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ANTICA FOCACCERIA San FRANCESCO

PALERMO, SICILY

The SINGLE BEST PLACE to EAT in PALERMO

ART by author DANIEL BELLINO Z

 

PIAZZA SINATRA

Agrigento, Sicilia

"I'm up in The BELL TOWER of The CATHEDRAL 

of AGRIGENTO

SICILY

TEMPLE of HERA

Agrigento , SICILIA

The CATHEDRAL of PALERMO

PALAZZO NORMANNI

Palermo

Antica Focacceria S. Franceso

Palermo , Sicily

Home of Pane Milza

aka Vastedda

ARANCINI & PANE MILZA 

at ANTICA FOCACCERIA S. FRANCESCO

PALERMO , SICILY

AQUA MELONE

Antica Mercato Siracusa

View Out My Balcony Of PIAZZA del DUOMO

The CATHEDRAL & ELEFANTE

Europa Centrale Hotel

CATANIA

SAL & ANTONIO

Catania

GELATO di ZUPPA INGLESE

PIAZZA del DUOMO

TAORMINA

Swimming in The MEDITERRANEAN SEA at CEFALU

Me At The TEATRO GRECO

SIRACUS , SICILIA

CATHEDRAL of SIRACUSA

Isla Ortigia

CATHEDRAL di SIRACUSA

ANTIPASTO MISTA

La TAVERNETTA

ORTIGIA , SIRACUSA

Caponata, Roast Peppers, Local Fish

Spaghetti Pesce Spada

La TAVERNETTA TRATTORIA

ORTIGIA

CASATA

A Glass of MARSALA After Dinner at La TAVERNETTA

ORTIGIA , SIRACUSA

SICILIA

View From My BALCONY

Domus Mariae Hotel

ORTIGIA

DOMUS MARIAE 

My Hotel in ORTIGIA

SIRACUSA

View to the right out my Balcony , Domus Maraie Hotel , ORTIGA SIRACUSA 

My Hat & GRANITA

La BAR

ORTIGIA , SICILY

GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

AMAZON.com

ARANCINI in SICILY

Recipe in GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

Recipes From My SICILIAN NONNA

Temple of Concordia

Agrigento, Sicily

INSALATA SICILIANA

at a Little Trattoria in ORTIGIA , SIRACUSA

SPAGHETTI con COZZE

ORTIGIA

Old FIAT 500

On Streets of AGRIGENTO

The SINATRA COOKBOOK

"SINATRA SAUCE"

by SICILIAN AMERICAN

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

"SINATRA"

AMAZON.com

Note - The author of "SINATRA SAUCE" - Daniel Bellino Z's family,

The BELLINO'S are from the same town in SICILY - Lercara Friddi

as FRANK SINATRA'S Father - Martino Severino Sinatra

The BEST MEAL of The TRIP

PASTA al FORNO

PALUMBO

 AGRIGENTO , SICILIA

Recipe in GRANMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

This was The BEST DISH on The WHOLE TRIP

POLLO ARROSTO con PATATE e CIPOLLA

at ROSTICCERIA PALUMBO

AGRIGENTO

RECIPE

LEMON GRANITA

AGRIGENTO

ANTIPASTO MISTA

CAPONATA , STUFFED EGGPLANT, 

MELANZANE PARMIGIANO

ZUCCHINI , e CIPOLLA

TRATTORIA U FUCULARA

CANTANIA

RECIPES

SUNDAY SAUCE

by DANIEL BELLINO "Z"

Bussiatta con Gamberi Bronte e Pistachio

Cantania

Insalta di Polpo

Trattoria on ORTIGIA , SIRACUSA

GAMBERONI GRATINATA

ORTIGIA

A Church in SICILY

VIEW From VILLA DAFNE,  ALIA

Great Pool with an AMAZING VIEW

VILLA DAFNE , Alia , Sicilia

View Out My Room

VILLA DAFNE

ALIA, SICILY 

near ROCCAPALUMBA & LERCARA FRIDDI

The DUOMO , LERCARA FRIDDI

DUOMO

Lercara Friddi

Nonno Bellino

My Grandfather FILLIPO BELLINO

Born in LERCARA FRIDDI , SICILIA

about 1881

MARIA SALEMI

Maybe a Long Lost Relative

Old House in LERCARA FRIDDI , SICILY

Maybe My Grandparents lived in one like this ?

Francesco His Nonno & Me at their caffe, CAFFE GLAMOUR

Lercara Friddi

"BIG GUY" having un Caffe at CAFFE GLAMOUR , 

Lercara Friddi SICILY

Me and The GIRLS at The Municipal Hall , 

LERCARA FRIDDI

SICILIA

DUOMO

LERCARA FRIDDI

Un CANNOLO 

in a Pasticceria 

LERCARA FRIDDI , SICILY

Piazza Romano , Lercara Friddi

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANO

TOMATOES & EGGPLANTS

CAPONATA Too !!!

RECIPES in GRANDMA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

Oranges for my Fresh OK at FOCACCERIA S. FRANCESCO

TIMBALLO di ANELLETTI SICILIANA

Recipe

Bar Santoro , PALERMO

Church in Agrigento

Church in Agrigento

Via Maqueda , Palermo

CAPONATA

TRATTORIA CARTARI , Palermo

CAPONATA RECIPE

in GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

Recipes From My Sicilian Nonna

NONNA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

AMAZON.com

Me & Fillipo of TRATTORIA CARTARI , Palermo

Drinking Insolia BDP

Spaghetti con Broccoli

CARTARI

RECIPE

Drinking FRAPPATO with DINNER

Trattoria Cartari

Cucuzza Pepperoni Melanzane Zucchini e Pomodoro

RECIPES : PASTA GAGOOTZ , CAPONATA , e MELANZANE PARMIGIANO

RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA

CAVILOFIORE

RECIPE For PASTA with CAULIFLOWER

GRANDMA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

MELANZANE PARMIGIANO

aka

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

Cathedral

CEFALU

A PANINO to Bring to The BEACH in CEFALU

Where I Swam in CEFALU

After a Swim in The Mediterranean CEFALU

La ROCCA , Cefalu

Me & My APEROL SPRITZ ata Cool Bar in PALERMO

Espresso & Bomboloni Antica Caffe Maria , 

Mercato Ballaro , Palermo , Italy

My Hat an ARANCINI (wrapped To Go) and My Sicilian Vacation Journal

at a Caffe by The Bus & Train Station Catania

This was when I got off Bus from SIRACUSA and was waiting for Bus to Palermo

a BUS LAYOVER in SICILY

Me at The CATHEDRAL in CEFALU

Trattora La Tavernetta , Lercara Friddi

Had Lunch Here

The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

SECRET RECIPE

AMAZON.com

The CATHEDRAL of PALERMO

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

The VUCCIRIA

by Renato Gattuso

ANTICA FOCACCERIA S. FRANCESCO

Palermo , SICILY

GETTING My PANE MUESA

ANTICA FOCACCERIA San FRANCESCO

PALERMO

"Getting my PANE MUESA, Beef Spleen Caciocavallo Sandwiche"

The SINATRA COOKBOOK

SINATRA SAUCE

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

His FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

And SICILIAN

AMAZON.com

"Did You Know that FRANK SINATRA'S FATHER Martino Severino was born

in Lercara Friddi SICILY, the same Town that author Daniel Bellino's grandparents

Josephina & Fillipo Bellino were born and lived before immigrating to America ?

The BELLINO FAMILY of LODI, NEW JERSEY

Nonna & Nonno Bellino were Born - Lercara Friddi SICILY

Pictured here ; My Mother LUCIA is 2nd from Left

My Nonno Fillipo Bellino

Uncle Tony front, my Nonna Giuseppina far Right

Not pictured are my Mother's Brother James & Frank

And Sister Lilly

Oratorio di Santa Cita

by Giacomo Serpotta

PALERMO

"SLEEPING"

Chapel Santa Cita

Look for My New Book

COMING SOON

Trattoria Trapani

PALERMO

GRILLED CALAMARI

TRATTORIA TRAPANI

GRIGILIA MISTA di MARE

CALAMARI & SWORDFISH

TRATTORIA TRAPANI

Spaghetti con Cozze

Spaghetti Vongole

Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook

Recipes From My Sicilian Grandmother

Giuseppina Salemi Bellino

AMAZON.com

.

Me and Cameron Diaz New York 1999

Me & Cameron Diaz

At BAR CICHETTI

NEW YORK NY

1999

NONNO BELLINO

My Maternal Sicilian Grandfather

Filipo Bellino

1904

. 

Movie Wine Parings with Champagne Krug

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts (L)

The POPE of GREENWICH VILLAGE

How to watch a movie? You go to the cinema or pop something on at home, no? Yes that one way. You can watch a movie and maybe it's good and maybe it's not. You got to a movie theater? Well not so much today, with Netflix, Cable TV, streaming, or picking out a Video (yes some still have them), or DVD from your home collection. Nowadays there are many ways to see a movie. There's the old fashion way of going to the cinema, paying money and seeing the latest movie of your choice. That was fun, and it was an event, a night out, and much more affordable than today. "Isn't everything?" Well yeah, most things are a lot more expensive than they were in years past, and somethings not. Candy bars for example are about 20 times more than they were when I was a kid. WHen I first started buying candy bars (Hershey Bar etc.) they were only 5 Cents. And guess what? They were only 5 Cents when my father was a boy, 30 years before. In 30 years, the price of a candy bar (all candy) hadn't gone up at all. When I first started buying Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, Almond Joys and such, they where just 5 cents, a Nickel a piece. Then they started going up, a nickel at a time, until they got to the point they are now, between 1 Dollar and a Buck 25 depending on where you buy one. That's as muc as 25 times increase since I was a boy. The average workers weekly income has gone up only 2 1/2 to 3 times since then, yet a Hershey Bar has gone up 20 times or more. A home has gone up close to 20 times as well, yet the price of long distance phone calls have decreased 20 times. What's a person to do. The price of a movie ticket? Yes it's gone up about 25 times since I started paying for my own movie ticket 50 years gone buy at the Rivoli Theater in Rutherford, New Jersey when it was just .75 for for a "Double Feature," two movies with Cartoons in between. No more Double Features, no more cartoons, doesn't exist. And boy did I Love, and did I have oh so much fun and fantasy, seeing all those great movies as a boy, back in 1960s America, it was just great, it was a "Wonderland," the movies and movie houses of your.

Well, again, I've gone way off the track again. Weren't we talking about how to watch a movie? Yep. Now watching a movie in your normal way, and watching a movie with my winemaker cousin Joseph Macari Jr. of the North Fork of Long Island, New York is a whole other story. First off, you're got to have a great movie. A movie with great actors and a great director always helps. When Joe and I would be watching movies, most of them would tend to be what you'd call guy films, such as Mob Movies made by the likes of Italian-American Directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Movies like the Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull.  The Pope of Greenwich Village by Vincent Partrick, and starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts is one of our all-time favorites, as is State of Greace about the Irish Mafia of Hell's Kitchen , New York, and which Gary Oldman turned in one hell of an incredible performance, playing Irish Mob Boss (Ed Harris) crazy brother, Irish Mob Soldier.

So we'd pick a movie, get it ready, then Joe would go down into his wine cellar and grab an amazing bottle of Champagne. And I'm not talking about  Vueve Cliquot (Orange Label) or MOET - White Star, I'm talking some really serious Champagne, "The Best of The Best." Joe came back that night with a bottle of BILLECART - SALMON Rose. "Wow!" Well I never had this Champagne before, I'd never even heard of it. Joe popped the cork and poured me a glass. We toasted, and then I took my first sip. Again, "Wow," It was absolutely amazing. And I was in love. Yes I do love that Champagne, Billecart - Salmon Rose. It is so very delicious, and some have said, the Brut Rose Champagne produced by the Champagne House of Billecart - Salmon is a reference point as to how a great French Rose Champagne should taste, and that's absolutely marvelous. And it should "Blow Your Mind" so to speak as that wine did for my that night, way back in the Fall of the year 2000. Yes Billecart Rose, as we call it, has to be my number 1 al-time favorite of all the great CHampagnes of France. And I've had many great champagnes, and ones that are far more expensive, and some might think better, than the Rose of Billecart Salmon, but not me. It was that special night, hanging out with my cousin Joe, watching Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in The Pope of Greenwich Village, enjoying the film, laughing, talking about it, and savoring that fine Champagne. 

Billecart - Salmon

Brut Rose

  The champagnes of Maison Billecart-Salmon are above all created thanks to the knowledge of the men who rigorously cultivate an estate of 100 hectares, obtaining grapes from an area totaling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region.

   The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the ethereal vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.

  Yes, we do love our Champagne, we're music lover, gourmands, and film buffs, and we combine these interests into some very sepcial times. Over the years we watched Man on Fire with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Silence of The Lambs and other great movies. And we drank wines like Solaia, Tiganello, Taittinger's Comtes di Champagne and other great wines, and vintage Champagne. Our, and by the way, I haven't completely set the scene. When Joe and I watched these movies and drank Champagne, it was after the whole family, after a long day at Macari Vineyards, we'd all have a nice dinner together. We cooked, ate, chatted, and drank some nice wine with dinner. Then, as everyone was quite tired and would retire to bed, Joe and I would get our movie, an awesome bottle of Champagne, and we'd dig in. Dig into a classic film and some Vintage Champagne.

"Now that my friends, is How You Watch a Movie. Wouldn't you agree?"


  Basta !

Me and Cousin Joe

Drinking Prosecco in VENICE

.

James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and John Cazale

As The CORELONE FAMILY

Sonny, Don Vito, Michael, and Freddo

In FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S The GODFATHER

"Joe and I drank "MILLE Una NOTTE" from our friends The RALLO FAMILY of DONNAFUGATA , Marsala, SICILY when we watched this one. We had to, great Sicilian Wine and a Sicilian Family, The CORLEONES of Corleone, Sicilia ...

Gary Oldman

STATE of GRACE

Wine Pairing ?

IRISH WHISKEY of Course !

TULLAMORE DEW

PULP FICTION

Our Wine Pairing ?

RUINART BLANC di BLANC

RUINART

BLANC de BLANCS

Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) would approve of the Champagne selection, "I'm sure."

For me, Pulp Fiction was an absolute Masterpiece, and easily director Quentin Tarrantino's greatest film. I really liked Tarrantino's first film Resevoir Dogs, but not nearly as much as Pulp Fiction, which is in my Top 10 Films. 

John Travolta, Ving Raimes, Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel, and Samuel L. Jackson were awesome in the film, as was Uma.

The screenplay by Tarrantio and Roger Avery was the base of this great film. I'm still waiting for tarrantino to make at least one more great film, but just for this masterpiece alone, for me he's a genius. And I love another screenplay that Tarrantino wrote, but didn't direct the movie. And that would be the movie True Romance, directed by the late great Tony Scott (RIP).

Robert DeNiro as JAKE LaMOTTA

In Martin Scorsese 's RAGING BULL

Wine Pairing ?

KRUG

Grande Cuvee

Raging Bull, another great film classic from director Martin Scorsese. 

KRUG Grande Cuvee, what can you say, "This Champagne is Amazing!" 

It's KRUG after all?

Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper

TONY SCOTT'S "TRUE ROMANCE"

As Vincenzo Cocotti and Cliff Worley

WINE PAIRING for TRUE ROMANCE ?

POL ROGER "SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL"

POL ROGER - SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

"Dam I Love this Champagne!" What's not to Love? Pol Roger- Sir Winston Churchill is one of the Best Champagne's money can buy, "you just can't get any better." Full of those yeasty bready Brioche flavors that I love in fine Vintage Champagne. And the movie True Romance, what can I say? Dam, I just flipped for this film the first time I saw it. And seeing this movie and Christian Slater's awesome performance as Clarence Worly, just blew my mind, and I finally gained respect for Christian's acting abilities. I've know Christian since he was about 10 years old, and his mother, powerhouse Casting Director Mary Jo Slater used to bring him to a restaurant I worked in long ago (the 1980s).

This film was awesome from beginning to end, and is one of Quentin Tarrantino's greatest works. he wrote the screenplay, but didn't make the movie, which was directed by Tony Scott. The movie is filled with one awesome ensemble cast which includes: the stars Slater and Patricia Arquette (ALabama), along with cameos by Dennis Hopper (Slater's father), Christopher Walkin as Mob Boss Vincenzo Cocotti, Brad Pitt as Michael Rappaport's "Stoner Friend," Val Kilmer plays ELVIS PRESLEY, Gary Oldman is aboslutely Electrifying as wannabe Rastafarian Drug Dealer / Pimp called Drexl.

Anyway, I love the movie, and was oh so happy to turn Joe on to it. He had never seen it before, and he abolutely loved it. We had a great time watching it together, and The Sir Winston Chruchill Champagne did not hurt at all. "It was incredible!"

to be Continued .... 

I will add to my reviews of both the Movies, Actors, and Champagne's at a later date. Hope you all enjoy this for now. So until the next great movie, and the next great French Champagne. As Arnold would say, "Hasta la Vista Baby!"

SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN-AMERICANS COOK

GREAT RECIPES For MOVIES

The GODFATHER

GOODFELLAS

The IRISHMAN

STATE of GRACE

AMAZON

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