Here’s To A Tasty Celebration Of Mobster Meals!
Time to bite into the greatest film ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”…by making Clemenza’s Meatballs that are featured in the film!
Aside from being the single greatest movie ever made, the film deals with the Mob – gangsters who lived large, and ate well too!
Time For A Special “DINNER IN A MOVIE!“
Behold Clemenza’s Meatballs!
“The Godfather” is chock full of food – family meals, wedding cakes, executions that take place in a diner that serves “the best veal”…food in this film is a vital part of life, and death. For example, Don Corleone’s daughter Connie makes a meal for her obnoxious husband, who announced that he’ll eat out later – you know, with his mistress…
Connie goes into a fit and flings the dinnerware around the house, causing her husband to beat her…what we find out later is that this was instigated for one reason: to lure Sonny out of his compound, and to one of the many iconic death scenes in the movie: at the toll booth.
Time To “Go To The Mattresses!”
When this leads to the five families re-igniting a mob war, they go “to the mattresses”, which means they all sleep in one place to be ready for battle at any time.
For the scene where Clemenza is cooking, Francis Ford Coppola originally wrote in the script, “Clemenza browns some sausage”. Upon seeing this, the book’s Author Mario Puzo crossed out “browns” and replaced it with “fries”, writing in the margin, “Gangsters don’t brown.”
Clemenza teaches Mikey how to make Sunday sauce for this house full of guys…here is the scene, and the recipe – first, the scene from the movie, courtesy of “The Godfather” blu-ray!
And here is that recipe again, courtesy of Clemenza:
“Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh? And a little bit o’ wine. An’ a little bit o’ sugar, and that’s my trick.”
Let’s Get Cooking With Clemenza!
Here’s the recipe from the film:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
1 (10-ounce) or 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
1 pound cooked meatballs (use your favorite recipe)
Dry red wine
¼ cup sugar
Hot cooked pasta
First, take whatever ground meat you like and add some fresh minced garlic and onion, plus some italian herbs….roll those into meatballs and sear them off in a pan…now, make the sauce.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes; do not let the garlic burn. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistency is reached.
Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar, according to taste. As you can see, Clemenza is very serious about making a good meal for his men…
Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Serve over hot cooked pasta.
And whatever you do, don’t insult the head of the family when it comes time to eat:
The Godfather – “Dinner In A Movie!”
So, make the meatballs, put in the movie’s special edition blu-ray, and enjoy!
Want a happier “dinner and a movie?”
Well, why not replicate the ratatouille made int he classic animated film of the same name!
I have made it several times and you can to – just click here for the recipes and cooking instructions!
My “Dinner And A Movie” series looks at some of the most iconic food from film and replicates the dish!
Pasta Pie, Anyone?
Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalom made this incredible “Timpano” for the film “Big Night” – so I did as well!
Yum! If you want to see how I pulled this off, just click my story here:
I also shared this terrific “Eggs In A Hole” recipe thanks to Cher:
Click here for a delicious dish from the great comedy “Moonstruck!”
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Categories: 52 In 22!, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Books / Media, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Movies, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
“to the mattresses!’ yes!
By coincidence, the first film in the trilogy is being shown on TV here tonight. I have seen it so many times I could probably recite it word for word. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Not a meatball fan but they do look delicious I’ll have the ratatouille…That Pizza pie is one hell of pie …I love Cher’s sandwich it reminds me of my childhood my mother used to make them but she called it a “one eyed sandwich” Happy New Year, John 🙂