Movies that celebrate food, friendship, caring and love are some of my favorites. Big Night, starring Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, Ian Holm, Allison Janney, Campbell Scott and many other supporting actors is a story about two Italian immigrant brothers who own a struggling Italian restaurant named Paradise. The story swirls around their personal relationships and the fact that preparing and serving real Italian food in the late-1950’s can make you go broke, no matter how good and authentic it is. A “spaghetti and meatballs” restaurant down the street is always packed because the owner gives his customers what they expect and want in 1950’s America. The owner of the successful restaurant offers to help the two brothers put their place on the map with one Big Night, thereby saving the Paradise from financial ruin. So many plot twists and stories in this beautifully made film.

Stanley Tucci says this film is semi-autobiographical, but I don’t know where his life and the story cross. He cowrote and co-directed the film with Campbell Scott. Suzanne and I met Campbell Scott when he and Melanie Lansky starred in a film, Eye of the Hurricane, that was largely shot in St Marys, GA. We were living there at the time and Suzanne was asked to be an extra in several scenes. Suzanne is in the very middle of the screen in the opening scene of the film. Also in some additional scenes in the movie.

I guess I got off track there. Timpano is one of the big dishes, and there are several, in Big Night. When I saw this being made and the resulting dish that comes out of their oven, I decided at that exact moment, I’m going to make that! There’s a palpable reaction to the presentation and slicing into this beautiful Italian specialty. There’s so much joy being shared in these scenes you can’t help but share in the experience, even if you’re not sampling the fare being brought to the table. I find myself, Ooooing and Ahhhhing along with the characters in the movie every time a new dish comes out of the kitchen. I can feel my belly about to explode and the warm sense of total satisfaction sort of flow from head to toes as the meal creeps towards its conclusion. This is an entire evening of dining, not a quick meal and then a dash off to do something else.

It so much reminds me of family meals when we were growing up. Going for Sunday dinner at my Grandfather’s, Francis Pilolla, was an all day event and totally unhurried. Grandpa was a small, wiry man with a huge smile and strong hugs. The only thing I remember him wearing was a baggy pair of black trousers, white shirt and a brown cardigan sweater, with one of the buttons missing. He always seemed to have an unlit, crooked Italian cigar in the corner of his mouth. I think they were called Toscanelli or Toscanni or something like that. It felt as if he was cooking all day and when we finally sat down to eat he made sure we savored the meal, took out time. If we started to eat too fast he would make us put a fork of food in our mouth and then sit on our hands until we had chewed and swallowed each bite. Everybody had wine, which he made in the cellar every year. Two hundred gallons of red and one hundred gallons of white. Everyone drank from short tumblers. For the kids, it was just a splash of wine added to water to fill the glass. Bread was broken by hand and passed around the table. Crumbs flew all over the place! Oh how I wish I had been old enough to appreciate the moments and the memories that were being created at the time. What I do remember is glorious and those memories are evoked every time I watch Big Night.

This mouth-watering recipe is the same one that’s prepared in the film, with my own, added twists. There are many, many variations. You can experiment and make it your own. This dish will serve 10 to 14 people, depending on how hungry your guests are and what else you serve with it.

I recommend preparing some of the ingredients ahead of time, and storing them in the fridge. This is a real project, so do as much ahead of time as you can. That way you won’t be totally worn out when it comes time to sit down and enjoy it.

Prep Time: About 3 hours – Cook Time: 90 minutes – Rest Time: 30 minutes

I broke this down into 5 major steps, preparing the inside ingredients, making the dough and lining the “Timpano” pot, filling the dough with the ingredients, baking the Timpano, removing and serving the Timpano. You can also assemble this a day or two ahead of time, bring it up to room temperature and then bake it on the day you want to serve it. Also, you can assemble it and freeze it. It will take at least three days in the fridge to thaw. Then bring it to room temperature and bake it.

Ingredients

A bottle of your favorite red wine for sipping.

FOR THE DOUGH

If the fillings are already made and stored in the fridge, take them out of the fridge and let them start to warm up.

4C – TIPO “00” soft wheat flour. It’s a specific kind of wheat grown in Bologna, for pasta and this kind of dough. I like the Caputo brand that Publix carries. All Purpose flour will also work

4 – Large eggs

1t – Kosher salt, salt or regular salt will also work.

3T – Water

3T – Olive oil, I prefer the Extra Virgin olive oil I get from The Natural Olive in Hickory.

FOR THE FILLING

Make as much of this ahead of time as possible. Store it in the fridge and take it out to warm up when you start making the dough.

6 – Italian sausage links, mild

2 – Large onions, Vidalia, if you can find them, work best

5 – Slices of provolone

2C – Mozzarella, shredded

3 – 28oz cans crushed tomatoes, I prefer Cento, if you can get them.

8 – Eggs, hardboiled, shelled, cut in half

15 slices – Italian salami, hard

4C – Meatballs, you can make your own, but there are some great products on the market. Publix has a good Italian style meatball made with pork and beef. I also like DiRusso’s Italian style meatballs that are all beef. If you already have a favorite, use it.

1box – Large shell pasta, cooked al dente, or slightly less

1/2 box – Rigatoni, cooked al dente, or slightly less

2C – Ricotta cheese

1/2C – Parmesan, finely grated

8C – Marinara sauce or you can use your leftover Bolognese that I covered a few weeks ago. I prefer the Marinara. It’s a simple, tomato sauce, made with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. This is what the 3, 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes are for.

1C – Pecorino Romano, fine grated

8 – Garlic cloves, peeled

4T – Basil, fresh, chopped

3T – Basil, dried

3T – Oregano, dried

Olive Oil

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Making The Magic

Make the Marinara

In a large sauce pot, add 1/3C of Olive Oil and heat to medium high. Drop in the whole garlic cloves and let them sizzle in the oil, stirring occasionally for about 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat after about 5 minutes. Let the garlic start to soften and brown in the hot oil. When the cloves are soft, remove them from the oil and set aside.

Take a sip of wine or two!

Start adding the crushed tomatoes. You may need to lower the heat so it doesn’t splatter. Once the crushed tomatoes are in the pot, bring it up to a simmer.

Add 3T dried basil, rubbing and crushing it in your hands. Do the same with the 3T dried oregano. Smell your hands now. Isn’t the aroma incredible?! Salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer on low heat while you work on the rest of this.

Make the Pasta and the Stuffing

Cook about 20 shells until they are al dente or slightly less. They will cook more inside the Timpano. Once cooked, drain and set them in the fridge to cool.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta and finely grated parmesan. Add the chopped fresh basil and 1t of Olive Oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Another sip of wine fits nicely at this point.

Remove the shells from the fridge and stuff each shell, approximately 15 to 20, with the cheese mixture. Put them aside, until you are ready to use them.

While you’re stuffing the shells, cook your Rigatoni, al dente or less. When they are finished cooking, drain and return to the pot. Add 1/2 to 1C of the Marinara, enough to coat the pasta, and set aside.

Make the Salami, Sausage and Meatballs

If you’re using frozen meatballs, take them out of the freezer to thaw. If you’ve made your own, you’re awesome and you deserve an extra sip of wine right now!

Start cooking your sausage. In a large pan, add a teaspoon of olive oil and spread it around. You only want to coat the pan, so the sausage doesn’t stick. Heat the pan to medium and add the sausage. You want these to cook most of the way through, so 10 to 15 minutes will be enough time. Turn the sausage several times to brown the outside, all the way round. When the sausages are cooked, remove them from the heat and let them cool on a cutting board for about 15 minutes. Have a Paper towel nearby to catch the juices that seep out.

Slice the sausage into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces and set aside.

Have you Salami slices out of the fridge and separated.

Make the Onions

In a large pan add 3T of Olive Oil and 3T of Butter. Melt the butter on medium heat. While the pan is heating, peel and slice the onions in half. Cut each half into 1/4 inch slices and drop them into the heated oil and butter. Stir thoroughly so the onions are coated with the oil.

Sip some more wine……stir the onions……sip some wine……stir the onions……sip some wine, well you get the idea. Cook the onions until they are limp and start to darken. At the end, salt and upper to taste and finish the onions off by cooking another 3 or 4 minutes. Once finished, remove from the heat and set aside.

All your fillings are now ready, so let’s get started on the dough.

Make the Timpano Dough

You can mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl with a heavy duty mixer and dough hook. I prefer to do this on the counter top, by hand. I like to develop the dough and feel the texture change until it’s just right. Start with the flour, making a well for the eggs. Add the salt, olive oil and 3T of water. mix and blend the ingredients. As you work the dough you may want to add a small amount of water, in addition to the 3T, to develop the dough into a soft ball. It may be a little tacky, but not sticky.

Once you have a nice dough ball, lightly dust the counter top with flour. Begin kneading the dough and continue for up to 10 minutes, just to be sure it is well mixed. Stop kneading when you know it is and set it aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Lightly dust the counter top again and begin to roll the dough out. You’re going to make a large round “Pizza looking thing”. It should be large enough to cover the bottom of your dutch oven, or whatever pot you have chosen, come up the sides and then fold over the top of your fillings to seal it. Roll it so the dough is an even thickness all over. I use a 9 1/2″ cast iron, ceramic coated, dutch oven that’s 5″ deep. The cast iron heats evenly and helps to insure an all around browning of the baked dough. I roll my dough out to 28″ – 30″ across the center. Once it’s that large, fold in half and then quarter so you can place it and position it in the pot without tearing it.

Rub the inside of your Timpano Pot with a light coating of Olive Oil or butter, lightly dust with flour. Place the rolled out dough into the pot. You’ll slowly open the folded dough and gently position it so it’s even on all sides. The excess dough will drape over the edge of the pot.

Whew! Drink some more wine! If you’ve already drained what you poured, pour some more.

Building the Timpano

Pre-Heat the oven to 350°

Spoon in your coated Rigatoni, making a nice layer in the bottom.

Cover the Rigatoni with the shredded Mozzarella.

Place the Meatballs on the bed of Mozzarella and cover them with a thin layer of Marinara. Sparingly.

Place your stuffed shells in next, arrange and stack them so you end up with a nice layer.

Spoon some of your Marinara over the shells, enough to lightly coat them, but not swimming in the sauce. Use the Marinara sparingly. This is only to add a little moisture and enhance the flavor. Too much will make it soggy.

Place the sliced Salami on top of the sauce.

Any wine left in your glass? Take a sip.

Layer the Pecorino Romano on the Salami.

Layer the halved eggs on top of the Pecorino Romano.

Cover the eggs with the carmelized onions.

Place the sliced sausage on top of the onions.

Top all of this with the sliced Provolone.

Use the Marinara sparingly. Think of it like the pizza sauce that is on your pizza. Too much makes the pizza soggy.

Fold the dough over the top of all and seal it. Cut any excess dough out and slightly moisten the dough where it overlaps to help make it seal.

Baking the Timpano

Put the Timpano in your pre-heated 350° oven, uncovered. Bake for about 1 hour, until the top is lightly browned. Cover the Timpano with the lid from the dutch oven or aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. If you want the baked dough to be slightly darker, leave it uncovered for a longer period. You want the internal temperature of the Timpano to reach about 120°. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for another 30 minutes.

After it’s cool and allowed to set, turn the Timpano onto a cutting board so you can slice into servings. Be careful when you do this. The pot will still be hot and this is heavy.

I’m thumping the Timpano the same way you thump a watermelon to see if it’s “ripe”. I just wanted to know if it was solid at the top and not hollow. Things will have cooked down a bit.

Plate the Dish

Stab into the top of your Timpano and slice, moving your knife up and down and then backward and forward as you slice downward and towards yourself. Have a plate with a bed of your delicious Marinara, next to the Timpano. Once you cut a slice free, lift it and move it to the plate, laying it on its side.

There are some videos on Facebook at It’s My Kitchen that shows the flipping and the slicing techniques. Also, the Ooooos and Ahhhhhs when your friends see your creation!

Variations To Keep It New

Wow. There are so many. I’ll list a few, but let your imagination run wild and make this your own.

Seasoned ground sausage or ground beef. Ziti, tossed in the marinara to replace the Rigatoni, or the shells or both. Pepperoni, instead of Salami. Add a layer of fresh spinach. Make a layer with sautéed Egg Plant.

Wines We Love With This

Anything that is red, bold and can stand up to the intense flavors of the meets and sauce. More importantly, any wine you like, and is a favorite, is the one to enjoy!

Barolo

Cabernet Sauvignon

Zinfandel

Gattinara – Traviglini is my favorite red of any and all. Hops and Grapes will order it for you in Hickory. It might be a challenge to find, but it is so worth the hunt!

Leftovers

Only if you don’t have enough folks over to share it. In which case, you want to save some of the Marinara. I have reheated this in the oven, cover with foil, at 350°, with the slices laying in a bed of Marinara. I think I did this for about 20 minutes. Haven’t had to do it often.

So, I told you this would be a project and I didn’t lie. The thing is, when you make it for people you care about, it isn’t a project. It’s an absolute expression of love and caring. You will know it when you make this and bring it to the table. Those at the table will know it because they’ll see the time and effort it took to craft such a beautiful dish. And best of all….now you’re all going to enjoy a wonderful meal together!

Famiglia e amici per sempre! Cin cin alla salute!

Do you have a favorite dish and moment that you shared with others, and it’s still vivid in your memory?

In a previous post I shared my secret recipe for popcorn and a short list of my favorite movies about food, cooking, friendship, family and love. This week I’m sharing a recipe from one of those movies, Ratatouille. I guess it’s not surprising that I experience the same sort of emotions when cooking, sharing and eating a special dish or meal with people I love, as I do when watching some of my favorite stories told through movies. When we watch movies together, we share emotions. We experience the emotions of something we may never have an opportunity to do or live through ourselves. Sometimes, the story reflects our own, personal experiences. That’s when a story really connects! That’s how food can affect us too. Connecting us to memories, to experiences, and to those we love!

In Ratatouille, a wee creature, through the help of his human friend, and their common love of food, reconnects a cynical food critic to the reasons he embarked on his career in the first place. The scene that plays this out in the story is one of my favorites. The joy that Amon Ego, that’s the food critic’s name, finds in the moment is palpable. As you watch the emotions roll across his face, and he recalls some of his most cherished childhood memories, it evokes the same “reconnecting” in the viewer. It is a scientific fact that smells and aromas are the most deeply implanted memories we have. That is true, throughout nature and it’s why I sometimes have the most vivid memories of my mother, or father, grandfather or grandmother or many other family members, when a smell hits me. It’s powerful!

This is the same recipe from the movie Ratatouille. It can be the center of your meal, or a side dish. It will make up to 8 servings.

Prep time: 45 minutes   –   Cooking time: 40 to 60 minutes

Ingredients

Veggies

2-3 – skinny eggplants, Italian, if they’re available. If not you can slice and quarter the larger eggplants

6 – Roma tomatoes, more meaty, less seeds

2 – yellow squash

2 – zucchini

The Sauce

2T – olive oil – The quality of your olive oil makes a huge difference in flavor. My favorite comes from a shop in Hickory, NC. If you can’t visit The Natural Olive, check out their web site. www.naturalolivehickory.com They do ship.

1 – onion, diced, I prefer Vidalia sweet onions

1 – red bell pepper, diced

1 – yellow bell pepper, diced

4 – garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

28oz – crushed tomatoes, canned. I prefer Cento, if it’s available.

8-10 – basil leaves, fresh, chopped, about 2T

Herb Seasoning

4T – olive oil

8-10 – basil leaves, fresh, chopped, about 2T

2T – fresh parsley, chopped

2t – thyme, fresh

1t – garlic, minced

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Making the Magic

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Slice the eggplants, the squash, zucchini and tomatoes into 1/8” to ¼” slices. Not too thin or the veggies will end up mushy. Too thick and they will have less flavor and may be too firm. You don’t need to measure, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Set the sliced veggies aside. 

Make the Herb Seasoning. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the fresh basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Set aside.

Make the Sauce. Heat your olive oil to medium high. Add the onion, garlic and bell peppers. Sauté until they are soft. I sometimes reduce the oil and add butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir until thoroughly mixed. Remove from the heat and add the fresh basil. Blend into the sauté mixture.

Transfer your beautiful sauce to a baking dish large enough to hold all your veggies. At least 12 inches. If you have leftover veggies they will make a great breakfast hash. Smooth the sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish. You’re creating a “bed” for the veggies. Starting from the outer edge of your dish begin stacking your veggies, on their edge, in an alternating pattern, working in a spiral, towards the middle, until you fill the dish. Eggplant, tomato, zucchini, squash, repeat.

Stir your herb mixture. Spoon it over the top of the veggies in your dish. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover your dish. Best is to cut a piece of parchment to fit down, into the dish. The parchment prevents browning of the top of the veggies and allows steam to escape while it’s baking. Next best is to cover with a piece of foil, cut to fit down inside the dish. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes. Monitor the progress of the veggies. Cook them to the tenderness you prefer. I prefer soft, but not mushy. For effect, take the dish out of the oven and put the parchment back on top of the dish.

Bring the dish to the table covered. Then, when everybody is looking and anticipating, pull the cover off and say, TADAH! OR as the French would say, Bon Apetit!

Variations to keep this new

After removing the cover and baking for about 10 minutes, sprinkle heavily with shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan, or just Parmesan. The Mozarella will make a stringy coating on top. The Parmesan will brown more quickly and toast on top.

Different, infused olive oils, will add subtle flavors.

Wines we love with this.

Dry Rose

Chianti

Chardonnay

Leftovers

Reheat in the oven at 350° with cheese on top. Serve on top of toasted Italian or sour dough bread. If the slices are dried out, it works best. The toast will end up crunchy. Toast the bread until it is brown and drizzle with olive oil. Try different, infused olive oil to change up the flavor.

This is also awesome with soft scrambled eggs and a crunchy French Baguette.

Bon appétit mon amour!

Question: How would you change this dish? Could this be a vegetarian main dish? Please tell me if you have seen the movie and did you like it.