

Chicken/Veal Parmesan

Chicken/Veal/Fish Picatta

Chicken/Veal Marsala

Meatballs

Desserts

Tiramisu

Nougatine

About the Author

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When It Tastes Good, It's Done. Mangia!

John Tramontana

Copyright © 2023 John Tramontana

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88763-693-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88763-694-8 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Inspired by love and inspiration from Phyllis Tramontana (Nana) and Joanne Tramontana (Ma) to whom this book is dedicated

Preface

When It Tastes Good, It's Done. Mangia! is a cookbook compiled from recipes from my nana, my mother, and some I developed myself. Most, if not all of my family, thought that Nana gave me all of her written recipes; I didn't get any written recipes from Nana. I used what she taught me along with knowledge of my mother's recipes and put them all together here. I had to weigh pinches and handfuls and all the other measurements they used to put this together. It took a while, but I've completed enough that I feel I can share it with the family and all of you. It is not a cookbook for specific diets, but merely a compilation of the recipes I used in my restaurant and our family favorites.

Directions are generally quite easy, not requiring extreme culinary talents. Soups are mixtures of fresh and canned vegetables and use prepared stocks or specific soup bases. One of the ingredients that you always need on hand is the marinara. It is used not only as a sauce on its own, but also in many of the seafood entrees like cioppino, clams and mussels marinara, and penne vodka.

There are just a couple of kitchen gadgets that I recommend you have to use with this cookbook. The first is a six-container piece of bar equipment that is used to hold bar garnishes. Ours will be used to store our six spices. They include salt, table grind black pepper, granulated garlic, basil, parsley, and red pepper. The second one is a good kitchen scale you can use to weigh ingredients if you prefer.

The recipes that I'm sharing with you are