Melinda Wells - The Proof is in the Pudding

½ lb. ground veal

½ lb. ground pork

1 lb. ground beef

½ to ¾ cup unflavored breadcrumbs

⅛ cup chopped fresh parsley (I like to use Italian flat leaf parsley)

½ cup grated cheese

Salt to taste

Pepper, if desired (Linda doesn’t use pepper, but I do)

5 eggs

About half a cup of marsala wine, poured into a bowl

Marinara sauce

Mix together all ingredients except wine. When rolling meat mixture into meatballs, moisten hands frequently with the marsala wine. Fry gently in olive oil until browned. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce (heated), with or without pasta.

This recipe came from my friend Fred Caruso, who produced The Rat Pack and Blue Velvet for HBO, and was production manager on the first Godfather movie.

3 slices Italian pancetta, chopped (American bacon may be substituted)

1 small onion, diced (use Vidalia or Maui for a sweeter flavor)

3 cloves garlic, diced

½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

A “splash” of olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)

12 green olives, pitted and chopped (if stuffed with pimentos, discard the pimentos)

12 large black olives, chopped

3 tablespoons capers, drained

3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 6 oz. can tomato paste (save this can for measuring)

1 6 oz. can red wine

1 6 oz. can water

½ can (not tightly packed) Italian parsley, chopped

½ can (not tightly packed) basil leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (available in spice section of supermarket)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Grated Romano cheese (any brand)

1 lb. spaghetti (Fred suggests the De Cecco brand as best for this dish)

Have all your ingredients prepared and lined up in order of use prior to beginning to make the sauce. Use small bowls or water glasses.

In a large hot skillet, over medium heat, render the chopped pancetta until crispy. Add the onions and a splash (about 1 tablespoon) of olive oil. Cook over medium/low heat until the onions are transparent. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook 5 minutes.

At this point: Bring a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti. Add salt to water just before tossing the pasta into the boiling water. Cook per directions for al dente, usually 12 minutes.

Back to the sauce: Add the chopped olives, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste and stir well. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the wine, water, and seasonings. Simmer a few minutes. Now: Remove a cup of the hot pasta water. If sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water.

As soon as the pasta has reached al dente, drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. Serve with the grated cheese. Serve (and cook) with a good sangiovese or chianti wine. Serves 4. (Leftover Pasta Caruso is delicious the next day, when reheated in microwave.)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or 6 half breasts) cut into big nugget-size pieces

½ cup olive oil

Salt and (fresh ground) pepper for seasoning chicken breasts

6 bell peppers: red, yellow, orange, sliced in 1-inch strips (don’t use green peppers)

3 oz. prosciutto ham, chopped (packaged, in deli section of market)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 cup white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

Only if needed: a little more salt and pepper, to your taste

NOTE: If serving immediately, include the following two ingredients, but if making for next day only add them when reheating the dish:

2 tablespoons capers

¼ to ½ cup Italian parsley (fresh and cut up with kitchen shears)

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. While heating, season the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides. Remove from Dutch oven and set aside.

Into the Dutch oven, put strips of pepper and prosciutto and sauté over medium heat until peppers are tender and prosciutto is browned, about 9 or 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for no more than 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine, fresh thyme, and oregano leaves. Stir thoroughly to combine, including the browned bits from bottom of the Dutch oven.

Add the chicken back into the Dutch oven. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the Dutch oven, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. (If you prefer chicken with the bone in, cooking to doneness will take longer, 20 to 25 minutes.) Taste to see if you need to add salt and pepper. (You probably won’t. Remember that the capers will add a bit of salt.)

This dish is best if “rested” for a day. (Cooled to room temperature, and then stored covered in refrigerator overnight.) When getting ready to reheat to serve next day, add 2 tablespoons of capers (drained), and ¼ to ½ cup of chopped or cut up Italian parsley.

Reheat in the Dutch oven over medium flame. When ready, serve with rice, or with boiled baby gold or red potatoes (skin on), or with mashed potatoes. I like to make mashed potatoes that are half potatoes and half cooked spinach, chopped.

Penni Crenna, wife of actor Richard Crenna, always loved making meals for her family and doing the cooking when they gave parties. Her Mexican-Style Chicken Kiev was a great favorite with their guests. When I made it I understood why.

Don’t preheat oven, because this needs time in the refrigerator before baking.

4 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved

1 large can (approximately 16 oz.) whole green chilies

¼ lb. Jack cheese

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (but you can also use prepared dry crumbs, unseasoned)

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Pound the chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper until each is about ¼ inch thick.

Slit the green chilies into halves lengthwise and remove seeds (unless you want this dish hotter), then cut into 8 equal pieces.

Cut the Jack cheese into 8 fingers about ½ inch thick and 1½ inches long.

Combine the breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese, chili powder, garlic salt, ground cumin, and ground pepper. (Penni makes her own breadcrumbs: instructions below.)

Lay a piece of green chili and a finger of Jack cheese on each of the chicken pieces. Roll them up to enclose the filling. Tuck ends under. Dip the bundles into melted butter, drain briefly, and then roll in the crumb mixture to coat evenly. Place bundles seam-side down without sides touching in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Drizzle remaining melted butter over all. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake uncovered in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink when slashed. Remove to a serving platter. Serves 8.

NOTE FROM DELLA: Penni served this with black beans, rice, and tortillas. I like to add salsa and guacamole.

FOR PENNI’S HOMEMADE BREADCRUMBS: She takes the crusts off slices of white bread and chops the slices in the food processor. Then she mixes these crumbs with the spices listed in the recipe above.

Seana, actor Richard Crenna’s daughter, grew up in Hollywood, but instead of going into show business, she earned a Masters in Psychology and went to work with troubled adolescents in residential facilities. When I asked her how she handled them, she said, “Bring homemade Goody Bars and the kids will do anything.”