New Italian Cookbook Daniel Bellino

 

AL PACINO

PASTA alla PACINO

Daniel Bellino

   Al Pacino’s favorite pasta? It’s Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, (Spaghetti Garlic & Oil). Al’s favorite. I know. Al used to come to the restaurant Barbetta, in New York’s theater district. I was the wine director there. Mr. Pacino once asked me, “Can you guys make me Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.?” To which I replied, “Of course we can. For you Mr. Pacino, we will make it.” And so we did. We had. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. The dish, as you should well know, is beloved by most Italians, whether in Italy, or here in America. We Italian Americans just love it. Especially in the New York Metropolitan area of New York & New Jersey. We grew up with it, as Al Pacino growing up as a boy in the Bronx, New York, and as a young man living in Manhattan. It’s part of his life, and is in his blood. He’s Italian. Italian-American from the Bronx. New York Italians? We love: Baked Clams, Sunday Sauce, Lasagna, Meatballs, Linguine Vongole, and yes, as Mr. Pacino, “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.” 

  Take note, that Parade Magazine April 1, 2025 picked up on my story of Al Pacino and myself (Daniel Bellino Zwicke). The wrote a little piece, quoting me, and telling the story of Al Pacino and me. That night at Barbetta, and the subsequent act of me telling the story (with recipe) in my book Positano The Amalfi Coast - Travel Guide - Cookbook. Parade magazine picked up on it, and my story and Al Pacino and I (Daniel Bellino) has snowballed, in print and all over the internet. And yes, “I’m proud it is.”

   And so I could not resist telling the story again. The story and myself - Daniel Bellino Zwicke, and the great Al Pacino. I’ve been a huge fan, as most Americans of Mr. Pacino for some 50 plus years now. “We are Paisons,” and blood brothers in a way. We are both Italian-American New Yorkers, with Sicilian ancestry and roots, from the same area of Sicily. Al Pacino’s family, believe it or not, are from Corelone, Sicily. Yes I said Corleone, the same town in Sicily as the fictional character Pacino played in the movie The Godfather, as one Michael Corleone, whose father Vito is from the Sicilian town Corleone. 

  My family, the Bellino’s are from the nearby town of Lercara Friddi, Sicily, the same town that the famed Mafia Boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano is from, as well as Frank Sinatra’s father - Martino Severino Sinatra. That’s our connection - Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino, and Me - Daniel Bellino.

  And yes, I greatly admire both Frank Sinatra, and Al Pacino, and I’m proud of our small connection as Sicilian Americans. “Paisons.”

PASTA alla PACINO - RECIPE

INGREDIENTS :

8 ounces imported Italian Spaghetti

8 tablespoons Olive Oil

5 cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced 

½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

2 tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley (optional)

Note : Make sure to use good quality imported Italian Spaghetti, and Italian Olive Oil.

Fill a 3-4 quart pot ¾ full of water and add 1 teaspoon Sea Salt. Turn heat to high and bring the water to the boil.

Add olive oil and the garlic to a large frying pan. Cook on low heat until the garlic just starts to brown. Turn the heat off. Add the red pepper and stir.

Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water. Cook, following the directions on the box (about 9 - 10 minutes).

When the spaghetti is finished cooking, drain it into a colander, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water.

Reserve a ¼ cup of pasta water to mix into the finished plate of pasta.

Place the drained spaghetti into the pan with the garlic & olive oil. Toss and mix the spaghetti so it is completely coated with the sauce. Add a little of the parsley and a little of the pasta cooking water if needed. Mix everything together.

Plate the spaghetti on two plates, dividing it evenly.  Sprinkle on the remaining Parsley. Serve immediately. It does not require cheese, but you may put on a little if you like. Just not too much. Enjoy.

Note : Yes, this book is all about Italian Nonnas and their wonderful home-cooked Italian food recipes. Going a little bit out of that realm with this story and recipe of Al Pacino’s favorite pasta - Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Yes. Well yes and no. Al is Italian, of Sicilian ancestry, and though he does not at the time of this printing have any grandchildren, but we are certain with having 4 children that he will one day have grandchildren and become an Italian Nonno. 

Anyway, we love Al. And who doesn’t? So, we have included our Italian-American brother here. “Basta”

   …. Daniel ….

Excerpted from soon to be published book by author Daniel Bellino Zwicke. Working Title - Italian Nonna Cookbook ... Anticipated publishing date - November 2026

Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke

VERONA, ITALY

"BOOKS" on AMAZON

DINNER at "LUIGI'S"

A Fictitious Restaurant in The BRONX

The GODFATHER 1972

AL Pacino as Michael Corleone

Al Lettieri as Sollozzo

And Sterling Hayden as Captain McClusky

"DINNER with AL"

BELLINO & PACINO

Author and chef Daniel Bellino Zwicke highlighted actor Al Pacino in his Italian cookbooks and culinary guides. Bellino shared anecdotes about serving Pacino at Manhattan restaurants like Barbetta, where the iconic actor famously ordered off-menu spaghetti aglio e olio (garlic and oil). [1, 2, 3]

The Connection

The Restaurant Connection: Bellino shared in his writings that Al Pacino routinely ordered simple spaghetti aglio e olio while dining out in New York City. 
The Cookbooks: Daniel Bellino Zwicke features Italian-American culture, New York City restaurant lore, and celebrity anecdotes in books like Sunday Sauce and Positano the Amalfi Coast Cookbook.

Jasper Johns American Flag

 

AMERICAN FLAG 

  Jasper Johns

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The Flag:

Johns’ first use of the flag motif was the result of a dream the artist had in 1954 when he was 24 years old. Flag was exhibited in Johns’ first one-man show at Leo Castelli’s gallery in 1958 and is now located at MoMA in New York. Since that time, Johns has created more than 100 flags in various media, in a variety of sizes, as a single flag or in multiples, and depicted it in black & white, greys, in oranges and greens and in the traditional red, white and blue.  

“… the flag seems special. He returns to it again and again as a musician returns to a favorite theme or set of chords, a poet to a particular meter, or as Rembrandt did to his own ageing physiognomy.”

A notoriously enigmatic artist, Johns has remained tight-lipped regarding any possible socio-political associations with his repeated depictions of flags, making any such interpretation the responsibility of the viewer. While the United States flag is a powerfully loaded symbol in the collective American consciousness and around the world, Johns’ intentions in creating these works are non-symbolic. Instead, he is concerned with their formal stylistic structure, “Because what’s interesting to me is the fact that it isn’t designed, but taken. It’s not mine.”²  As something "the mind already knows," the motif of the flag provided Johns with a ready-made composition and allowed Johns to create meaning through other avenues, such as the physicality of his surfaces, in his process of making marks and in his choice of medium. 

OLD GLORY

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AMERICAN FLAG

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The painting of a flag is always about a flag, but it is no more about a flag than about a brushstroke, or about the physicality of paint.

.... Jasper Johns  ....

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What Bourdain Friends thought Argento

The LIFE & DEATH of ANTHONY BOURDAIN & What ANTHONY'S CLOSEST FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES THOUGHT

ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Anthony Bourdain’s close friends and colleagues viewed his relationship with Asia Argento with deep concern, describing him as as obsessively"Lovestruck" and prone to transferring his lifelong addictive personality onto her, which many in his inner circle ultimately saw as a volatile and dangerous dynamic.

VIEWS From The INNER CIRCLE 

All-Consuming Obsession: Colleagues noted that Bourdain fell for Argento with an intensity likened to a teenager, and would have done anything for her. []
Red Flags: Friends viewed his total surrender to the relationship as an alarming warning sign, noting his nerves were already frayed and he was heavily overworked. [1]
Addictive Transfer: Crew and close associates felt that channeling his intense, addictive nature into a consuming romance left him emotionally vulnerable and unstable. [1]
Isolation: Many in his circle felt the intense, dramatic nature of the romance began to strain and alienate him from his long-standing support systems. [, 2, 3]

Anthony Bourdain died by suicide at the age of 61 on June 8, 2018, in his room at the Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, France, while working on an upcoming episode of Parts Unknown. In his final days, he was heavily fatigued from an intense travel and filming schedule, emotionalyyy drained, and deeply distressed by public photographs of his romantic partner, Asia Argento, with another man. Chronology of the Final 72 Hours

1. The Triggering Event: Paparazzi photos surfaced showing Asia Argento in France embracing a French journalist, sending Bourdain into a severe emotional spiral. []
2. The Final Exchange: Following the photos, Bourdain and Argento exchanged tense text messages; after he expressed how the situation had hurt him, she texted him to "stop busting my balls," to which he replied "okay". [, 3]
3. The Warning Signs: His close friend and fellow chef, Éric Ripert, noticed Bourdain had grown unusually quiet and was in a dark, isolated mood during the Alsace shoot. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
4. The Discovery: After Bourdain skipped dinner and failed to show up for breakfast the following morning, Éric Ripert grew worried and staff checked his room, where he was found unresponsive. [, 2]
5. The Investigation: Local French authorities and prosecutors confirmed there was no evidence of foul play or violence, and subsequent toxicology tests showed only trace amounts of a non-narcotic therapeutic medication, leading investigators to conclude it was an impulsive act. []

The unauthorized biography Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain by journalist Charles Leerhsen and the final handling of Parts Unknown by CNN reveal a painful and deeply protective aftermath surrounding his final days in June 2018

The Down and Out in Paradise Controversy

• Intimate Disclosures: Published in late 2022, the unauthorized book utilized confidential communications, text message transcripts, and phone data from Anthony Bourdain's estate to document his final emotional spiral and his turbulent relationship with Asia Argento. [, 2, 3]
• Family Outrage: Close relatives, including his brother Christopher Bourdain, fiercely condemned the project, labeling it hurtful and defamatory fiction, while publisher Simon & Schuster stood by the reporting. [1]
• Revealed Strain: The biography highlighted text logs showing Bourdain expressing extreme exhaustion, profound loneliness, and distress over his demanding production schedule before his death in Kaysersberg, France. [, 2]

How CNN Handled the Final Season of Parts Unknown

• Incomplete Alsace Footage: The episode being filmed in Alsace, France, alongside close friend Éric Ripert was left unfinished and was permanently shelved out of respect, never airing on television.
• Assembling the Remainder: CNN and production company Zero Point Zero pieced together a truncated final season using previously shot location footage, which lacked Bourdain's final voiceover narration.
• The Tribute Episodes: The network added special retrospective episodes featuring the show's underlying crew sharing memories and analyzing his cultural impact.
• The Final Broadcast: The series officially concluded with an emotional episode centered on New York's Lower East Side, closing the travelogue with background vocals from his daughter, Ariane. 

The DEATH of ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Anthony Bourdain died by suicide at the age of 61 on June 8, 2018, in his room at the Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, France, while working on an upcoming episode of Parts Unknown. In his final days, he was heavily fatigued from an intense travel and filming schedule, emotionally drained, and deeply distressed by public photographs of his romantic partner, Asia Argento, with another man. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Chronology of the Final 72 Hours

1. The Triggering Event: Paparazzi photos surfaced showing Asia Argento in France embracing a French journalist, sending Bourdain into a severe emotional spiral. []
2. The Final Exchange: Following the photos, Bourdain and Argento exchanged tense text messages; after he expressed how the situation had hurt him, she texted him to "stop busting my balls," to which he replied "okay". [, 3]
3. The Warning Signs: His close friend and fellow chef, Éric Ripert, noticed Bourdain had grown unusually quiet and was in a dark, isolated mood during the Alsace shoot. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
4. The Discovery: After Bourdain skipped dinner and failed to show up for breakfast the following morning, Éric Ripert grew worried and staff checked his room, where he was found unresponsive. [, 2]
5. The Investigation: Local French authorities and prosecutors confirmed there was no evidence of foul play or violence, and subsequent toxicology tests showed only trace amounts of a non-narcotic therapeutic medication, leading investigators to conclude it was an impulsive act.

POST BOURDAIN DEATH - DOCUMENTARIES & BIOGRAPHIES

The documentary Roadrunner - A Film About Anthony - directed by Morgan Neville, and the unauthorised biography Down & Out in Paradise - The Life of Anthony Bourdain by Charles Leerhsenoffer is deep, raw, and sometimes conflicting insights into Anthony Bourdain's final months, his psychological state, and his relationship with Asia Argento. [1, 2]

Roadrunner (2021 Documentary)

• The Portrait: Director Morgan Neville paints an unflinching psychological portrait of Bourdain, tracking his trajectory from an anonymous kitchen line cook to a global icon. [1, 2, 3]
• The Argento Dynamic: The film addresses his intense romance with Asia Argento, noting how completely he anchored his emotional well-being to her and how deeply her presence—and subsequent distance—shifted his world. Friends and crew members in the film reflect on the friction caused during production when Argento directed an episode and how isolated Bourdain became. []
• The Controversy: The documentary drew heavy media scrutiny and ethical debate for using artificial intelligence (AI) software to artificially recreate Bourdain's voice to read a few fabricated or unrecorded email/text sentences within the film's narration. 

Down and Out in Paradise (2022 Biography)

• Private Messages: Journalist Charles Leerhsen utilized phone records, texts, and laptop data from Bourdain's final days to document the acute isolation the chef felt. [1]
• The Final Breakdown: Texts recovered in the book show Bourdain expressing intense fatigue with celebrity and his routine—telling his ex-wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, "I hate my fans, too. I hate being famous. I hate my job". []
• The Breaking Point: The biography details the volatile final arguments with Argento following paparazzi photos of her with another man in Rome, leading up to the final text exchanges shortly before his death.

Anthony Bourdain

BOURDAIN The DEFINITIVE ORAL BIOGRAPHY

When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man who, as a beloved travel icon, had dedicated his life to traveling nearly everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the lives and stories of others. His impact was outsized and his legacy has only grown since his death.

Now, for the first time, we have been granted a look into Bourdain’s life through the stories and recollections of his closest friends and colleagues. Laurie Woolever, Bourdain’s longtime assistant and confidante, interviewed nearly a hundred of the people who shared Tony’s orbit―from members of his kitchen crews to his writing, publishing, and television partners, to his daughter and his closest friends―in this definitive oral biography, piecing together a remarkably full, vivid, and nuanced vision of Tony’s life and work.

From his childhood and teenage days, to his early years in New York, through the genesis of his game-changing memoir Kitchen Confidential to his emergence as a writing and television personality, and in the words of friends and colleagues including Eric Ripert, José Andrés, Nigella Lawson, and W. Kamau Bell, as well as family members including his brother and his late mother, we see the many sides of Tony―his motivations, his ambivalence, his vulnerability, his blind spots, and his brilliance.

Unparalleled in scope and deeply intimate in its execution, with a treasure trove of photos from Tony's life, Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography is a moving tribute and a testament to the life of a remarkable man in the words of the people who shared his world.

This landmark oral biography paints the full picture of a complex life:

• Behind the Fame: Go beyond the public persona with recollections from nearly a hundred of the people who knew him best―from his kitchen crews to television partners like Eric Ripert and José Andrés.
• A Chef’s Life: Trace Tony’s journey from his early years in New York and the genesis of his game-changing memoir Kitchen Confidential to his emergence as a global television personality.
• Candid and Unflinching: In the words of those closest to him, see the many sides of Tony―his motivations, his ambivalence, his vulnerability, and his brilliance.
• An Intimate Portrait: Assembled by his longtime assistant and confidante, Laurie Woolever, this biography offers an unparalleled and deeply personal look at the man behind the myth, complete with a treasure trove of personal photos.