Comments on: Spezzi

By: Jim Stuart

Jim Stuart — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:28:31 +0000

Nice Blog! I happened to be looking for a recipe for chicken gizzards in tomato sauce and came upon yours. Great to see a bit of Italian American food history and though there are no Mt. Olive pepper rings in Chile where I live, a bit of the local “pickles en vinagre” (giardiniera) should do the trick.

Best wishes

Jim

By: Leon Sculti

Leon Sculti — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:16:53 +0000

My cousins, the Russo’s were the owners of Chickadee Farms and may have been unaware of their contribution to the world of gastronomy.

By: D.W. Langston

D.W. Langston — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:34:27 +0000

Love the article!!

And I have to say, one of my favorite places to get pre-made spezzi is Sunrise Meat Market & Deli on Granite Street. It’s not always available, but when it is I usually buy TWO quarts!!

It’s located across from the meat counter in a refrigerated case, along with their home made marinara sauce.

When I worked for a company down the hill from Granite street, I would go there for lunch and bring some back. BAD IDEA!!! After that EVERYONE would stop in for it. It made it harder to get!!!

Honestly, I’m not big on ‘internal organs.’ But the combination of peppers, onions, spices and of course, gizzards, makes for one delicious dish!!

And I agree, all you need is a fresh loaf of crusty Italian bread to go with it. Not to worry, Sunrise has that too!!!

By: NICK

NICK — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:45:11 +0000

God, spezzi! I went to Providence college and owned a biz in westerly RI. I LOVE SPEZZ!

I think spezzi comes from the stewed innards many italians made before the health department declared many cuts illegal. We called the stew “soffrito” It was a concoction of beef or pig, or lamb or chicken. It contained any offal availble, Hearts, lungs, kidneys, gizzards, liver, etc. Combine these with a bit of tomatoe, some herbs such as basil or mint, some hot pepper, water and stew away. Served with a nice hunk of italian bread and fresh parsley…..mmmmm, fantastic. Soffrito is still available in Italian american clubs, usually with only hearts or gizzards.

Westerly is home for MANY unique items. They make their own style of salami, called SUPPI, that is sold in almost every grocery store or deli in the area.

Even better, imho, is their own home salted sardines. Its kind of a homemade anchovy, I guess. Put on pizza it would make any anchovy lovers knees buckle!! The aroma alone is enough to make a grown man cry!!!

Great site!!
nick

Westerly has a lot of unique foods. ALong with spezzi

By: Andrea Hollis

Andrea Hollis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:36:35 +0000

Indeed, Hobart + Wm. Smith College was our introduction to Geneva – our daughter spent a year at the school and we enjoyed several meals at Nonna’s Trattoria or Nonna Cosentino’s. (Yes, there is a large Italian-American population in the area.) We’d never seen gizzards on any menu, having eaten them only in my mother-in-law’s tomato sauce. Cosentino’s gizzards (in tomato suce but no peppers!) were extremely tender so we asked about the preparation: simmering for 20 – 30 minutes before adding to the sauce. My husband thinks his mother (the family is from the Hartford area) added the gizzards uncooked to her sauce and then cooked them until tender but by then the sauce was bitter.
My husband has adopted the Cosentino technique, but he also rinses the gizzards after simmering and cooks them whole in his regular tomato sauce.
Thanks for the Westerly Spezzi specifics. This will be an enjoyable investigation!

By: Skip

Skip — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:31:44 +0000

Thanks for your comment. First, I’d be interested in the preparation for chicken gizzards in your area. The only thing I know about Geneva, NY is Hobart & William Smith. Is there a significant Italian-American population there? Do they prepare their gizzards in a similar way?

And to answer your first question, Spezzi is available at The Knickerbocker Cafe on Railroad Ave., The Hilltop Cafe—which isn’t on a hill at all—on Oak St., Back Track Bar, also on Oak St., and at Maria’s Italian Restaurant on Rt. 1 in Westerly.

You may find it at Vetrano’s on Granite St., but it may simply be a special from time to time.

Best regards,
Skip

By: Andrea Hollis

Andrea Hollis — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:33:17 +0000

What a surprise to see my humble state mentioned in your story! In spite of Rhode Island being such a tiny place, Westerly is exotic to me, would you share the specifics of where spezzi are available? I’ve only ever seen gizzards on a menu in Geneva, NY.
Very much enjoy your blog.

By: Skip

Skip — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:09:47 +0000

Many thanks. We hope to have several more very local recipes in the coming weeks.

And by the way, this could be a great sauce for pasta without the chicken. If I cooked it, I’d probably use about half the amount of peppers and their liquid so I wouldn’t completely overpower the tomatoes.

Best regards,
Skip

By: Georgia (Milo & Nutella)

Georgia (Milo & Nutella) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:52:43 +0000

Great combination of social history with a good looking recipe (sadly, I don’t eat meat).