Gary Lewis and The Playboys

 

 

 

Here's a picture of me and Gary Lewis, singer and leader of Gary Lewis and the Playboys. I got to meet him last week when him and his wife Donna bought a car from us. Great people, very friendly and happy to pose for pictures. I even got him to sign one of his albums for me. To think, I've been singing harmony with him on, "This Diamond Ring" for 48 years and he never even knew it!

70's in March! Amazing!

Hey!

When you've got nothing to do, go check out the all new Tony De Falco.com Thanks!

Am I getting old or what?

Kentucky Colonel Cole Slaw

Well here we are at the height of summer and the picnics and cook outs are at their peak. In my book, nothing goes better with BBQ meats than a nice cole slaw. And what better than knocking off that famous southern colonel’s recipe.

I have made this a thousand times for my back yard get togethers with nothing but good reviews. Here’s how you do it.

THE INGREDIENTS

1 Head of cabbage finely chopped

1 Carrot shredded

½ Cup of sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

½ cup of mayonnaise

¼ cup of buttermilk

1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar

2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

THE SLAW

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except cabbage and carrot, mix until smooth. Add in cabbage and carrot, stir together. Cover and refrigerate a couple of hours then chow down. It doesn’t get any easier than this. The only downside is how are you going to get rid of what’s left of the quart of buttermilk. You can’t drink it because it tastes like #@!* in a hand basket. When you figure it out let, me know.

Tony D’s Jambalaya

I know what you’re saying. Hey Tony D, “What do you know about Cajun cooking?” Well, I once walked by the red pepper and salt in the spice aisle at the grocery store and I figure that counts me in. But really, back in the late 80’s I came across the Cajun Chef, Justin Wilson on TV and I was off and running.

After a few over salted disasters, I had a few winners and here is one of them. I have made this dish hundreds of times with no complaints. It works especially well at dish to pass events when it is re-warmed in a crock pot.

THE INGREDIENTS
4 cups of cooked white rice
1 package of frozen 30/40 cooked shrimp
1 pound smoked Andouille or kielbasa sausage
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced, peeled tomatoes
½ can of tomato paste
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon gumbo filé powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash of black pepper


THE JAMBALAYA
Slice sausage into bite-sized pieces and brown in large pre-heated skillet pan (a cast-iron Dutch oven is ideal) over medium-high heat. Remove sausage from pan with slotted spoon and reserve drippings for next step.

Defrost shrimp by running cold water over them in a colander. Save for later.

Put onion, celery, green, red bell pepper and garlic in pan and sauté until vegetables are cooked through. Stir in tomato paste and fry until hot. Add black pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire, file’ powder, cayenne pepper and tomatoes, rice, sausage and shrimp and stir to combine.

Heat until hot and then serve!

A word to the wise when spicing Cajun dishes, there is a big difference between Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Most Cajun Seasonings are 99% salt and will ruin a dish. Stay away from them and use the red pepper. Just some advice from Tony D,

But before you make it, click the video below and listen to a little Hank Williams to get you in the mood!

Tony D’s New York City Pizza

Without a doubt there is no pizza on earth like New York City Pizza. Just ask me and I’ll tell you. And I don’t mean the hole in the wall joints all over Rochester with the falling down banners that tout “New York Style” pizza. I’ve tried them all and they are all nothing more than a loaf of bread with ketchup and cheese whiz slopped on it. I mean pizza made and eaten in the city so great, they named it twice. Pizza with a crust so thin you can fold it and the crust is brown to black.

I should know. I grew up, worked and sweated in one at 698 Fulton Street, Brooklyn New York. I’ve eaten so much pizza pie, I have tomato sauce in my veins. It’s hard to replicate the ingredients such as a 2000 degree oven, hard Brooklyn water, Italian deli mozzarella and straight off the boat olive oil but here it is, as close, as you can get in your home kitchen.

THE DOUGH:

Makes enough dough for two thin crust 10-12 inch pizzas.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

In a small bowl, put the yeast, sugar and water and stir until mixed. Place the mixture in a warm place for 10 minutes until a froth forms. Dump the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the salt and olive oil. When the yeast mixture is ready pour it on top of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. Turn out on to a floured cutting board. Coat your hands with flour and knead the dough until it forms a ball with a firm consistency. Add flour as needed, a little bit at a time.

Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a warm spot in the house, put it in the microwave oven and place a note on the door not to turn it on while it’s in there. At this point, if you want to make it ahead, you can refrigerate the dough for tomorrow. Just take it out a few hours before you need it.

When it is ready, knead again, separate into two balls and flatten into two pizza crusts. Exact size and shape aren’t important. Do the best that you can and place the dough into a pan. I have found that the ones with the holes in them work the best if you aren’t using a pizza stone.

THE PIZZA:

Olive oil
Tomato sauce
Garlic powder
Oregano
Basil
Grated parmesan cheese
Shredded whole milk mozzarella
Sliced pepperoni

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour a little olive oil on the crust and using the back of a tablespoon spread over crust. Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce on pizza and using the spoon cover crust. Sprinkle garlic, oregano and basil and then the parmesan cheese over sauce. Top with mozzarella and pepperoni then place on middle shelf of oven. Set timer for ten minutes. When time is up, open oven, rotate pan and re set timer for 5 minutes. The time isn’t set in stone as all ovens cook different so keep checking pie and pay attention to the smell. You’ll know when it’s done by that alone. When your crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted it’s time to take it out.

Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing, put some Jerry Vale on the stereo and open a bottle of Chianti. And don’t forget the red checkered table cloth!

Below is a great video. Enjoy!