The hallmarks of any celebration or holiday regardless of the location are family, friends, food, drink and
a common purpose for being together (that purpose can be as basic as just having a good time).  Here
in America we just celebrated the 4th of July, the celebration of our Independance over 200 years ago.
Regardless of your ethnic heritage, this American holiday will always focus around a grill, a BBQ,
cold assorted salads and whatever else your particular history brings to the table.  If you haven't guessed
by now, I come from an Italian-American heritage so each tray of burgers and dogs will most likely be
paired up with something from that cache of Italo-American recipes and traditions.  For our pre-4th
meal, steaks were going on the grill.  Also, my contribution was going to be Spiedini, thin rolls of meat
filled with various savory fillings, skewered (a spiedino is a skewer in Italian) then grilled.   At this point I'm compelled to include this pic of one of
my sister's (she had the weekend celebrations at her beach house) holiday centerpieces.  Nice, right?
Very talented!  Good decorations and surroundings always enhance the feel of the party!  Back to the
Spiedino ( just a sidebar here, spiedini have nothing to do with 4th of July, just made them this year
as a random entree choice).  The spiedino di manzo is very close in the cut of meat (thin sliced round
steak) and filling and shape as the Napoletana classic, Brasciole, which is either beef or pork.  Same
with Spiedino.  For this recipe which evolved as the night went on, I think beef is the best choice.  Buy
2 large pieces of Brasciole meat, or sliced round steak.  They are about 10-12 inches long and about 1/4
inch thick, give or take.  No pix of this part of the recipe because, again, with much excitement on my part,
I had no plans to blog this.  After I posted the pix of it last night more than a few requests came in for the
recipe.  So, here it is.  Cut the steaks into 3 equal segments, then pound each one till they are about
1/8 " thick...careful not to tear the meat.  In a bowl mince 2 cloves of garlic, add 3 tbs. of good olive oil,
1/8 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/8 cup of grated pecorino romano, pinch of chile flakes, handful of pignoli
nuts. 1 tsp. of Vermouth, good grinding of black pepper, 2 tbs of fresh chopped parsley, 3 torn fresh
basil leaves.  Blend well.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Now, spread an even amount on each piece of beef.
Roll them up one side to another and skewer them, 3 to a skewer.  Rub the outside of each with salt,
pepper, a piece of garlic and some breadcrumbs.  2 ways to cook a spiedino, traditional, over char-
coal.  Unfortunately, Sunday the rain was sporadic but when it came down it was close to monsoon
status along with thunder and lightning.  I pulled out a flat top grill and heated it on high.  Added about
1 tbs. of olive oil to the pan, well greased...then when it was almost smoking hot, i seared the spiedini
on each side, 6 minutes per side.

Let them sit on the hot pan while you start the next step.  In a medium baking dish,
cut 1/2 an onion, slice 5 mushrooms, 1 minced clove of garlic, 2 tbs. of olive oil and
1 tsp. of breadcrumbs mixed with pecorino.  Blend this all.  Now add 1 can of crushed
tomatoes for this, you want a smoother consistency for this than you would for a
chunky sauce.  Add 1/8 cup of Vermouth...(old school booze that really adds lots of flavor
to meat and mushroom dishes, sort of like Marsala, but lighter and not as sweet).  Blend
this all then place the skewers in coating both sides with the sauce.  Add 2 bay leaves
and a sprinkle of pecorino.  Heat your oven to 400 degrees and bake in the center rack
for 25 minutes on the first side, 20 minutes on the second. If the sauce looks at all like
it's drying out,just add 1/16 cup of water, stock, or vermouth. This shouldn't happen
though.
Test one of the spiedini by taking a thin slice off the side of one..it should be tender.  Take
them out of the sauce and keep them on a covered platter for now.  Make 1 lb. of spaghetti
or bucatini and cook until al dente.  Drain and mix right in the pan with the sauce and some
additional olive oil and grated pecorino. Serve this as your "primo" course, then when the
rolls have cooled somewhat, slice into 1/8 " rings, and serve the meat with a sauteed zucchini
or escarole (any green sauteed vegetable would go well) as a "secondo".  Here's a lesson in how
to eat like an Italian in Italy does...don't serve this all at once...the pasta is always first...the meats/fish
and vegetables and maybe another starch are second. 
Spiedini are more often simply rolled in oil and breadcrumbs and grilled on a medium charcoal
fire, veal being the most popular meat.  On the skewers are onions and bay leaves..the rain had
me think of another was to prepare them so, now I share that with you.
Il Primo---(i took the pic before I mixed the pasta, so don't let the amount frighten you!)



Il Secondo-- the platter of sliced Spiedini di Manzo with the flavors from the searing, then
braising on the outside...and the aromatic richness of the filling..
 Before I let you go...for those who have encountered Spiedini and it's nothing like this, you are
not wrong..Spiedini alla Romana is a whole different dish of skewered fresh mozzarella, bread,
rolled in an egg, parsley and pecorino batter, fried in olive oil, then served with a sauce of butter,
lemon, olive oil, anchovy and capers..more fresh parsley.  That we'll reserve for a blog for another
day.