Passatelli and Panna Cotta Receipe...

Brodo con Passatelli. This a soup that a young John Lanci and Cathy Ruggiero Lanci enjoyed in their homes as children... as fate would have it, their Italian ancestors lived in neighboring towns in Le Marche on the Adriatic. Without knowing it they grew up on the same food, met each other 20 years later and now cook this soup for their children and beloved customers. We offer this traditional soup to your family.

Brodo con Passatelli
Parmesan lemon soup (yields 6 servings)

7 cups chicken broth
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup breadcrumbs, plain
lemon zest of half lemon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten

1. Bring broth to a steady, moderate boil in an uncovered pot.

2. While the broth is coming to a boil, combine the cheese, breadcrumbs, zest and nutmeg in a bowl.

3. Place the mixture on a working surface, make a mound with a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and knead all the ingredients together into a granular consistency.

4. Put the disk with the largest holes in your food mill. When the broth boils, press the mixture through the food mill directly into the boiling broth.

5. Cook at a slow boil for a minute or two. Turn off the heat and allow to rest for 3 – 4 minutes. Top each bowl with a spoon of Parmesan.


Panna Cotta. Our most requested recipe and it is with a grateful heart that I offer it to you, on one condition ... let everyone know where you first tasted it and how charming Signora Lanci was. Enjoy !

Panna Cotta - this literally means cooked cream, a velvety light dessert
(serves 8- 10)

1 envelope of unflavored powdered gelatin (1 tablespoon)
8 tablespoons cool water
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups half and half
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
short piece of vanilla bean with seeds scraped out

1. Place 8 tablespoons of cool water in a bowl and sprinkle gelatin powder over the water. Set aside.

2. Place the cream, half and half, sugar and vanilla extract and vanilla seed with pod in a heavy bottomed pot.

3. Stir the mixture to incorporate the sugar. Over a low flame, heat the cream till it forms small bubbles along the sides of the pot. Make sure the cream does not come to a boil. (all you really want to do is melt the sugar) Remove from heat.

4. Add the gelatin mixture to the warmed cream and gently stir for a few minutes to make sure the gelatin is fully incorporated (please no lumps in the gelatin)

5. Let cool for a few minutes and pour into a spouted container, making it easier to pour into individual containers. Make sure you scrape out the vanilla flecks into the serving bowls and discard the vanilla bean pod. *

6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours. Can be made 3-5 days in advance.

7. Top with seasonal fruit or fruit syrups just before serving…. limited only by your imagination.

* The discarded vanilla bean pod can be wiped dry and left to dry overnight. Once completely dried add it to sugar to create vanilla flavored sugar (leave for several days) You may also grate it finely and use it as a seasoning in cookies or cake mixes

Suggested Toppings: fruit puree, caramel sauce with toasted pine nuts, marmalade, chocolate sauce with espresso beans, caramelized brown sugar, your favorite cordial
Suggested Serving Bowls: ramekins, espresso cups, assorted glass votive holders

the beloved tomato...

With the cold weather at our door and the holiday demands ahead, we offer a recipe for a bowl of comforting tomato soup. Make it a meal with some sautéed greens and a glass of Chianti. Enjoy the poem honoring the workhorse of Italian cuisine; the beloved tomato.


Tomato Soup with fried bread (serves 4)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1- 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes
1 quart chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

salt/pepper
4 slices baguettes ¼”slices
¼ cup canola oil
4 basil leaves for garnish
4 parmesan slices


- in stock pot sauté garlic and shallots with olive oil over med-low heat about 3 minutes

- remove tomatoes from can, squeeze each tomato to break it up and add to stock pot, reserve tomato juice…cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes

- add broth, cook for about 30 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste…reserved tomato juice may be added for more color or if thinner consistency is desired

- while soup is cooking, prepare bread…heat canola oil in a sauce pan that is deep enough to completely deep fry the bread, oil should be hot enough to fry bread quickly on both sides, remove from pan and drain on paper towel

- place fried bread in soup bowl, ladle cooked soup, garnish with basil leaf and parmesan slice, finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil



Sautéed Greens (serves 4)


4 cups fresh greens (escarole, broccoli rabe, spinach, kale)
4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt/pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
2 Tbsp. golden raisins (optional)


- bring water to boil in a deep pot and blanch greens for 30 seconds. Drain and run under cold water till cool. Squeeze out excess water and set aside.

- over medium flame, heat olive oil in a wide skillet. (Do not let oil smoke) Sautee garlic till slightly golden in color, take care not to let it brown. Remove garlic with slotted spoon and set aside.

- coarsely chop greens and place in skillet. Sautee for about 1-2 minutes, turning frequently with wooden spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste and sauté for another minute or two. If desired add the pine nuts and raisins at this point.

- remove from heat, drizzle with additional extra virgin olive oil and parmesan shavings.



An Italian Classic
that speaks of love, desire, pasta and tomato sauce

“The Tomato”

A thin strand of pasta returns from exile
and tomato sauce laughs happily…
garlic, onion and even the saucepan
all go into rapture.

The tomato sauce cries with joy
because she has been alone for so long.
She says,”Come here, my beauty,
my husband, come here and comfort me.”
And with an embrace the party began,
everyone attacked half a kilo of pasta apiece !

“Italo-Neapolitan Verses”
Silvio Gargiulo, 1922

our final summer.

Thank you all for the kind words and support as we have decided to close our doors after this track season.

Although it was a difficult decision to make, we are ready to move on to the next episode - perhaps leading
culinary and vineyard tours of Italy? Perhaps another restaurant? There are so many opportunities that we would like to explore, and it's a very exciting time for our family.

Please check our website regularly - we will keep it live and up to date with our current status once we have said goodbye to 68 Putnam.

Thank you for everything.

There is more to come...stay tuned.

Ciao per adesso,
The Lanci's

Summer is on the horizon...

What a long winter...one that makes you truly appreciate the blossoming Spring. Would you like a quick Italian lesson? Of course you would. In the Italian language all words have a gender - masculine or feminine. In Italian, all of the seasons are masculine...EXCEPT Spring (La Primavera), it's feminine because it's the season for the great birth of life. Italians, always romantic, always poetic.

Now that we've given Spring it's proper respect, let's talk about Summer. We have some very big and exciting plans for this upcoming summer. As we fine tune the details, we ask that you check back regularly, but to entice you, we'll say this much...we are going to be launching Mezza Notte this summer - our version of an Italian MidNight - it will be our late-night-extended-hour menu of small plate Italian delights. Grilled pizzata, frutta e formaggio....extended beer and spirits list and much more.

Stay tuned, much more to come.

Buon Primavera a te,
The Lanci Family

The Vinitaly.

We are so excited to celebrate the Vinitaly ™ this year, too bad we won't being doing so in Italy.

tre bicchieri (three glasses)

Each year in Italy, since 1986, a select group of Italian judges taste upwards of 14,000 Italian wines. (approximately 300 awards are given). The wines from the previous vintage are judged, which include every variety and every region. Truly a labor of love that can take several months since Italians take their wines so seriously !

The rating system is based on 1,2,or 3 glasses. 1 glass is like a bronze metal, two is a silver and three is the gold metal. Another way it was explained sounds more Italian. Wine is best shared, so if a bottle has 6 glasses that means you and your drinking companion can each get up to 3 glasses. If you decide its just O.K, that’s a one glass wine, if you like it enough to have another glass, that’s a two glass wine, but if you love it and finish the bottle, that’s three glasses, a Tre Bicchieri winner.

Gambero Rosso Guida ai Vini Italia is the official guide and rating organization, which is also affiliated with Slow Food based in Italy. This year all the wines and the winemakers will be in New York on Monday, March 3 to pour their gems for the press, trade and public. Unfortunately this year we will not be able to attend, but have fond memories of the two previous events. It just doesn’t get better than this for lovers of all things Italian. We at Lanci’s are proud to carry some Tre Bicchieri winners, so join us for a bottle or two … you won’t be disappointed.

Our first journal entry.

We can't begin to express how excited we are about our new website - especially having this journal as a forum to share a few of our favorite things.

So far, 2008 is treating us very well. We have a new menu coming out that we are sure you will love. Pasta Sundays have become an instant success - especially the community chef.  We are getting excited about our upcoming Valentines Day dinner and are finalizing the menu and dates for our Winter/Spring Communal Dinners.  Above all else, the thing that is making Chef Lanci most excited this week is the Giants superbowl win. 

Lastly - the whole Lanci family has a trip to Italy on the brain....

Ciao,
Cathy and John Lanci