…(in 1985 at age 64), Nelson Riddle would be celebrating his 92nd birthday today.

There are many, fabulous arrangers and conductors strewn throughout the pages of the Great American Songbook … Marty Paich, Paul Weston, Billy May, André Previn — far too many to do justice to the trade here. Though they all brought beautiful music to life in their unique styles, there are few that can truly be tagged with the over used and oft misplaced tag of “iconic”.

Mr. Riddle can carry that moniker without reproach. For me, Nelson’s charts (especially his string charts) and style were fundamental to the music that underwrote the “vocal artist era” from the mid ’50′s through the early ’70′s.

Riddle’s “sound” is unique…

…distinctive without being heavy handed and dexterous without ever losing that NR style. Whereas some of the great arrangers tend toward the music of a particular era or style, NR’s charts equally underpin turn-of-the-century classics and ’60′s Broadway hits. Though stylistically different, today’s Charlie Calello displays a similar ability to imagine songs of different eras and deliver uniquely styled, high quality renditions.

I first became familiar with Nelson Riddle from the three standards revival LPs he did with Linda Ronstadt in the early ’80′s. As I mentioned in my American Song Book Revival series (April 2012), I think these Grammy winning Riddle/Ronstadt albums represent the genesis point for the resurgence of vocal standards music … the wave that Bublé, Krall et.al. are riding high on today.

NelsonRiddle and Frank Sinatra

From that first NR awareness moment, I found myself listening for Mr. Riddle’s handiwork as I traveled back through the sweet spot of the classic vocal standards era (~’55 thru ’67). Riddle delivered a massive volume of quality material, but the bravura release that stands apart in NR’s oeuvre for me has to be the 1963 Reprise release — Concert Sinatra.

Nelson Riddle commands a 96 piece orchestra to such great effect that you nearly forget that the centerpiece for the album is Frank Sinatra in his prime, plying a select track list of Broadway numbers; Concert Sinatra is truly a top 1%er and should not be missed (though feel free to miss the two tracks — “America” and “California” — that were incongruously added on to the end in the 2012 re-release)

Today, for Nelson’s birthday, listen to my favorite track from this LP (and one of my all time favorite songs period), or scout about and lay in some of Nelson Riddle’s finest for the evening … Happy birthday NR!

“I Will Love Being Loved by You” — Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle

…but more than just being a dapper dresser, Frank Sinatra really believed that clothes very much made the man.

He was even willing to fight over proper dress as Frank’s “encounter” with Harlan Ellison in a Hollywood pool hall was recounted by Gay Talese in his classic Esquire article.

Indeed there are many anecdotes related to Sinatra and his “dress for success” orientation … a new one popped out of the aether earlier this week.

This time it comes from one of the kingpins of mens fashion — Richard Press — who worked the family business (J. Press) “back in the day” and became Frank’s goto clothier … for awhile anyway.

Richard contributes to Ivy Style — a website that chronicles men’s fashions since the 1920′s. I’m not much of a fashion guy but some of Ivy Style pieces focused on the 50′s and 60′s are very cool and capture an interesting slice of mid-century America and the Rat Pack/”Mad Men” era.

Mr. Press’s article on his relationship with Mr. S (Golden Years: My Brief Bromance With Frank Sinatra) is a light hearted, quick, and fun read but it also leaves us with a bit more insight into Frank Sinatra the man.

It’s worth the click through … check it out (here).

…the last couple of weeks. What started out as a well deserved rest between Christmas and New Year’s turned into an extended hiatus with a couple of major infrastructure breakdowns around VS Manor, and an unexpected contractor gig (a good thing, but still unexpected).

I continue to dig out of the morass but wanted to send brief birthday shouts out to a couple of my favorite performers that tripped over another year last week.

First up…

…the absolute best “Bond singer” (sorry Adele) — Shirley Bassey celebrated her 76th on Jan 8.

Shirley’s rendition of “Goldfinger” remains the best Bond song of all time (she also did the theme songs for Moonraker and Diamonds are Forever) but the brassy, classy lady from Wales delivered a solid array of chart numbers and near hits — the most notable for me being “History Repeating”, “As Long as He Needs Me” and “Big Spender”.

“Main Theme – Goldfinger” – Shirley Bassey*

Frankie!

As you know from my review of Frankie Randall Sings and Swings, I adore Frankie R.

One of several outstanding vocal contemporaries of Frank Sinatra (and a close friend of Mr. S) that seemed to get lost in the shuffle (another Frank … D’Rone this time being another); Frankie Randall may not have made it to the big stage Sinatra commanded, but Mr R was a popular and talented vocal artist in his own right and had a long and successful career in the music business.

Frankie celebrated his 75th birthday on Jan 11 with a sold out performance in Palm Desert, CA. Accompanied by “The Desert Symphony”, Frankie performed hits from classic arrangers Billy May, Marty Paich and Nelson Riddle.

I received an invite to this amazing soiree but holiday scheduling madness reigned and I missed out  … oh, man I would have loved to have been there!

Everybody has sung “More” and there are some superb versions out there from greats like Bobby Darin, Steve Lawrence, Jack Jones, and Matt Monro, but I don’t think anybody does a better job with this number than Frankie Randall.

Yesterday was my birthday and my gift to you is Frankie at his best…

“More” – Frankie Randall*

[* Please remember that all songs streamed here are for REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY and are NOT intended as a substitute for properly purchased original record company product. Give a listen and then please support the artists via iTunes, Amazon or your favorite music store. Artists/Record Labels -- NO DOWNLOADS ARE SUPPORTED on this site; please contact me directly regarding the removal of any potentially infringing material.] 

(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The New Year was off to such a great start…

…until last night.

First, my new exercise regime played the muscle spasms card to let me know that I need to take things slower … and then came the sad news of Patti Page’s passing on New Years day.

Patti and her rendition of “Old Cape Cod” have always been special to me, and it was just a few weeks back that we wished Patti a happy 85th birthday … (sigh).

For a great remembrance piece on Ms. Page, check out Emily Langer’s Washington Post article (here). Nicely done Emily.

Coming on the heels…

…of losing Andy Williams, Hal David, Etta James… geez, 2012 was a tough year for classic era vocal standards artists and writers.

We are certainly much the worse for their passing … but the club scene in heaven just keeps getting better. I’m in no particular hurry to see for myself quite yet, but just imagine the acts that are getting booked up there!?

Thank goodness we can continue to dip into the recordings of these wonderful artists and immerse ourselves in the great music of the era.

It’s not close to summer time…

…but I’ll be listening to “Old Cape Cod” this evening, and thinking of “lobster stew with an ocean view” … with a tear in my eye to be sure.

Godspeed Patti Page.

… around VS Central to ring in the New Year by juxtaposing the consumption of a decadent meal with a midnight viewing of William Powell and Myrna Loy in “The Thin Man”.

Hey, nobody party’s harder than Nick and Nora (even getting shot is just the right occasion for a quick martini!) so we’ve taken to celebrating the New Year while trying to “keep up with the Charles’ “; a drinking game ONLY to be played at home, and one that we NEVER win!

This year Austin was draped in a nasty fog that made going out to play bumper cars with the rookies even more tenuous than normal so the tradition continued.

With Martinininthemorning.com …

…providing the soundtrack for the evening we whipped up a great meal featuring prime steaks that were accompanied by sautéed mushrooms, peppery watercress and my rendition of a Jacque Pepin classic – Gratin Dauphinoise.

Normally a simple dish of potatoes cooked in a garlic cream (whole milk) sauce, depending on the occasion I will tweak the Dauphinoise with a bit with cheese or herbs … last night I hit it with light touches of three different cheeses and the result was incredible.

I melted…

…chevre style goat cheese into the milk mixture, laced the gratin with a dusting of Reggiano and toped the dish with a scattering of Gruyere. The outcome was just as I hoped … no cheese forward flavor at all; rather a nice melding of the goat’s bite, the parm’s floral/salt edge and the gruyere’s nuttiness … it was perfect.

I highlighted the VS optional ingredients and tweaks in the recipe below so feel free to dial it back to Jacque’s pure-play version or experiment as the mood strikes you.

Either way this is a great side for just about any roasted red meat or poultry play … look past the carb fat-o-meter and make this special occasion dish!

Gratin Dauphinoise

 

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Author: Jacque Pepin (with some scox tweaks)

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1¾ pounds potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
• 2½ cups whole milk (I go a bit richer with a ⅓ half-&-half, ⅔ whole milk ratio*)
• 2–3 garlic cloves, crushed, and finely chopped (1½ teaspoons)
• 3-4 oz Chevre style goat cheese, broken into 1″ chunks – optional*
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmigiano cheese – optional*
• 1 cup heavy cream (scox – ~1/2 cup if you run “rich” with the milk above*)
• ⅓ -1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese – optional*

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel the potatoes and slice them ⅛ inch thick, by hand, with a vegetable slicer, or with the slicing blade of a food processor. Do not wash the slices.
3. Combine the milk, goat cheese*, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer until goat cheese* melts. Add potato slices to simmering milk and bring to a boil, stirring gently to separate the slices and prevent the mixture from scorching. It will thicken as it reaches a boil.
4. Pour half the potato mixture into a lightly buttered 6-cup gratin dish, and sprinkle with the Parmigiano*. Pour the remaining potato mixture into the gratin dish. Level out the top of the potatoes and sprinkle with the Gruyere*; pour the cream on top. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for ~1 hour, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Let the potatoes rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving — the rest time will bring the temp down below the “molten lava” level AND will allow the garlic cream to absorb into the potatoes.

Notes

* These ingredients and their associated recipe steps are OPTIONAL. This dish is traditionally a simple “garlic cream and potato” affair but historically, different regional and chef’s interpretations include either richer blends of cooking liquid and/or cheese in some measure. I found the hint of “bite” (barely discernible) from the goat cheese in combination with the nutty Gruyere was fabulous. Any combo of the cheeses are nice tweaks to the traditional recipe; but even with ALL of them included this was not a cheesy potato dish … more like an elegant au gratin. Another option depending on the main course protein or where you want to take this recipe, is to add some fresh thyme leaves to the milk right before the baking step.

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3.1.09

© Louis Armstrong House

Louis Armstrong loved Christmas…

Coming from profound poverty, Louis didn’t experience much Christmas spirit as a kid. His amazing talent raised him and his family out of the “battle zone” in New Orleans, and with that new view of the “Wonderful World” LA developed a great love for Christmas.

Louis’ popularity and massive success allowed him to share his love for the spirit of the holiday with the world over his life; he displayed a zest for sharing the Christmas spirit through out his long career.

Robin Young and the fine folks at the Here & Now studio of NPR rolled up a wonderful 18 minute Louis/Christmas biopic — “Louis Armstrong Recordings Evoke Jazz Great At Christmas” — that highlights the Louis Armstrong at Christmastime.

The show is driven by an interview thread with the archivist/curators of the Louis Armstrong House in Queens and includes music snippets, personal recording and some interesting personal anecdotes.

Louis’s view of success…

I won’t steal the thunder form the Here & Now piece, but the most LA insightful portion of the biopic for me was how Louis Armstrong — at the peak of his career — defined success:

Ricky Riccardi (Archivist, Louis Armstrong House) on Louis’ definition of success:

“I’ll tell you one of my favorite stories. In August of 1967 Louis did two weeks in Framingham, Massachusetts, and his good buddy Jack Bradley was there and Jack tells a story that they’re in Louis’ motel room, and this is not a suite. It’s a little rundown motel on the side of the road. And Louis tells Jack, “You know, Jack? I’ve really made it.” And Jack says, “Uh, what do you mean?” And Louis says, “Anytime I’m hungry, I could walk over to the refrigerator, get an egg, and make myself something to eat. I’ve really made it.” And Jack said he had tears in his eyes. And he told him, “You know, you should have filet mignon three times a day,” and Louis just brushed him off. That was the height of his success. By this point, he had “Hello Dolly”, 35 movies, TV every week, but the fact that he can make an egg sandwich anytime he wanted, that was it. He had really made it.”

Take 18 minutes out of your Christmas day to stop over to Here & Now and listen to “Christmas with Louis” …

And Merry Christmas!

…this holiday season.

As we settle into Christmas eve there are a few live performance updates and some VS news worth noting.

The Fresh Face gang is particularly active this season and the pace picked up yesterday with Jonny Blu’s release of his holiday single — “Silver Bells”.

Similar in style to the material in his recent The Ukelele Experience, Vol. One album release, Jonny brings a lilting, quieter vibe to the Christmas table with “Silver Bells”.

It’s good stuff … not up to his stellar  2011 Christmas release — “Holiday for Two” — but still worth folding in amongst the swing’n numbers and traditional fare on your holiday playlist.

Give it a listen and then head over to Jonny’s ReverbNation download site for a free download.

“Silver Bells” – Jonny Blu*

Then on the live performance front…

Don’t forget to get some Corn…

…Dale Corn that is!

Just want to remind anyone that may be passing through Union Station in D.C. on Christmas Eve that Dale Corn and a healthy slice of his big band are performing there today.

As I mentioned in last week’s review of his holiday EP release Christmas at Our House, Dale is a fun and talented young guy with a great passel of musicians worth catching if you’re in the neighborhood.

On the other side of the country…

Luca Ellis has been getting great reviews for the “Sinatra Holiday Bash”, Christmas My Way show running through New Years Eve at The Portal Theatre.

With nearly 40 Rat Pack styled holiday numbers that are interspersed with witty period repartee, I really hoped to catch this show; but my trip to L.A. fizzled out … so I’m out of luck.

Hopefully your luck will be better than mine and you can find your way to North Hollywood for some Sinatra inspired holiday fun.

When Luca takes the stage…

…for his last Christmas My Way performance on New Year’s Eve, his lovely lady Anna Mjöll will be ringing in the New Year just down the way in Bel Air with a gig of her own.

Anna is bringing her classy, cool-breeze (literally!) Icelandic jazz stylings to Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Jazz club stage — a prosecco worthy entry to 2013 to be sure!

I’m guessing Luca finds his way it out of the Portal Theatre in time to snag a kiss when the New Year rolls in at midnight!

 Merry Christmas everybody … have a wonderful holiday and a safe and Happy New Year’s celebration! 

…while lamenting the dearth of good holiday releases this year, I mentioned Dale Corn’s Christmas at Our House (EP) as one of the exceptions to this season’s underwhelming holiday music rollout.

At just three tracks, we only receive a taste of holiday interpretations under the tree from young Mr. Corn, but it’s well worth snaring if your holiday palate leans toward swing’n, big band fare.

No stranger to the dance halls and jazz club club circuit along the mid Atlantic Seaboard, Dale conducts a very fine 17 piece big band that he also fronts with his dulcet, clarinet-resonant vocals … a voice different from the bromidic crooner style and one I find very agreeable.

Coming on the heels…

…of his ”chock full o standards”, big band debut album – I’ve Been Around — (2011), Dale’s Chirstmas At Our House EP release offers a very nice short stack of classic holiday tracks: “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Silent Night” that are all nicely arranged and well produced.

The first two tracks are Bobby Muncy arrangements and offer interesting interpretations that are fresh and swing’n while remaining balanced and clean. Gene Thorne’s elegant piano and horn charts bring just the right amount of jazz shading to the typically staid “Silent Night”.

“Jingle Bell Rock” – Dale Corn*

Dale is offering everyone a gift this holiday season with a free download of “Jingle Bell Rock” (here).

An Interview with Dale…

I’m a sucker for big bands and really do like this new voice on the standards scene so I sought him out for a phone chat a few weeks back to get the low-down on his new holiday release.

Well had a great time talking about Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Nelson Riddle, the best arrangers classic and current … everything BUT his new holiday release! Geez …  I will review DC’s debut album in the new year and include our exhaustive exchange in that Spring ’13 piece.

We did touch on touch on Chirstmas At Our House and holiday music a bit though … hey, if nothing else I had to find out if that gal in the album art was Dale’s girl!? So here’s the holiday slice of our conversation (with a sidebar on his live album recording plans)…

VocalStandards: There’s a grand tradition of holiday music and the Great American Songbook. Is that why you decided to do a holiday release … a holiday EP as it were?

Dale Corn: Yes, I felt like I was missing out. You hear everybody else do holiday music… I said, “I guess I’d better jump on.” I had always felt that it was too commercial, but then again, I thought, “Well, you know what? I think I’m missing out.”

VS: There’s certainly commercial aspects to exploiting the holiday and the music; but if you look at the great American songbook, you’ve got great artists doing great music down through the years. That stuff has become the core of the way a lot of people enjoy the holiday — the ambiance of the holiday, not necessarily the meaning of Christmas, as it were.

‘Christmas at Our House’ is only three tracks but the EP is really well done and the arrangements are jazzy and fun … Bobby [Muncy], he did some really interesting stuff with the charts on “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Winter Wonderland.” But, I’ve got to ask you, is that your wife in the photograph? 

DC: [laughs] No, no, that is a model that we hired, a local model, actually, and her name’s Marla. She does wonderful “classic” pinup photos. 

VS: She’s period perfect for that classic 50s, 60s … ‘Mad Men’ era Christmas look, she’s got the look. Artwork aside, I think you guys have done really well with this holiday EP release. Is there more holiday music to come?

DC: Down the road, a couple of years I would say, … it takes so much to save the money up, to do it right. It takes a lot of time for me, because I’m a working class American just like anybody else. I’m saving the money up to do another full standards album — regular standards — and then we’ll come back in a couple of years [with a holiday release]. Maybe in two years or so, come back and do a full Christmas album; take those three songs, and add maybe another eight or nine songs.

VS: That’s probably a smart play. Hey, you’ve got a lot of live performance videos up on YouTube; have you thought about a live album? Big bands and live albums are kind of a natural mix, from my perspective.

DC: I would! What I would like to do, my dream project for doing a live album, is to do one in D.C. at Blues Alley. Blues Alley is to Washington what The Blue Note is to New York. There’s a lot of great performers that have played there. I actually saw The Count Basie Orchestra perform there a couple of years ago. I have sung there twice when I was in another band, before I started my own group. My goal is to be able to follow in the footsteps of people like Tony Bennet or Eva Cassidy … Dizzy Gillespie, The Basie Band and be able to perform there … be able to literally walk down the alley and look up and see my name on the marquee. That would be the ideal place to do it, because even though it’s a small room and they only hold about 100 people in that room, maybe 110 at best, it’s intimate. I don’t know how intimate you can be with 17 musicians behind you [laughs], but that would be the ideal place. 

The Conductor is pulling into the station…

Dale went on to say in our chat that he doesn’t get to perform in D.C. as much as he’d like.

However, that is not the case this Sunday and Monday (Christmas Eve) as Dale will be performing at Union Station (a great venue), with a six or eight piece subset of his band. If your shopping at Union Station or passing though on your way home for the holiday, stop by and give Dale Corn and his band a listen.

The really cool thing about the Union Station gig is that Dale actually works the rails as a train engineer (feature photo was a bit of foreshadowing) so this is a wonderful mashup of his two lives … very nice Dale!

[* Please remember that all songs streamed here are for REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY and are NOT intended as a substitute for properly purchased original record company product. Give a listen and then please support the artists via iTunes, Amazon or your favorite music store. Artists/Record Labels -- NO DOWNLOADS ARE SUPPORTED on this site; please contact me directly regarding the removal of any potentially infringing material.] 

…with his Merry Christmas, Baby holiday album release (Verve) … it’s actually pretty darned good! This came as news to me so it seemed apropos to land this mini review in the VS News section.

I have nothing but respect for Rod Stewart. The attention, appreciation and new listeners he’s brought to the Great American Songbook is a beautiful thing.

That said, Rod’s raspy interpretations of the standards have been largely lost on me (no surprise to regular VS readers, assuming you exist) with his high “gravel & smoke” vocal style firmly set in the ’70′s rock scene of my personal music perspective … think “Maggie May”, “Mandolin Wind” and the like.

Ray shamed me…

My trombone wielding buddy Ray, rang me up gushing about how much he liked Rod’s new release … really? I gave the LP a cursory listen and then I played my typical “I can’t get my head around Rod singing the standards” card and moved on … cold heartless bastard that I am.

But then, while stuck in traffic and really not wanting to spurn Martiniinthemorning.com by changing the channel, I actually LISTENED to a few tracks off the album as they came lilting across the radio waves and a funny thing happened … I, uh, liked it. Weird, I know, right!

Before you stoke up the bag pipes…

…to celebrate, I’m still not sold on Rod Stewart as a standards crooner, but somehow he’s won me over with his renditions of these holiday numbers … and hey, baby steps; who knows if maybe this’ll loosen up my RS sensibilities?

I’m insanely busy this holiday season but I am so struck by my new found appreciation for Rod’s Christmas fare that I had to shim in this mini review. Most of Merry Christmas, Baby is OK stuff (in the single “+” range of my standards rating system) but there are five standout songs from the 13 track LP.

Rod’s voice, the elegant guitar lead and the very nice string/piano charts on the initial track — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — is superb. I found David Foster’s arrangements pretty uneven throughout the album but he nailed it on this number and the result is stellar.

Another perfect set up for Stewart’s voice is the “near Motown” version of the title track — “Merry Christmas, Baby”. Rod’s 70′s R&B muscle memory is in full play here and the duet with Cee Lo Green is pretty good stuff.

The last two tracks on the album are “+++” rated numbers. Rod’s raspy vocal style is surprisingly wonderful on “Silent Night” and is beautifully complimented by the young coral singers and elegant arrangements.

Likewise Rod nestles his vocals in nicely amongst the guitar and fiddle leads, and elegant string charts on “Auld Lang Syne” … the bagpipe finish is right out of the Scottish country side.

The best song of the bunch…

…has to be the synthetic duet with Ell Fitzgerald. Typically I’m hard to impress — downright “angsty” — with most synthetic duets, but I find “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” fabulous.

Ella had a penchant for duets … she did scads of duets with a myriad of partners, with none more famously celebrated than her multiple album releases with the ultimate smokey, raspy gravely vocal talent — Louis Armstrong.

Rod and Ella strike a similar vocal style juxtaposition to the “silk & smoke” that Ella and Louis delivered so well … I think this number more than any of the others reached out and smacked me into giving Rod Stewart another listen, and I’m truly glad I did.

“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” – Rod Stewart/Ella Fitzgerald*

Good job Rod … Merry Christmas, Baby!

[* Please remember that all songs streamed here are for REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY and are NOT intended as a substitute for properly purchased original record company product. Give a listen and then please support the artists via iTunes, Amazon or your favorite music store. Artists/Record Labels -- NO DOWNLOADS ARE SUPPORTED on this site; please contact me directly regarding the removal of any potentially infringing material.] 

…On the proper recipe for Pasta Fagioli no less? Well, Deana Martin did exactly that!

While interviewing Ms Martin for the Holiday Chat with Deana Martin article, we had a sidebar discussion about learning to cook her dad’s favorite dish — Grandma Angela’s Pasta Fagioli — and a little “cultural exchange” she had with Sophia Loren.

Standing toe-to-toe…

…Deana and Italian cultural icon Sophia (“everything you see I owe to spaghetti”) Loren jousted over the proper ingredients for the classic Italian dish. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that exchange!

Well, the next best thing is Deana’s side of the story below. Check it out … as well as Angela’s recipe and my review of the dish below.

The Pasta Fagioli story…

Steve: So I have a little a food blog — DiningwithTheRatPack.com — nestled into my regular music vocal standards website. I noticed in your book [Memories Are Made of This] that your dad had a favorite recipe from his mom?

Deana: Yes, pasta fagioli. I’m the only one that she taught how to make it, so it was my special bond with my dad. It is wonderful. Have you made it yet?

Steve: No, I haven’t. I just started your book late in the week, but I did see the recipe and it looks pretty straightforward; I’m going to give it a go right after Thanksgiving.

Deana: Do, and make sure you get nice fresh Romano cheese and definitely make it with the tubettini pasta … I think it’s probably the best because it has to be about the same size as the cannellini beans. It’s yummy. Don’t put in too much cinnamon, that’s our secret spice.

Steve: I was really surprised by that! I have a friend of about 40 years that told me cinnamon was his mother’s secret ingredient for her spaghetti sauce, which everybody loved when we were growing up. I was going, “You have to be kidding me, cinnamon, that’s crazy”. Then then I saw your recipe and I thought, “Ok, I’m in!”

Deana: Yeah, it’s quite something. When I made it for my dad the first time, I’ll never ever forget that. His eyes lit up. He said, “Is this what I think it is?” It’s a great story in the book [Memories are Made of This]. I made it for him for years … for years and years. In fact, now I think I’m going to make that next week when I get back! It’s so good.

Deana: I have to tell you a funny little aside. I was talking with Sophia Loren, she’s a wonderful cook, and we were talking about pasta fagioli. I said, “What color beans do you use?” She said, “Red.” I said, “No, you can’t use red beans!” She said, “Yes, you have to use red.” I said, “No, you have to use the white cannellini beans. You can’t use red beans.” She said, “Then, I put in garlic.” I said, “You can’t put garlic in the thing!”

We had this huge fight and my husband is sitting there looking on and he said, “This is Sophia Loren and my wife, and they’re arguing about red beans and garlic or white beans and no garlic.” And then the last straw is when I said, “You do not put tomatoes in it?” She says, “Yes, I put tomatoes in it,” … it was one of the funniest arguments! It wasn’t really an argument; but it was an exchange and my husband was looking back and forth between me and Sophia … He said, “I think I’m in heaven … but maybe not!”

Angela Crocetti and her famous son!

Steve: It’s heaven now, but at the time…

Deana: Exactly. It was all in fun though … Finally, I said, “This is my dad’s favorite recipe, so that’s the way I’m going to make it.”

Steve: That’s the way it is with food, and the way it can be with music sometimes too. The renditions that you heard when you’re growing up, and the food that you ate at home is the way it is … the way it should be!

Deana: Oh, yes, because in my mind there’s a right way and then there’s a wrong way. It was funny … But I’m sure that I would love Sophia Loren’s pasta fagioli too.

I know I’d give Sophia’s pasta fagioli a try!

But that said, I’ve made Grandma Angela’s version a couple of times now; once per the recipe … and risking the ire of the clearly protective Ms. Martin,  once with a couple of tweaks! (see recipe notes)

I find the elegant simplicity of the dish enchanting. There are very few ingredients, and on the surface it looks almost too simple. But these few ingredients are somehow marshaled by the wild use of Angela’s secret ingredient — cinnamon — to render a wonderfully creamy, Italian comfort food classic.

Speaking of the creamy texture of this soup, Angela doesn’t blend a portion of the beans to get the creaminess. The unusually long low simmer breaks down just the right amount of beans to get most of the way to that perfect unctuous consistency; and then her expedient of cooking of the pasta right in the soup brings the pasta starch into play and gets you the rest of the way.

I usually cook pasta separately for use in a soup or stew to AVOID the over starching of the final dish. In this case it works great — achieving the creamy texture I suspect Angela was after. (If your persuasion falls more on the soupy side, just add some water to suit your needs after the pasta has cooked).

Grandma Angela’s Pasta Fagioli

 

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Dean Martin’s favorite dish

Author: Angela Crocetti & Deana Martin

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 15 oz cans of canalini beans
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• ¼ teaspoon (scant) ground cinnamon (Angela’s secret ingredient)
• 6 cups water
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup of tubettini or ditalini (or small elbow pasta)
• Parmigiano (or Romano) cheese

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and saute the onion until translucent; add the beans (with the juices from the can), the water, cinnamon* and salt and pepper, stir and bring to a boil on med-high heat. Let it boil (moderate – NOT a rolling boil) for 15 minutes.
2. Drop the heat, cover and let simmer (very low bubble) for 90 minutes.
3. Add pasta and continue simmering for 15 minutes until the pasta is done and the starch from the pasta has done it’s thing. You may or may not want to add some water depending on your soupiness preference. Stir in a TB or two of Parmigiano and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve in bowls and dust with a bit more Parmigiano cheese. Add some hot crusty bread and a bottle of red wine.

Notes

* I eventually found it easier to get the cinnamon integrated into the liquid by stirring it into the sautéed onions for just a few seconds BEFORE adding the beans and water. Adding the fine power after the water had me chasing it all over the surface with a whisk to get it into the liquid … over 90 minutes of cooking I’m guessing it wouldn’t be an issue either way.

SCOX – bracing for a possible scolding from Deana, I exercised a couple of “options” on Angela’s dish the second time through: I added some pancetta (~ 4-5 thin slices, chopped; added just before the onions) … it was very nice and brought some rich unctuousness without fundamentally changing the flavor profile. I also added just a few red pepper flakes into the onion sauté and threw a ~4″ reggiano rind into the pot during the long slow simmer … the end result for this batch was fantastic. I liked the depth/resonance of the added pancetta and reggiano rind, and the hint of edge (it was NOT hot) from the red pepper.

More aggressive “Sophia class” options? … any combo of garlic, more red pepper flakes, dried oregano, fresh rosemary, can of raster tomatoes … try any or all and make this dish your own; but make it the authentic “Dean & Deana way” first!

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