Italian Sausage

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Sausage making in Italy probably originated in Southern Italy in Basilicata, which was known as Lucania in ancient times. In the 5th Century BC, the Roman historian Marco Terenzio Varrone described soldiers stuffing meat into pig intestines together with spices and salt. They called the minced meat stuffed into a casing lucanica, because soldiers learned how to prepare it from the Lucanians.

The dish was served to Roman emperors who fell in love with it and its popularity then spread throughout the country. A version of the original sausage is now produced in Northern Italy and called luganega. Today its typical recipe includes salt, chili pepper, wild fennel, pepper and anise. It has a long horseshoe shape and is sold by the length instead of by weight.

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Sausage differs from North to South in Italy. Here a few descriptions from lacucinaitaliana.com:

Finocchietto mon amour: This Calabrian sausage has a similar shape but different ingredients: in addition to the ubiquitous pork shoulder and belly, there is generally also a significant amount of spicy chili pepper, in addition to sweet chili peppers.

Cervellata in Toritto: Puglia offers both pork sausages and numerous specialties that mix beef and pork. This is prepared with selected cuts of beef (70%) and pork (30%) along with a rich condiment including fresh basil, garlic, pepper, salt and grated pecorino.

Canon: In Tuscany and Umbria, their salsiccia uses fatty meats more abundantly and seasons them with salt, pepper and lots of garlic, in addition to red wine.

Sausage is not cured and must be cooked, unlike salami and prosciutto, two other prominent pork products.

Our partnership with Sackett Farm Family, who raise only heritage breed Berkshire/Duroc pigs, allows us to offer more flavorful and extremely high quality product. M’tucci’s has been making sausage since we opened, using it on pizzas, in pasta dishes and braised over polenta, but we think our dishes with pork have risen to new heights.

After a lot of testing and tasting, we’re pretty excited for M’tucci’s Old World Artisanal Italian Sausage with Red Wine to be available in Albertsons Markets and M’tucci’s Restaurants in the next week. It will be sold in one pound packages in stores in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.

The recipe was created by Company President/Executive Chef John Haas when M’tucci’s Italian opened eight years ago. The recipe had minor changes two years ago and is a blending of Southern Italian and Tuscan styles. Some of the ingredients are toasted fennel, garlic, crushed pepper and red wine. It’s all natural and does not contain any preservatives. Two videos are below, one showing how we braised it in a casing and serve it with soft polenta and one showing how to make Sausage Burgers. We know you will love it!

Prepare for sausage jokes:

What did one sausage say to the other? Let’s Link Up!

What did the female sausage say to the male sausage? Wait, did you put on a condiment?

Did you hear the one about the German Sausage? It was the wurst.

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Pasta Della Forma at M’tucci’s Italian

A popular restaurant pasta preparation in Italy and in California is now in Albuquerque - only at M’tucci’s Italian. Pasta Della Forma (from formaggio which is Italian for cheese) is finished table side in a cheese wheel. We use Fresh House Spaghettini and Piave Vecchio, a cheese from the Veneto region near the Dolomite mountains. You have a choice of two toppings:

Mushroom Duxelle: Baby Portobello Mushrooms, Thyme, Garlic, White Wine

Roasted Red Bell Pepper/Sun-Dried Tomato Relish

Pasta Della Forma: Minimum of two people, Prepared Table side $38 Chef’s Condiments Add $3

I recommend a healthy grinding of fresh pepper. A short video shows how it’s done.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24 oz Hand Cut Porterhouse: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Balsamic Reduction $38

Pan-Seared California White Sea Bass - Sweet Potato Puree, Broccolini, Sweet Pea and Duck Prosciutto Succotash $29

Crab & Cream Cheese Ravioli: House Crispy Bacon, Artichoke & Sweet Peas tossed in a Crab Thyme Cream Sauce $23

Pasta Della Forma: House Made Spaghettini & Piave Vecchio Cheese, Minimum of two orders, Prepared Table side - $38, Chef’s Condiments Add $3

Appetizers

Beer Battered Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms: Capers, Oil Pickled Zucchini $10

Clam Toasts & Pancetta with Fennel, Sun-Dried Tomato, White Wine Butter Broth $12

Weekend Cocktail

Aloha Weekend: Pyrat Rum, Pineapple Rosemary Shrub, Vanilla Syrup, Orange and Lime Juice

Sunday Only

Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

16 oz. Veal Porterhouse: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $36

Pan-Seared Barramundi: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $26

Crispy Chicken Confit Risotto: Wild Mushrooms, Roasted Celery & Carrots, Creamy Carnaroli Rice $19

Weekend Cocktail

Avión: made with Blanco Tequila, Creme de Violette, Maraschino Liqueur, Pineapple and Lime Juice

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Stuffed Sackett Farm Pork Loin: Stuffed with Seared Mushrooms, Artichokes, Spinach & Pecorino. Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $22

Pan-Seared Ono: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $21

Surf & Turf: 5 oz. Beef Tenderloin, Grilled Patagonian Pink Shrimp, Sweet Potato Mash, Grilled Broccolini, Balsamic Reduction $28

Gelato: Chocolate Hazelnut Stout

Sorbetto: Triple Berry

Tell ABQ - Taste of Summer

A new radio program that features local restaurants and is hosted by Jade and Ashley will have M’tucci’s Twenty-Five Chef/Partner Shawn Cronin as a guest on Tuesday, June 1 at 12:30. To listen to the live hour-long interview and to hear the hosts review of a recent visit to M’tucci’s Twenty-Five go to the App store for Apple or Android and download the Tell ABQ app. If you miss the live program, the show will be archived so you can listen at your own convenience. Don’t miss it!

Jade & Ashely from Tell ABQ - Taste of Summer, loving gelato at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Jade & Ashely from Tell ABQ - Taste of Summer, loving gelato at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

M’tucci’s Gourmet TV Dinners

We appreciate your support, but all good things must come to an end. When the current inventory of TV dinners is gone - then they will be gone. There are a few left at each location.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Summer Food Reading

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Just before Memorial Day, we are used to seeing magazines and newspapers listing their recommended books to read for summer vacation or summer travel. We would like to suggest a few that emphasize food and travel. Food and travel writing often go together, since eating well can be the best reason for traveling. Few people were better at this than Anthony Bourdain, who introduced us to cultures through their food.

I have visited more than 50 countries and only a few of them had disappointing food. One was Greenland, primarily because it was Spring and they hadn’t had a supply ship since October. Seal meat and narwhale stew remain the two most disgusting things I have ever eaten. During my first visit to Cuba, the food was dreadful, primarily due to food shortages. Restaurants were owned by the government and the governments chefs were indifferent at best - any worth cooking was overcooked.

If I am not excited about a destination’s food, then I’m usually not excited about going there.

Here is a list of favorite books about food and travel, beginning with Italy.

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Eating My Way Through Italy by Elizabeth Minchilli (St. Martin’s Griffen 2018)

Minchilli moved to Rome with her family when she was twelve and never left. She is married to an Italian and travels and eats in off-the-beaten-path towns in Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. She lists places to eat, sleep and the best times to visit. As a plus, there are a few recipes in each chapter.

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See You in the Piazza by Frances Mayes (Crown 2019)

The best-selling author of Under the Tuscan Sun also visits small towns around the peninsula and on the islands. Having lived in Italy for many years, she writes passionately about the food and the culture. If you are a fan of churches with their frescoes and artwork, this book will thrill you. A great resource for planning your next trip to Italy. Although you’ll probably need a bestseller, a hit movie, or a winning lottery ticket to be able to afford the hotels and restaurants she visits.

Pasta, Pane, Vino by Matt Goulding (Harper Collins 2018)

La Gazzeta printed an excerpt of this book last month, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is a favorite. Golding writes with authority and great insight into the joys of eating, traveling and cooking in Italy. My most recent purchase, which is on my reading list for summer is his book about eating and traveling in Spain: Grape, Olive, Pig.

One of my favorite novelists, the late Jim Harrison, was also a lover of good food and wine. For a number of years he wrote a food column for Esquire magazine and contributed food essays to many magazines. Two of his books include some of those columns and essays about food and travel. He, like Matt Golding, was a friend and dining companion of the great travel and food writer, Anthony Bourdain. Both of Harrison’s books about food and travel, The Raw and the Cooked (2007) and A Really Big Lunch (2017) should be in your library. His writing is poetic and some of his meals legendary, especially the 37-course meal in France which inspired the title for one of the books.

Finally, an essay by Nevin Martell on National Geographic’s website suggests several titles of both fiction and non-fiction that will make for good summer reading. These sound good:

Dirt (2020), by Bill Buford. After befriending the always great (now late) French chef Michel Richard, the Italophile-turned-Francophile writer winds up at a cooking school in Lyon studying the country’s gastronomic secrets. Ultimately, he walks away having “learned the taste of good food. That comes from a place, as it has for thousands of years, from a soil that is a testament to its ancient history.”

The Spice Necklace: A Food-Lover’s Caribbean Adventure (2010), by Anne Vanderhoof. As an intrepid couple pilots their sailboat, the Receta (Spanish for recipe), around the Caribbean, they dig into local delicacies along the way. The breezy memoir-cookbook will make you want to head to the tropics—or at least your kitchen—to try chilled curried pumpkin soup or toothsome coconut-custard tarts.

Now that you are hungry, check out the Weekend Specials and don’t forget to make a reservation!

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

16 oz Hand Cut Ribeye: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Balsamic Reduction $38

Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $21

Appetizers

Beer Battered Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms: Capers, Oil Pickled Zucchini $10

Clam Toasts & Pancetta with Fennel, Sun-Dried Tomato, White Wine Butter Broth $12

Weekend Cocktail

Twilight Hour: Caravedo Pisco, Aperol, Sherry, Lime & Simple Syrup

Sunday Only

Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

6 oz. Beef Tenderloin: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $36

Pan-Seared Rockfish: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $21

Shrimp Diablo: Patagonia Shrimp, Spicy Marinara & Spaghettini $19

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

NY Strip: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $23

Ruby Trout: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $21

Smoked Beef Tip Tortelloni: Cold Smoked Beef Tips, Roasted Mushrooms, Marinated Tomatoes, Cajun Tomato Cream Sauce, 5 Cheese Tortelloni Garnished with Scallions and Feta. $19

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Coming Soon to all M’tucci’s Restaurants and to Albertsons Markets in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.

We’ve been working on this for awhile and are pretty excited to share it with you.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

M'tucci's Ravioli

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One of our favorite pasta dishes is ravioli, those light, fluffy pillows stuffed with varying combinations of herbs, greens, meat, seafood or cheese. The word "ravioli" is derived from an old Italian word “riavvolgere”, which means "to wrap."

Ravioli are a square shape. If you see them semi-circular, they would be called mezzelune (half-moons). Cappellacci are ravioli stuffed with a sweet pumpkin-based filling and are popular in the northeastern part of Emilia-Romagna. The Italian pumpkin used for this ravioli isn’t available in the U.S. so orange-fleshed sweet potatoes make a perfect substitute.

Many other types of Italian pasta contain fillings, such as tortelloni and tortelli, however they are usually smaller and more time consuming to make by hand.

Ravioli appears in writings as early as the 14th century and they were reportedly served at a papal conclave in Rome in 1549. The favored stuffings vary by region, for example ricotta cheese and spinach are popular in Rome. Many ravioli dishes come with a tomato or cream based sauce, however they were traditionally served en brodo, in a broth.

Because we make all of our own ravioli, it’s usually a weekend special at M’tucci’s Italian. M’tucci’s Moderno has Artichoke Pesto Ravioli and M’tucci’s Twenty-Five serves Lobster & Prosciutto Ravioli.

Some of the past favorite fillings have been; Wild Mushroom and Ricotta, Red Chile Three Cheese, Roasted Fennel and Duroc Pork with Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash and Mascarpone with a Browned Butter Sage Sauce.

Here is a speeded up video of our ravioli process. As you can see there are a few tools that allow us to hand-make our ravioli. Can you imagine how long it would take to make 1,200 totally by hand?

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Don’t forget to vote for M’tucci’s in the Journal’s Reader’s Choice Awards. We are nominated for Best Italian, Best Chef, Best Business Lunch, Best Cocktail and Best Dessert. How we didn’t show up in the Best Pizza category is a mystery and a huge mistake. Oh, well.

Special Wine at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

This weekend we are featuring a selection from Kermit Lynch, one of the most prestigious wine importers and merchants in the U.S. Here is what their website says about the Kermit Lunch Cote du Rhone, which is primarily made from the Grenache varietal:

“The growing success we have enjoyed over the last three vintages is proof enough that the KL Côtes du Rhône fits both the taste profile and quality standards that our customers have come to expect. Since 1929, this winery has been bringing local vignerons together from the outlying areas of Avignon in the Southern Rhône to produce delicious wines that epitomize the region’s complex terroirs. Kermit works closely with winemaker Jean-François Pasturel to develop the blend. Pasturel is thrilled to be able to have the chance to produce a Côtes du Rhône he does not have to filter to death. It is his tête de cuvée, his pride and joy.”

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Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24 oz Hand Cut T-Bone: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $36

Pan-Seared Ruby Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $25

Appetizers

Beer Battered Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms: Capers, Oil Pickled Zucchini $10

Clam Toasts & Pancetta with Fennel, Sun-Dried Tomato, White Wine Butter Broth $12

Weekend Cocktail

Lilly Pad: Beefeater Gin, Lillet Blanc, Absinthe, Lemon & Simple Syrup

Sunday Only

Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

6 oz. Beef Tenderloin: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $32

Pan-Seared Yellowtail: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $21

Beef Tortellini: Cajun Spiced Beef Tips, Tomatoes, Green Onion, Rosa Sauce & Gorgonzola Cheese $19

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz. Chianina Flatiron Steak: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $27

7 oz. Pan-Seared Ono: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $24

Skin-On Calabrian Braised Salmon, Creamy Pesto Polenta, Caramelized Onions, Citrus Vinaigrette Dressed Greens $21

Gelato: Chocolate Cake

Sorbetto: Cherry Limoncello

M’tucci’s Catering

Brunch, Lunch, Dinner or a party, your place, our place or an event center. You bring the people, we’ll bring the food. Here are a few photos from the Mother’s Day Brunch at Gruet Winery.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Happy Mother's Day

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Happy Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in the U.S. and in Italy on the second Sunday of May every year.

In early times, La Festa della Mamma, was known as a spring fertility ritual to honor the goddess Rhea, mother of all the gods. Rhea was the mother of Romulus and Remus who, according to ancient legend, were the founders of Rome. Some say that the Romans paid homage to Juno and Cybele, their goddesses of motherhood and marriage, and that was the origin of Mother’s Day in Italy.

In the 30s, while the Fascists were in power, they instituted a celebration called “La Giornata della madre e del bambino" - the day of the mother and child, which was a tribute to all mothers bearing good fascist sons to perpetuate the regime.

Fifty years after Mother’s Day became an official holiday in the U.S., a priest in Assisi proclaimed the same day as La Festa della Mamma, and the following year (1957) the Italian lawmakers made it official.

While there are differences in the holiday between the two countries, the Italians traditionally make cards with poetry, and start the day by making breakfast for Mom. Then, Mom is celebrated at her favorite restaurant, with Mother’s Day being the busiest day for restaurants throughout Italy.

Where would Italian food be without madri and nonne (moms and grandmothers), who traditionally run the kitchen at home and in many restaurants in Italy? Most of the well-known Italian cookbook authors are women: Marcella Hazan and Lidia Bastianich.

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Mama Leone’s Ristorante was in New York City and could be responsible for the popularity of Italian cuisine in the U.S. Luisa Leone was known as a good cook and was encouraged by opera singer Enrico Caruso to open a small restaurant in the family’s living room in 1906. They could only fit 20 seats, but he brought such a large entourage for opening night, that people had to sit on wine crates to eat their $.50 meal.

Mama moved out and opened a large space in the Theater District on West 48th St that had 11 dining rooms with seating for more than 1,200 people, serving more than 700,000 meals a year.

The restaurant was so popular, that they printed 25,000 menus every two months and gave them away to their customers, mostly out-of-town visitors. According to a 1987 New York Times story, Manhattanites considered the restaurant “declasse”, with its strolling accordion players, enormous pink margaritas and plastic grapes dangling from the rafters.

“But people from other boroughs and the suburbs mark the occasions of their lives there. For generations, one Connecticut family has observed all its 13th birthdays there. And people journey from around the globe to see the Statue of Liberty, the Rockettes and this restaurant.

Simply put, Leone's is a real good deal, particularly for the glutton. A $23.95 seven-course veal parmigiana spread begins with an enormous hunk of mozzarella and ends with a dessert, like spumoni or rum cake. The price includes free parking in the theater district.” (The New York Times, 9/19/1987)

M’tucci’s Founder Jeff Spiegel who owned several Manhattan restaurants said, “I was there once. It was a midtown Italian restaurant focused on the NYC tourist trade. Go once and that was all you needed.”

I asked a few NYC friends if they remembered the restaurant, “YES! While visiting with my Brooklyn relatives, I went into "the city" for dinner and a show. I must have been around nine or ten years old. I can still remember the red and white maxi dress I wore, which matched the checkered tablecloths. I bragged to my friends back in Miami about going to the famous Mama Leone's and seeing the Rockettes dance at Radio City. Vivid memory considering it was over 50 years ago, said NYC Photographer Erica Berger.

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The restaurant was popular enough that Mama’s son, Gene, published “Leone’s Italian Cookbook” in 1967. (It was the second cookbook given to me by my mother, after “The Joy of Cooking”). The cookbook’s forward was written by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and is now a collector’s item. You can find it used for as much as $125 a copy. Sadly, I no longer have mine.

The restaurant was a victim of the condo craze in the 90s and closed permanently on January 10, 1994.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with M’tucci’s

Open at 10:00am Sunday!

We still have a few tables available at all locations. Use Open Table or call for reservations.

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five Specials

M’tucci’s Italian Specials

M’tucci’s Moderno Specials

M’tucci’s Catering

As we continue to return to normal, contact us about your event or wedding reception. Taña can help with catering at your home, office or any event location. 505-350-0019 or [email protected]

Click here for our catering menu.

M’tucci’s Gourmet TV Dinners

Getting back to work and putting in some long hours? We’ve got you covered for dinner with M’tucci’s Gourmet TV Dinners. Only $9. Simply Heat and Eat. Always Fresh - Never Frozen. Available at all locations.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Italian Cooking

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In the introduction of her indispensable book “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” Marcella Hazan writes: “Ask an Italian about Italian Cooking and, depending on whom you approach, you will be told about Bolognese, Venetian, Roman, Milanese cooking or Tuscan, Piedmontese, Sicilian, Neapolitan. But Italian cooking? It would seem no single cuisine answers to that name. The cooking of Italy is really the cooking of regions that long antedate the Italian nation, regions that until 1861 were part of sovereign and usually hostile states, sharing few cultural traditions and no common spoken language - it was not until after World War II that Italian began to be the everyday language of a substantial part of the population - and practicing entirely distinct styles of cooking.”

I’m fortunate to be part of the M’tucci’s Family where I not only get to eat Italian food on a regular basis, but I can observe and experience the cooking techniques and styles of our talented chefs. Before M’tucci’s, I learned most of my Italian cooking skills from cookbooks. I still rely on those cookbooks today.

A few years ago, “Tasting Italy” by National Geographic & America’s Test Kitchen, was a surprise Christmas gift. Organized by region, the large book is filled with a vast amount of background information on each region’s history of eating and cooking, and it has some terrific recipes. I love cooking the Porchetta, pork shoulder rubbed with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. My favorite dish is from the chapter on Puglia, Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. We grow broccoli rabe, or rapini, in our garden, or find it at Sprouts or Whole Foods when the garden is fallow. The blending of rich flavors of the pork sausage and the bitter greens is a flavorful, easy pasta dish to make at home.

For more complex dishes, I love the Five Pork Bolognese at M’tucci’s Italian, the Artichoke Pesto Ravioli at M’tucci’s Moderno and the Prosciutto Cotto and Five Cheese Tortolloni at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five - all dishes that I am not going to make at home!

Another terrific book for your kitchen library is “Red, White & Greens” by Faith Willinger. It’s all about vegetables and how they are cooked in the Italian style. When our zucchini and squash start producing, we pick the male flowers and stuff them with ricotta, parmesan, and Italian parsley and simmer them in a garlic/tomato broth.

But the book that I use the most is Marcella Hazan’s. She combined and updated the recipes from her first two books for the “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”, published in 1992. I have had it since it was published and it’s getting a bit worn out.

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There is a wealth of information on Italian ingredients and techniques, and, of course, some great recipes, which are perfect for the beginning or experienced cook. One of my favorites is an amazingly simple roast chicken with lemons. Start with an organic free-range chicken and follow her techniques and timing, and you’ll be amazed at the flavors from this simple dish - just salt, pepper and lemons. There are valuable guidelines for making Pesto and Risotto. She suggests freezing the Pesto sauce before adding the cheese, and I follow her instructions every year when I harvest our basil. We enjoy fresh-tasting pesto throughout the year - not just during the summer. While I love making these at home, making risotto is time consuming. I’m always impressed with the richness of the Seafood Risotto at M’tucci’s Italian. It doesn’t hurt that they insist on buying the most expensive Italian rice, Carnaroli.

Seafood Risotto at M’tucci’s Italian

Seafood Risotto at M’tucci’s Italian

If you were to only have one Italian cookbook, this should be it. Forget Lidia, Giada and all the others. Marcella is the true Goddess of Italian cuisine. Try the Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Cream and Porcini Mushrooms; the Pasta e Fagioli; or the Pasta Amatriciana. Her comments for that pasta dish will give you an idea of her approach to cooking: “When making Amatriciana sauce, some cooks add white wine before putting in the tomatoes; I find the result too acidic, but you may want to try it.”

While “Red, White & Greens” is devoted to Italian vegetables, Marcella is no slouch in this department either. One dish that you will probably never find on a restaurant menu (since it takes a long time to cook) is her Braised Carrots with Parmesan Cheese.

“I know of no other preparation in the Italian repertory, or in other cuisines for that matter, more successful than this one in freeing the rich flavor locked inside the carrot,” she writes. I agree.

Marcella Hazan and M’tucci’s share the same philosophy when it comes to Italian food: use the best ingredients and prepare the dish to bring out the flavors of those ingredients. You can experience those flavors paired with M’tucci’s Private Label Wines in a special 3-Course Prix Fixe Dinner this weekend. You only have three more days to enjoy this meal, so don’t let the opportunity pass. It’s available all day at all three M’tucci’s locations.

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The dessert course for the M’tucci’s Private Label Pairing.

The dessert course for the M’tucci’s Private Label Pairing.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24 oz Hand Cut Porterhouse: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $38

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $29

M’tucci’s Braised Sackett Farm Pork Ricotta filled Ravioli: , Sautéed Mushrooms, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Vodka Cream Sauce $23

Weekend Cocktail - Dreaming In Italy: Beefeater Gin, House Made Limoncello, Orgeat, Half & Half and Cappelltti Aperitivo

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz. Certified Black Angus NY Strip: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Rockfish: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $21

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

21 oz T-Bone or 24 oz Porterhouse: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $32 or $38

7 oz. Pan-Seared Ling Cod: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $23

Toasted House Made Rigatoni with Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach, Cold Smoked Beef Tips, Pecorino Cream Sauce Garnished with Gorgonzola $19

Gelato: Chocolate Cake

Sorbetto: Cherry Limoncello

Mother’s Day

We still have some space for Mom for Mother’s Day. Call soon.

M’tucci’s Moderno - Brunch Menu - Open at 10:00 (but no Mimosas until 11:00)

M’tucci’s Catering

With the promise of fewer dining and gathering restrictions in the next few months, now is the time to reserve one of our private dining rooms, or to plan for your wedding reception. Our Catering Manager, Taña Martinez, is ready to help you with all of your catering and event needs. Call her at 505-350-0019 or email: [email protected]

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Aged Italian Cheese

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Cheese is an ancient food, possibly originating in Egypt and brought back to Italy by visitors (soldiers?) around 6,000 years ago. The center for cheese making was Rome, with many artisans experimenting with cheese made from sheep, goats and cows. The Roman artisans were credited with developing the techniques for aging and preserving cheese. While there are many cheeses made throughout Italy with familiar names like provolone, mozzarella, fontina, asiago and gorgonzola, today we focus on the three aged hard cheeses that are most important to our dishes at all three M’tucci’s locations: Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

These cheeses are only similar in the sense that they are made of only milk and rennet, and aged for a minimum amount of time: Parmigiano for 18 months (we buy only 24-month old parmesan), Grana for nine months and Pecorino for at least five months. Each is made in a different region of Italy and has a different flavor profile.

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Grana Padano - is similar to Parmigiano in flavor and is made from cow’s milk in the Po River Valley of northeastern Italy. All of the pastas and pizzas at M’tucci’s Italian Market & Pizzeria are made with Grana. “We like it because it has a bright, nutty flavor, akin to the best parmesan, but it also has little salt crystals that impart awesome bursts of flavor onto any dish,” said Chef/Partner Shawn Cronin. It is not quite as salty as Parmigiano and it is usually cheaper. I normally buy Grana for grating over pasta or making pesto.

Parmigiano-Reggiano - this cheese comes from partly-skimmed milk from pasture grazed cows in the Emilia Romagna region surrounding Bologna, Parma and Pisa. It is aged a minimum of 18 months in the form of a wheel which usually weighs around 80 pounds. We serve Parmagiano-Reggiano on our charcuterie boards at all three locations. I like to use a vegetable peeler to shave curls of it on my salads. When the wedge is finished, I keep the rinds in the freezer in a baggie and add them to minestrone or pasta e fagioli soup while it cooks. As a grated cheese over pasta, it usually pairs better with butter-based sauces. One notable exception is the use of it in pesto sauce, which is made with olive oil

Pecorino Romano - pecora means sheep in Italian and, when aged, this sheep’s milk cheese is distinctive. It has a bright, tangy, salty flavor that the late cookbook author, Marcella Hazan, says is perfect for stronger flavored pasta sauces containing broccoli, rapini, or those that are made with olive oil. Although it originated in the area around Rome, Pecorinos are also made in Tuscany and Sardinia and can be found as a young cheese, as well as one aged for grating.

Always look for the imprint of the cheese’s name on the rind. If there is no imprint, it’s not authentic. Usually, it’s best to buy as much as you think you will use in 2-3 weeks. Never grate an aged cheese ahead of time (they can dry out and lose their flavor). They are best stored wrapped in wax paper, then wrapped with foil or placed in a baggie in the refrigerator.

People who are lactose intolerant can digest sheep’s milk cheeses, since the lactose is set free in the whey.

I like the flavor of Pecorino and always combine some of it with Parmigiano when I make pesto. Our chef’s at M’tucci’s Italian and M’tucci’s Moderno use it grated or in ribbons on our pastas and pizzas.

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Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24 oz Hand Cut Bone-In NY Strip: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $33

Pan-Seared Branzino - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $27

M’tucci’s Braised Sackett Farm Pork Shank Ricotta filled Ravioli: , Sautéed Artichokes, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Orange Fennel Cream Sauce garnished with Pickled Fennel $23

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz. Certified Black Angus Rib Eye: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Fresh Jumbo Diver Sea Scallops: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $36

Sackett Farm Pork Picatta: Spaghettini, Arugula, Caper, Diced Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, Lemon Butter Sauce $19

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

8 oz. Pan-Seared Alaskan Halibut: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $24

Toasted House Made Rigatoni with Sun-Dried Tomatoe, Spinach, Cold Smoked Beef Tips, Pecorino Cream Sauce Garnished with Gorgonzola $19

Gelato: Stracciatella

Sorbetto: Cherry Limoncello

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Italian Trattorias

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Editor’s Note: I am on vacation this week, but we are honored and excited to feature an excerpt from an essay in Pasta, Pane, Vino by James Beard Award-Winning author Matt Goulding. Probably one of the best books written about Italian food and travel, Pasta, Pane, Vino takes the reader on a culinary adventure throughout the peninsula. A more detailed bio and a link to his books follow the essay.

In the chapter about Rome, he answers the question (with great examples): what is a trattoria? When I read his description, I thought, “he just described M’tucci’s.

We hope you enjoy it enough to buy the book, in addition to the other two in the series about Japan and Spain. Read on.

Rome

Rome

“Ristoranti, the most formal class of dining in Italy, have the prices and the worldly clientele to experiment, but the heart of Italian food culture, especially Roman food culture, is the trattoria, an institution historically built on an infallible formula: good product, unfussy technique, reasonable prices. According to my friend Alessandro, there are only a few true trattorie left in Rome, and he dispatches me to one with a friend, Andrea Sponzilli, another intrepid food writer. “He’ll know what to order.”

Among the pillars of Italian cuisine, pasta is the most sacred—the one that has inspired thousands of books, millions of journeys, and infinite debates about the way to do it right.

The rest of the world openly wonders what makes Italian pasta so good and theirs so mediocre, but the answer is right in front of their faces: the pasta itself. The bond between flour and water (and in some cases egg) is sacrosanct, and it must not be broken unnecessarily, compromised by sloppy cooking or aggressive saucing or tableware transgressions. That means cooking it properly, ignoring package or recipe instructions and instead relying on a system of vigilant testing until only the barest thread of raw pasta remains in the center of the noodle. That means saucing it sparingly, in the same way a French chef might dress a salad, carefully calibrating the heft and the intensity of the sauce to the noodle itself. That means refraining from unholy acts of aggression: throwing it against the wall, adding oil to the boiling water, spinning the pasta against your spoon, or for God’s sake cutting the noodles with a knife and a fork. Above all, that means thinking not addition but subtraction, not what else can I add, but what can I take away?

Italian cuisine, at its very best, is a math problem that doesn’t add up. A tangle of noodles, a few scraps of pork, a grating of cheese are transformed into something magical. 1 + 1 = 3: more alchemy than cooking.

No strain of regional Italian cooking expresses that more clearly than the iconic pastas of Rome: gricia, carbonara, amatriciana, and cacio e pepe. “They are the four kings,” says Andrea as we peruse the menu of Cesare al Casaletto, a trattoria in Monteverde. It’s ten minutes from the center of Rome, but for tourists who rarely cross the Tiber except to dip a toe in Trastevere, it might as well be in Florence. Our table of four decides to divide the royalty among us, and when the four dishes arrive, a silence falls over us. There’s a near-spiritual significance to having these four pastas on the table at once—each revered enough to have achieved canonical status among carb lovers the world over, but none containing more than a handful of ingredients.

Carbonara: The union of al dente noodles (traditionally spaghetti, but in this case rigatoni), crispy pork, and a cloak of lightly cooked egg and cheese is arguably the second most famous pasta in Italy, after Bologna’s tagliatelle al ragù. The key to an excellent carbonara lies in the strategic incorporation of the egg, which is added raw to the hot pasta just before serving: add it when the pasta is too hot, and it will scramble and clump around the noodles; add it too late, and you’ll have a viscous tide of raw egg dragging down your pasta.

Cacio e pepe: Said to have originated as a means of sustenance for shepherds on the road, who could bear to carry dried pasta, a hunk of cheese, and black pepper but little else. Cacio e pepe is the most magical and befuddling of all Italian dishes, something that reads like arithmetic on paper but plays out like calculus in the pan. With nothing more than these three ingredients (and perhaps a bit of oil or butter, depending on who’s cooking), plus a splash of pasta cooking water and a lot of movement in the pan to emulsify the fat from the cheese with the H2O, you end up with a sauce that clings to the noodles and to your taste memories in equal measure.

Amatriciana: The only red pasta of the bunch. It doesn’t come from Rome at all but from the town of Amatrice on the border of Lazio and Abruzzo (the influence of neighboring Abruzzo on Roman cuisine, especially in the pasta department, cannot be overstated). It’s made predominantly with bucatini—thick, tubular spaghetti—dressed in tomato sauce revved up with crispy guanciale and a touch of chili. It’s funky and sweet, with a mild bite—a rare study of opposing flavors in a cuisine that doesn’t typically go for contrasts.

Gricia: The least known of the four kings, especially outside Rome, but according to Andrea, gricia is the bridge between them all: the rendered pork fat that gooses a carbonara or amatriciana, the funky cheese and pepper punch at the heart of cacio e pepe. “It all starts with gricia.”

And that’s where I start, lifting the pasta from the big-bellied bowl and marveling at its humility: nearly naked, with only the faintest suggestion of human interference. To truly enjoy a pasta of this austere simplicity is to surrender yourself entirely to the scope of its achievement: How to extract so much from so little? How many ingredients in any other cuisine around the world would it take to create a dish as satisfying as this one? Why doesn’t my pasta taste like this?

You could argue that the two central ingredients at the heart of Rome’s pasta culture aren’t really ingredients at all: the first is water. Not just any water, but the water used to cook all those batches of pasta throughout service, each successive batch of noodles leaving behind a layer of starch that steadily transforms the water into an exquisite binding agent, perfect for adding to a pasta sauce to adjust the consistency and clinginess.

The other vital ingredient in the Roman pasta canon is a simple but vital technique: a flick of the wrist, the aggressive movement needed to emulsify the cooking water with the fat in a pan of pasta sauce. By swirling the pan with one hand and using a set of tongs with the other to keep the starch in constant motion, like a Cantonese chef taming the breath of the wok with a hand that never stops moving—what Italians call la mantecatura—a thirty-second mating ritual of intense amorous energy wherein pasta and condiment become one. Without water and without the wrist motion, cacio e pepe would be nothing more than pasta dressed with cheese and pepper, gricia would be noodles in a mess of rendered pork fat. (Of course, most non-Italian cooks don’t even attempt this delicate dance, opting instead to go the route of poor Nigella, adding cream to their carbonara and cacio e pepe.)

The Cesare specimens are among the finest I’ve tasted. Using rigatoni instead of spaghetti for carbonara would evoke an avalanche of angry Facebook posts from pasta purists, but there’s no doubt that the hollow shape makes a more generous home for the silky sauce. The gricia is deserving of its fame across the city, the toothsome strands of housemade tonnarelli robed in a soft blanket of warm pig fat and pecorino. And the cacio e pepe, well, let’s just say the cacio e pepe will follow me everywhere across this country in the months to come, a three-ingredient measuring stick for the greatness of Italy’s regional cuisine. Albert Einstein said he saw the possibility of a higher power in the harmony of the natural world; some find it in the magnificent complexity of the human body. I see it in the miracle of cacio e pepe.

Before the hushed reverence of our pasta moment threatens to turn lunch awkward, the sound of happy eaters snaps us out of our silence. “The story of Roman cuisine is the story of the neighborhood restaurant,” says Andrea. “Any real romano will always believe the best osteria is next door. Their loyalty is always to the neighborhood.” You can feel that loyalty in the room today: parents linger over dessert as their kids play under the table, old couples hold hands as they finish off the last few sips of wine. Maybe some have made the trip from other parts of Rome—it’s certainly worth it—but chances are that most live within strolling distance.”

If that doesn’t make you want to go to Rome and eat, I don’t know what will. Thanks Matt!

  • Used with permission From Pasta, Pane, Vino - Deep Travels Through Italy’s Food Culture by Matt Goulding, an Anthony Bourdain/HarperCollins book (2018)

  • Matt Goulding is an Emmy and James Beard Award-winning author and producer, now based in Barcelona. The former food editor at Men’s Health, he is the author of the very popular Eat This, Not That and the co-founder of Roads & Kingdoms, a digital publication that focuses on travel through food. He met Anthony Bourdain in 2010, who became a friend and a supporter of Roads & Kingdoms, and who then published Goulding’s three books about food and travel in Japan, Spain and Italy: Rice, Noodle, Fish; Grape, Olive, Fig; and Pasta, Pane, Vino. I highly recommend all three. Buy them by clicking this link.

  • Roads & Kingdoms was founded by Matt and Nathan Thormburg. Possibly one of the most valuable and comprehensive online travel and food publications available. Subscribe to Roads & Kingdoms by clicking here.

  • Follow Matt Goulding on Instagram: @mdgoulding

Burrata, Prosciutto & Artichoke Hearts at Obicá Campo di Fiori in Rome

Burrata, Prosciutto & Artichoke Hearts at Obicá Campo di Fiori in Rome

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24oz Hand Cut Porterhouse: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $34

Pan-Seared California Halibut: Garlic Mash Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $26

Ravioli: Crab Ricotta Ravioli, Sautéed Pink Shrimp, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Haricot Vert, tossed in a Brown Butter $23

Pasta: Harris Ranch Beef Tips, Wild Mushroom Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, Red Bell Pepper, Carrot, Sweet Peas, Crispy Shallot Garnish $21

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

Coming soon.

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

8 oz Wagyu Tri-Tip: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $27

Pan-Seared Amberjack: Seared Artichokes, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $21

Salmon Fish and Chips: Green Apple, Golden Raisin, Fennel, Kale Slaw, Cajun fries, Remoulade Sauce $19

Gelato: Stracciatella

Sorbetto: Blueberry Blackberry (combined)

Thanks for reading. See you next week. Ciao!

M'tucci's Creative Chefs

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M’tucci’s Chefs are firmly rooted in the Italian cooking tradition of simple preparation with the best and freshest ingredients. That philosophy isn’t limited to traditional or classic cooking, because it also lends itself to creativity. As we move further into spring, several fresh vegetables are showing up in some new dishes at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five, and in the weekend specials at M’tucci’s Moderno and M’tucci’s Italian.

Inspiration not only comes from the seasons, but from past meals, past experiences and new partnerships.

One of the weekend specials at M’tucci’s Moderno was created by company President & Executive Chef John Haas. Pork Chop Ripieno was inspired by a meal in Tuscany in 2019. He uses the Pork Chop from our partners at Sackett Farm and stuffed it with Prosciutto, Colonnata Butter (also inspired by the 2019 Italy trip), Fresh Sage, Italian Asiago & Mozzarella, served with a Marsala Reduction, Roasted Garlic Polenta and young Haricot Vert.

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There are several new items on the regular menu at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five which debuted last week. Two of them are: Prosciutto & Five Cheese Tortelloni and the Smoked Prosciutto & Apple Pizza. My wife had the pasta on the first day it was served and sent a photo to me saying, “it’s so good.”

It’s made with Speck (which is a smoked prosciutto from Alto Adige in Northeastern Italy), Sugar Snap Peas, Red Onion & Toasted Parsley in a Leek Cream Sauce garnished with Fresh Lemon, Basil & Mint. The pizza also has Speck, with Agave-Roasted Granny Smith Apples, Red Onion, Kale, Herbed Goat Cheese and then drizzled with a Balsamic Reduction. Both dishes burst with flavor.

Chef/Partner Shawn Cronin said, “The tortelloni was created because we wanted to celebrate two things, Springtime (hence it being heavy with delicate herbs, and sugar snap peas) and Sackett Farm Cotto. Cotto isn't as well known but it's a beautiful product with natural sweetness.

The pizza takes queues from Chef Damien Lucero’s technique of braising vegetables in agave. Agave is a natural sweetener but has a way of intensifying the natural flavor in fruit and vegetables. The idea was then to create a pizza that had lots of flavor, hit many different taste sensations (smokey, salty, sweet, umami, acidic) but also had a clean finish.”

Prosciutto & Five Cheese Tortelloni

Prosciutto & Five Cheese Tortelloni

Smoked Prosciutto & Apple Pizza

Smoked Prosciutto & Apple Pizza

When Worlds Collide is a weekly collaboration between Executive Pastry Chef Brianna Dennis and the managers and bartenders at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five. Each week, Brianna creates a new Sorbetto flavor (always made with fresh fruit) and it is used in a dessert cocktail. This week is Brianna’s Blackberry-Peach-Lime Spoom (a lighter, frothy Sorbetto made with Italian meringue), Blackberry Shrub and Ha’Penny Rhubarb Gin.

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At M’tucci’s Italian Sous Chef Dayan wanted to do a colorful Spring dish. He stuffed Raviolis with Crab & Ricotta and topped them with Yellow Squash, Red Bell Pepper, Sweet Peas and Leeks in a Thyme Cream Sauce topped with Crispy Duck Prosciutto. Chef/Partner Cory Gray loves the French Green Bean, Haricot Vert and Harris Ranch beef, so he created a Risotto with both of those plus Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms in a Cajun Cream Sauce.

Risotto with Harris Ranch Beef Tips and Haricot Vert

Risotto with Harris Ranch Beef Tips and Haricot Vert

The Neverland Fog was created by Asst. Manager Ashley. It is made with locally distilled Nikle Gin infused with Earl Grey Tea, Fresh Lemon Juice, Vanilla Syrup and House Made Vanilla Cream.

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We look forward to sharing our creativity with you this weekend and every day. Since we are still only allowed to operate at 33% capacity, please call and make a reservation when possible. We fill up quickly on weekends.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

8 oz Filet Mignon: Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $29

Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $27

Pasta: Crab & Ricotta Ravioli, with Red Bell Pepper, Sweet Peas, Leeks, Thyme Cream Sauce & Crispy Duck Prosciutto $23

Harris Ranch Beef Tip Risotto: Caramelized Onion, Mushrooms, Haricot Vert in a Cajun Cream Sauce $21

Cocktail: Neverland Fog: Earl Grey-Infused local Nikle Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice, Vanilla Syrup, House Made Vanilla Cream $9

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz. Angus NY Strip: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $25

Pork Chop Ripieno: Sackett Farm Pork Chop stuffed with Colonnata Butter, Prosciutto, Fresh Sage, Mozzarella and Asiago with a Marsala Reduction, Roasted Garlic Risotto and Haricot Vert

Cocktail: Modern Monster: Lime, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mint, Angostura Bitters, Light rum and Dark rum

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Potato Croquettes: Smashed Red Potatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil & Oregano $9

Braised Lamb Ragù: San Marzano Tomatoes & Braised Lamb served over Garlic, Fresh Herb Pecorino Pasta $21

Braised Lamb ragù

Braised Lamb ragù

12 oz. NY Strip Steak: Grilled Broccolini, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $25

8 oz. Pan-Seared Alaskan Halibut: Seared Artichokes, Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $24

Gelato: Basil/Mint, Stracciatella

Sorbetto: Black & Blueberry

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Spring at M'tucci's

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It’s Spring, a time that means renewal, new menu items, fresh ideas and a fresh start after the past winter which seems to have lasted for 12 months! Spring is the time to consider new possibilities, like travel. Especially travel to Italy.

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My first trip to Italy took place in April, 26 years ago. Travel was different in 1994, at least planning for it was different. It was the early years of the internet, so planning relied on travel books, usually Lonely Planet, Rick Steves or the Rough Guide. Armed with a list of hotels and restaurants, a Michelin map and a Lonely Planet Phrase book, we landed in Zurich. At that time, car theft was rampant in Italy (primarily in the Mafia-controlled South), which forced Italian rental car insurance sky high. Consequently, car rental rates were significantly higher than rates in Switzerland (about the only thing in Switzerland that was cheaper than Italy). An amazing drive through the Swiss & Italian Alps was the bonus to beginning the trip in Zurich.

Our route would take us to the smallest lake in the Lake District, Orta San Giulio, followed by the Cinque Terre. Florence and Venice were part of the plan, but without any reservations, our schedule was loose. The small town of Orta was the perfect spot for the first night in Italy and April was the perfect time to visit. There were few travelers, so we had no problems finding a room for a couple of nights or a table for dinner.

Warm in the morning sun in Orta San Giulio

Warm in the morning sun in Orta San Giulio

Vernazza - A room with a view

Vernazza - A room with a view

After a sunny couple of days in Orta, the drive to the Cinque Terre was wet and dreary. In 1994 the Cinque Terre was five quiet villages along the Ligurian Sea, not quite discovered by hoards of tourists. The weather and the time of year meant we generally had the place to ourselves, dining with locals instead of fellow travelers. We stayed in Vernazza and hoped the rain would stop. It did the next day, however the famous hiking trail between the five villages was too wet and treacherous for walking. The frequent trains made visiting each village easy. The sun worshippers came out for a warm April afternoon. I had Pasta Pesto for the first time and have loved it since.

With more rain forecast, we decided to head south, because we were told it rarely rains on the island of Elba, which sits off of the Tuscan coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is known for it’s beaches and for being the exiled home of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800s. His banishment to the island was painful, since he could sit on the north shore and see his birthplace of Corsica, but was not allowed to visit. The island had not quite opened up to tourism, but we found a mostly deserted hotel and explored the rocky, wind swept - but sunny! - island.

We saved one of the most magical places on Earth for last - Venezia - Venice: La Serrenissima, the City of Bridges, the Floating City. A great place for walking, exploring and getting lost. History, art and architecture are on display around every corner. A major trading center for centuries, it has one of the most amazing markets in Europe and, of course, gondolas (and no cars!).

The islands of Murano and Burano are a popular day trip from Venice. Burano is famous for it’s handmade lace and Murano is known for its blown glass. The brightly colored houses and canals are a photographer’s eye candy.

We wish you and your families a Happy Easter Weekend and brighter prospects for the future - including travel!

EASTER MEAL KIT - Dinner for 2 - Only $37

1st Course: M’tucci’s Spicy Tucumcari Feta Dip w/ Marinated Cucumber and Red Bell Pepper

2nd Course: Lamb Ragù - Lamb, Guanciale, Pancetta, Carrots, Onions, Celery, San Marzano Tomatoes over M’tucci’s Rigatoni

3rd Course: Strawberry Parfait - Lemon Lavender Sponge Cake, Vanilla Chantilly Cream & Macerated Strawberries

Call to Reserve

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

14 oz Herb Rubbed NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $29

Pan-Seared Branzino - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $27

Pasta: Beef & Goat Cheese Ravioli with Pan-Seared Shrimp, House Bacon, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions in a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce $23

Lamb: Two Lamb Lollipops, Parsnip mash potatoes, sautéed spinach, crispy bacon and caramelized onion, rosemary gastrique $32

Wine: 2017 Frog’s Leap Zinfandel - Bottle $65

2016 Frescobaldi Chianti - Bottle or Glass $35/$10

Cocktail: Nicolette: Fresh Lemon, Botanical Syrup, Egg White and Earl Grey-Infused local Nikle Gin.

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz. Angus NY Strip: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $25

Lobster & Shrimp Pasta - Shrimp, Lobster, Grape Tomatoes in a Lobster Cream Sauce & Spaghettini $29

Crab Dip: Dungeness and Lump Crab, Spinach, Italian Cheese w/ Pita and House Bread $13

Cocktail: Modern Monster: Lime, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mint, Angostura Bitters, Light rum and Dark rum

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Several New Menu Items for Spring (a few shown below)

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Italian Easter

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Easter (Pasqua) in Italy is not only a religious holiday, it also marks the end of Winter and the time of year when Italians celebrate the beginning of Spring. There are several prominent dishes served at this time of year including Colomba, an Easter version of Pannettone. Eggs symbolize rebirth, so Italians make a variety of cakes and pastries with eggs (sometimes cooked whole inside the cake), and serve boiled eggs and salame for lunch. Chocolate Easter eggs are given as gifts.

Nothing is more ubiquitous on the Italian Easter table than lamb. Sheep are raised throughout the Central and Southern regions, and on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, producing a variety of meats. Their milk is used to make a wide variety of cheeses, the most well-known being Pecorino. Sheep are raised in the mountains, grazing in the hills in the summers and moving to the lower elevations during the winter, as they are in much of the Western U.S.

The cut of lamb used is determined by the family budget. Most of the recipes I have seen call for lamb shoulder, which is roasted whole, or which is cut into pieces and slow-cooked for ragù. Rack or leg of lamb would be considered a splurge.

Roasted Rack of Colorado Lamb

Roasted Rack of Colorado Lamb

Regional specialties vary for Easter preparations. In Emilia Romagna the shoulder is roasted with rosemary, garlic and white wine. In Rome and Lazio, they prepare abbacchio, which is a pan-roasted shoulder with sage, garlic, rosemary and anchovies. Another popular Roman dish is abbacchio con scotaditto (lamb ribs), which utilizes the famous Roman artichokes now in season.

To the east of Rome, in the mountainous regions of Abruzzo and Molise, sheep are predominate and lamb is typical at this time of year. Agnello cacio e uova, lamb with cacio (a semi-soft cheese) and eggs, unites two of the most symbolic ingredients of Easter. The sheep graze on high mountain grasses and flowers and are considered among the most flavorful in Italy. One of the staples of Abruzzo is ragù, slow cooked with mountain herbs (sometimes saffron), vegetables and maybe a bit of guanciale.

EASTER MEAL KIT - Dinner for 2 - Only $37

1st Course: M’tucci’s Spicy Tucumcari Feta Dip w/ Marinated Cucumber and Red Bell Pepper

2nd Course: Lamb Ragù - Lamb, Guanciale, Pancetta, Carrots, Onions, Celery, San Marzano Tomatoes over M’tucci’s Rigatoni

3rd Course: Strawberry Parfait - Lemon Lavender Sponge Cake, Vanilla Chantilly Cream & Macerated Strawberries

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

24 oz Hand Cut Porterhouse - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $32

Pan-Seared California Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $23

Pasta: Beef & Goat Cheese Ravioli with Pan-Seared Shrimp, House Bacon, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions in a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce $23

Cocktail: Kentucky Gold: Old Forester 86, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Pimento

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz. Angus NY Strip: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $25

Lobster & Shrimp Pasta - Shrimp, Lobster, Grape Tomatoes in a Lobster Cream Sauce & Spaghettini $29

Cocktail: Beach Glass: Muddled Strawberry, Amaro Lucano, Orange Juice, Lime Juice, Prichard’s Crystal Rum Goslings Float

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

12oz. Harris Ranch NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $24

6 oz. Pan-Seared Amberjack - Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Seared Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22

Honey Chicken Truffle Pasta - Lightly Breaded Chicken with Root Veggies, Snap Peas, Fresh Herbs in a Butter Mascarpone Sauce topped with Honey Truffle Oil over House Made Fettuccine $17

Cocktail: Golden Corduroy: Whiskey Jane Rye, Cardamaro, Roasted Lemon-Honey Simple Syrup, Grapefruit Bitters and a pinch of Salt.

Gelato: Whiskey Malted Milk Stracchiatella

Sorbetto: Lemon & Lime

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

M'tucci's Rosso

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M’tucci’s spent nearly a year searching for the right vineyards and vintner in California to produce M’tucci’s wine. It all came together just after the 2019 harvest. The partners wanted wines that were more similar to old-world wines that are found in Spain, Italy and France. The Dolcetto and the Bianco were covered in earlier editions of La Gazzeta. Today we’ll talk about the Rosso, which has become a favorite among M’tucci’s wine fans.

The 2018 Rosso is made from a blend of three varietals: 70% Carignan, 28% Grenache and 2% Charbono. The majority of the grapes are grown in Mendocino County, which is the northern-most wine area in California.

Workers celebrating the conclusion of the 2020 harvest in California.

Workers celebrating the conclusion of the 2020 harvest in California.

“The Mendocino County appellation is part of the large North Coast AVA that spreads northward from San Francisco Bay. Traditionally, Mendocino wines were consumed locally. More recently, however, modern world-wide distribution has brought international recognition. Long famous for its redwood forests, today Mendocino County is a world leader in certified organically-grown grapes. There are 17,000 acres of vineyards in the County, with 25% of them growing certified organic grapes.” From mendowine.com

the mustard is blooming Throughout California’s vineyards, signaling the beginning of spring.

the mustard is blooming Throughout California’s vineyards, signaling the beginning of spring.

“This wine has really impressed us in all of our tastings.  Think of it as a bit of a Merlot/Cab/Syrah type blend.  It’s got big enough tannin to stand up to almost any red meat, but will also pair great with tomato sauces and even with charcuterie.” Tasting notes from John Haas and Amanda Romero.

Carignan has Spanish origins, but is more common in French wines, primarily in Languedouc-Roussillon.  Grenache is used in many of the best wines from the Rhone region in France. It is called Garnacha in Spain and is a common blending partner with Carignan, which results in softer tannins and a more balanced wine.  Charbono (also called Charbonneau) originated in the Savoy region of France. In the early days of California winemaking, it was often referred to as being the same grape as Dolcetto , but it is definitely a different grape. It commonly has high acidity and rich, fruity complexity. It is called Bonarda in Argentina, where it’s the second most planted grape behind Malbec.  This wine will continue to get better with each year in the bottle.   

M’tucci’s Wine Nights

Enjoy great bottles of wine for half price on one day every week. All three bottles of M’tucci’s are half price (regularly $32). All day in the dining room and the bar.

Monday - M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Tuesday - M’tucci’s Italian

Wednesday - M’tucci’s Moderno

Special Weekend Cocktails

Special Weekend Dishes

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

8 oz Herb Rubbed Pork Chop - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $23

Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $23

Pasta: Harris Ranch Beef Tips, Roasted Butternut Squash, Haricot Vert, Red Onion and Cajun Cream Sauce $21

Cocktail: Toki Highball: Suntory Japanese Toki Whiskey, Topo Chico Sparkling Water, Cracked Large Ice, Lemon Twist

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

Frutti di Mare - Shrimp, Baby Scallops, Baby Clams, & Mussels in a Spicy Marinara on Fettuccine $19

Beef Tip Tortellini - Cajun Seasoning, Diced Tomatoes, Green Onions, Rosa Sauce & Gorgonzola Cheese $19

Cocktail: Beach Glass: Muddled Strawberry, Amaro Lucano, Orange Juice, Liime Juice, Prichard’s Crystal Rum Goslings Float

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

12oz. Harris Ranch NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $24

6 oz. Pan-Seared California Halibut - Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Seared Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22

Sackett Farm Pork Saltimbocca - Thin, Lightly Breaded Pork stuffed with Prosciutto & Sage, Fettucine, Artichoke/Tomato Relish, Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc $19

Cocktail: Penny for Your Thoughts: Woodford Private Reserve, Yellow Chartreuse, Thyme Simple Syrup & Lemon

Gelato: Stracciatella & Irish Car Bomb with Steelbender Stout Brownie Crumbles

Sorbetto: Raspberry Lemon

Meet the M’tucci’s Family

Robin Dibble, Asst. Manager at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Robin Dibble, Asst. Manager at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

“I’m proud to say I was born and raised in Albuquerque. I cut my teeth in corporate restaurants such as Buca di Beppo and PF Chang’s. I left management for a few years and went back to school., becoming a CNM freshman at the age of 30, graduating in 2016. My most recent position was as General Manager of Zinc Wine Bar and Bistro. I was lucky enough to be there for a year before the pandemic shut us all down.”

”This past year has been the most challenging year for us in the business. It has challenged our belief systems, our operations, our stability, and our livelihood. I have always told my staff in the past that I truly love being a part of an alternative workforce, one that celebrates people, culture and experiences through food. I have often said “working in restaurants is an excellent life skill because you can always find work in restaurants, anywhere you want to go, as long as you love the job”. This mantra was shattered last year. We have all had to change and adapt. I’m honored to be welcomed to the M’tucci’s family and excited to finally be back in restaurants. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our industry and It will be my pleasure to welcome you all back to celebrate some day soon!”

Shelly Covey, Bartender/Server at M’tucci’s Moderno

Shelly Covey, Bartender/Server at M’tucci’s Moderno

Shelley moved to Albuquerque from Buffalo, NY in 2018 and has been working at M’tucci’s Moderno since June 2019.

“I like coming up with different vodka flavor infusions, such as the Infused Mule, and, of course, making all of the awesome cocktails on our menu. I love working in a place that encourages you to experiment with different ingredients and spirits to concoct new drinks. If I’m not at work, I’m usually hiking.”

Ashley Dunec, Asst. Manager at M’tucci’s Italian

Ashley Dunec, Asst. Manager at M’tucci’s Italian

“Hello everyone, Ashley here. You may know me as your M’tucci’s hostess, server, bartender, manager, or chef! Okay the last part was a joke, but who knows maybe I’ll do it! Over seven years with the company definitely allows you to broaden your horizons. It’s crazy to think about all that’s happened in that time. A lot has changed; I graduated high school, graduated from college, and have had numerous opportunities and ventures that I’ve been able to pursue while maintaining my place with the company. I’m super thankful to have worked with the M’tucci’s family for this long, and I can’t wait to see what the future after COVID holds!”

A few from Tuscany

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Italian St. Patrick's Day

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St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, so M’tucci’s will commemorate the Irish holiday with a meal kit of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Strange? Not really, since legend suggests that Patrick was really Patrizio, born into a Roman family living in Roman England in the 5th Century. Possibly, St. Patrick is Italian!!

Today, due to Irish emigration, there are Irish communities throughout the world, most prominently in the U.S., but also in Italy. Several celebrations, cultural and religious, are held in Italy around March 17th.

Religious observances for St. Patrick’s Day in Rome are held at St. Isadore’s College and at the Basilica of San Clemente (although they were cancelled last year because of the Covid lockdown). Scholars Lounge in Rome is the largest Irish Pub in Italy and received the award of Best Irish Pub in the World.

Irlanda en Festa is held in 10 Italian cities during the week of St. Patrick’s and is recognized by the Irish Ministry of Culture as the most important Irish Festival in Europe. It has been held every year since 2007 and features Irish music, culture and cuisine. The Bologna Facebook page for Irlanda en Festa has more than 23,000 followers. The festival lasts for three days in Florence where more than two dozen Irish pubs host Italians and Irish alike.

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Corned beef is salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. Corned Beef & Cabbage is not an Irish National dish, but was created by Irish Americans and is derived from the traditional dish of bacon & cabbage. Corned beef is popular in the cuisines of Israel and Philippines.

M’tucci’s Corned Beef & Cabbage Meal Kit is a collaboration between Chef/Partner Cory Grey and Executive Pastry Chef Brianna Dennis. Cory created the spice kit for cooking the three pound piece of corned beef and Brianna created the dessert with an Irish theme. She has used Steelbender Brewyard’s Brickie Stout to make a Brownie, then crumbles it into what she calls an “Irish Car Bomb Gelato.” The gelato is not a reference to the “troubles” in Northern Ireland, but a popular cocktail similar to a Boilermaker, where a shot of Bailey’s and Jamesons Irish Whiskey is dropped into a glass of Stout. The gelato is a Baileys gelato with a Jamesons Caramel Swirl.

We predict that you probably won’t consume the entire portion of meat for St. Patrick’s Day, so we are including M’tucci’s Rye Bread, House Made Mustard and Sauerkraut so you can make your own Reuben Sandwich the next day.

We are taking phone orders for this kit, which can be picked up on March 16 & 17. Only $49.

Let Chef Cory show you how easy it is to prepare your Corned Beef & Cabbage in this video on our YouTube Channel.

Weekend Cocktail Specials

Weekend Food Specials

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

8 oz Beef Tenderloin - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $29

Pan-Seared Ruby Red Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $23

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz Hand Cut Rib-Eye: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $33

Frutti di Mare - Shrimp, Baby Scallops, Baby Clams, & Mussels in a Spicy Marinara on Fettuccine $19

Pan-Seared California Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $24

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz. Harris Ranch Hanger Steak or 12 oz Chianina Rib Eye - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21/$56

6 oz. Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Seared Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22

Chianina Beef Picatta - Thin, Lightly Breaded Chianina, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Artichoke/Tomato Relish, Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc $23

Gelato: Chocolate Hazelnut

Sorbetto: Pineapple-Limeade

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

M'tucci's Bianco

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When M’tucci’s partners were searching for a white wine, they wanted one that was a bit different from the more common Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinto Grigio. They found Verdelho being grown in Contra Costa County in California. An old world grape that originated in Portugal, the California version is different from the traditional sweet wine that is used for fortified Madeira wine in Portugal.

Contra Costa County is due east of San Francisco and is known for the quality of their grapes, primarily because of the deep, sandy soil which encourages deep root systems. The hot days are cooled by breezes from San Francisco Bay during the night producing fruit that is small, but that has concentrated flavors.

Spring in the vineyard.

Spring in the vineyard.

Verdelho is one of the most widely planted grapes on the island of Madeira, which sits in the North Atlantic Ocean west of Morocco. An autonomous region of Portugal, the island has a sub-tropical climate with hilly and rocky soil. While the grape is the main grape in the sweet, fortified dessert wine of Portugal, the flavor profile of the Australian and Californian Verdelho are significantly different. The Australian grape produces wine that is very similar to the Sauvignon Blancs of New Zealand: tangy with tropical fruit, lime and grapefruit flavors.

M’tucci’s 2019 Bianco 100% Verdelho from Contra Costa County has flavors of peach, green apple and honeydew.

Tasting notes from John Haas and Amanda Romero: “Thanks to balanced acidity, this will pair really well with almost the whole spectrum of white wine pairings.  Most people will consider this to be similar to Sauvignon Blanc.”

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M’tucci’s Wine Nights

You can take advantage of 1/2 price M’tucci’s wine nights at all M’tucci’s locations. M’tucci’s Bianco, Rosso and Dolcetto are available for only $16 a bottle Monday at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five, Tuesday at M’tucci’s Italian and Wednesday at M’tucci’s Moderno. We plan to host a special dinner paired with M’tucci’s wine soon. Stay tuned.

Lot’s of new things going on at all M’tucci’s, plus our usual impressive lineup of weekend specials. First feast your eyes on a few special drinks, new menus at M’tucci’s Moderno.

How do we make it smokey??

We are busy booking weekend wedding receptions for the Spring. Call soon so you don’t miss an opportunity for a fantastic reception in your backyard or at any Albuquerque or Santa Fe venue. Let Taña, M’tucci’s Catering Manager tell you why we should be your choice.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Hand Cut Herb-Rubbed NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $32

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $29

Pesto Ricotta Ravioli - Pink Shrimp, Caramelized Onion, Haricot Vert, Roasted Butternut Squash, Lemon Cream Sauce $23

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

24 oz Hand Cut T-Bone: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $33

Beef Short Ribs - Mascarpone Cream Polenta, Sautéed Spinach, Braising Sauce $24

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Pan-Seared California Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $24

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Special Apple Brandy Sour for the weekend

Special Apple Brandy Sour for the weekend

7 oz Harris Ranch Hanger Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21

6 oz. Pan-Seared Icelandic Cod - Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Seared Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22

Gelato: Fresh Mint Stracciatella

Sorbetto: Pineapple-Lime

Parting Shot

The pickers celebrate after the 2020 Harvest was completed. The 2020 M’tucci’s wines will arrive in the fall.

The pickers celebrate after the 2020 Harvest was completed. The 2020 M’tucci’s wines will arrive in the fall.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday, Ciao!

Italian Piedmont

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On my first trip to Italy in 1994, I drove across the Alps from Switzerland, entering the Piedmont in the Northwest corner of the country. My first night was spent in the small town of Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta. Cars are restricted in most of the town and I was immediately in love with Italy.

The island of San Giulio from the shore of Orta San Giulio. There are a few villas, a restaurant and a Benedictine nunnery on the island. Lake Orta is the smallest of the northern lakes in the famous Lake District.

The island of San Giulio from the shore of Orta San Giulio. There are a few villas, a restaurant and a Benedictine nunnery on the island. Lake Orta is the smallest of the northern lakes in the famous Lake District.

The Piedmont is one of the few regions of Italy without a coastline, unless you count the shores of Lakes Maggiore and Orta. It’s a hilly and mountainous region containing the fertile Po River Valley which produces most of Europe’s rice. The plains along the Po provide lush grass for dairy cattle whose milk is used in buttery dishes, and for making Taleggio and Gorgonzola cheeses. The western edge of the region’s main city is Turin, where much of Italy’s sweet vermouth is made and where spumante was invented.

This list of Piedmont’s culinary gems is long: Crudo de Cuneo, White Truffles, Porcini Mushrooms, Polenta, Risotto, pears, pomegranates, hazelnuts (Nutella & Ferrero Rocher are based here) and one of the regions most famous dishes, Brasato al Barolo (beef braised in barolo).

The hills of Piedmont produce some of Italy’s most celebrated wines: Barolo and Barbaresco. Like the Super Tuscans and the Brunellos, you’ll need deep pockets to enjoy the best Barolos. If a $60+ Barolo isn’t in your pay grade, look for wines marked Langhe Nebbiolo. Barolos are made from nebbiolo, but only certain vineyards south of Alba are classified as Barolo.

The hill towns of Alba and Asti in the Langhe region are surrounded by vineyards planted with nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto. Barbera is the most widely planted grape in the region. The next most widely planted would be dolcetto, which means “little sweet one”, but this is anything but a sweet wine.

The wines made with Dolcetto grapes are very dark in color with flavors of blackberry, licorice, and cherry. Because of their low acidity, the wine is best while young, but it has enough tannin to pair with charcuterie and pastas. It is simply a very tasty wine that pairs well with anything that you would pair with pinot noir or merlot.

Dolcetto cuttings were brought to California by Italian immigrants and it is planted sporadically in California, Oregon and Washington. The grape does well in cool climates which helps with the acidity (keeping them from being too sweet). The hills of Piedmont have the Alps to the north and the Mediterranean to the south which create the “diurnal affect”: morning fog, warm, sunny days, and cool nights.

The M’tucci’s Dolcetto is grown and crushed in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County in California. The diurnal affect in Sonoma is created by being in the center of the Pacific to the west and the warm interior to the east. Russian River is also known for producing high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

We think that this special climate and the location are what makes M’tucci’s 2019 Dolcetto a winner with most anything we serve.

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We’ll dive deeper into the grapes of M’tucci’s Rosso and Bianco in future La Gazzetas.

All locations are accepting reservations, by phone only. Online reservations are not available at this time.

The bar menu returns to M’tucci’s Italian.

The bar menu returns to M’tucci’s Italian.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Hand-Cut Herb-Rubbed NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $32

Pan-Seared Icelandic Cod - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $25

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz Hand Cut Ribeye: Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $31

Beef Short Ribs: Mascarpone Creamed Polenta, Sautéd Spinach, Braising Sauce $24

Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $22

Saturday & Sunday Brunch (Moderno Only)

M’tucci’s Prosciutto Cotto: M’tucci’s Italian Style Ham, Poached Eggs, Crusted Eggplant, House Hollandaise Sauce, Parmesan Potatoes $12

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz Harris Ranch Hangar Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21

Gelato: Cheesecake Strawberry

Sorbetto: Strawberry Lime

Weekend Cocktail

Bobbi’s Warm London Fog: Earl Grey Tea, Hayman’s Gin, Lavender, Bailey’s Cream and Lemon Zest.

Bobbi’s Warm London Fog: Earl Grey Tea, Hayman’s Gin, Lavender, Bailey’s Cream and Lemon Zest.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Limoncello

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While we at M’tucci’s enthusiastically share our love for Amaro, we have not forgotten one of the great adult beverage products of Southern Italy, limoncello. Italy’s mild climate means you will find citrus trees as far north as Tuscany and along the coast in Liguria (Cinque Terre). However, Campania and Southern Italy are lemon country.

As you pass through Sorrento and make your way along the jagged and magnificent Amalfi Coast, the air is perfumed by lemons, which grow on the terraced hillsides above the Tyrrhenian Sea. Lemons appear in many dishes of the south such as Pan-Fried Anchovies (with garlic, red pepper, parsley and lemon) and Insalata di Limone (Lemon and Mint Salad). The lemons grown here have a mild flavor and are often used in place of vinegar when making a simple salad dressing, such as vinaigrette.

Hillside below Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.

Hillside below Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.

After dinner (or lunch) in Amalfi, or virtually anywhere in Campania, a meal is finished with limoncello. Dining in a family-owned restaurant, it is likely that they made the limoncello they offer, probably with lemons from their own trees. Served very cold or with a few ice cubes, the flavor is enhanced by the view of the sea. It’s overwhelmingly lemon in a glass: a little sweet, a little tart, and a little boozy.

At M’tucci’s we don’t have a view of the sea, but we have limoncello by the glass, and sometimes in sorbetto or gelato. Fresh lemon juice is used in our famous Lemon Ricotta Cookies, too. If you have had our weekend pan-seared seafood specials, then you have had our Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc Sauce.

It’s pretty easy to do as the Italians do (even thought you don’t have a lemon tree) and make your own. I’ve tried it once and loved the results. Recently, I came across a recipe in “Food of the Italian South” by Katie Parla. You basically use grain alcohol or vodka (let’s face it, vodka is just grain alcohol diluted with water) and the peels of the lemons. It’s unlikely you’ll find the popular Southern Italian variety of lemons here (femminello di Santa Teresa or sfusato amalfitano), so splurge a bit and buy organic Meyer lemons, which you can sometimes find at Sprouts or Whole Foods. There are a lot of recipes online, but you basically steep the lemon peels in the alcohol for 30 days, then strain and add a simple syrup, tasting until you reach your desired balance of citrus and sweetness. Then you’ll need to let it rest for another week. A five-week process, or you can simply order a glass at any M’tucci’s tonight!

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Herb-Rubbed Bone In Sackett Farm Pork Chop - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $23

Pan-Seared Branzino - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $31

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

12 oz Ribeye: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Salsa Verde $31

Lobster Ravioli - Baby Scallops, Pink Shrimp, Grape Tomatoes, Lobster Sauce $32

Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $21

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz Harris Ranch Hanger Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21

8 oz. Ruby Trout - Crispy Yukon Gold Potatoes, Balsamic Grilled Escarole, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $24

Gelato: Blackberry

Sorbetto: Strawberry Lime

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Don’t forget the great Charcuterie products available in the deli case at all the M’tucci’s locations.

Don’t forget the great Charcuterie products available in the deli case at all the M’tucci’s locations.

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Enjoy a few photos from Ravello on the Amalfi Coast

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

Valentine's Day

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The Feast of Saint Valentine originated in Italy when two Italian priests named Valentine, one from Rome and one from Terni, were martyred more than 2,200 years ago. So long ago, that many of the stories and legends that equate the saint with romantic love are suspect, but fun to consider. The Roman Valentine was supposedly jailed for refusing to convert to Roman paganism and was sentenced to death. The night before his execution, legend says that he healed his jailer’s blind daughter and then sent her a card signing it “Your Valentine.”

The exchanging of cards , flowers and sweets became popular in the UK in the 18th Century and spread throughout the world, becoming a major economic boost for all of those products. In 2017, the U.S. spent more than $18 billion or more than $136 a person (which will cover the special Bistecca alla Fiorentina offered at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five this weekend - details below).

Valentine’s Day was noted as an annual celebration of love in France in the 1400s, where lavish festivities in the court of Charles VI featured feasts, love songs, poetry competitions and dancing.

A Few Love Stories

During the eight years that my wife and I operated a wedding photography business in the Mexican Riviera Maya, we heard many wonderful love stories, and more than a few love disasters. However, there are two that we both remember fondly.

Nine years ago was the wedding of a couple from the Midwest. The groom had recently left the priesthood in order to marry. He gave up his calling and his vocation for love. Their joy and love was moving.

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During our last year in Mexico, we photographed a wedding for a couple who were getting married after postponing their wedding for one year so the groom could donate a kidney to the bride’s father. He was the only possible donor among the two families. Needless to say, the photos after the vows were emotional.

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Closer to home, two guests have been coming to M'tucci's since we opened. Most employees of M'tucci's would recognize Kelly and Lucy if they walked in. They had been a couple for nearly 15 years when they decided they wanted to get married and have a ceremony with all their friends and family. They are the only people to ever get married in a M'tucci's Restaurant as we aren't usually equipped to switch from a ceremony to a reception in the same room, but we did it for them and it was definitely worth it. They still come in about once a week and have said that M'tucci's is a special place to them.



Since Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties are now in the Yellow zone, we are looking forward to hearing from you about catering your wedding or event and we are looking forward to seeing you in our restaurants this weekend for a Valentine’s dinner. We will offer 75% occupancy on our patios and 25% occupancy in our dining rooms. At this point, we plan to have a few tables available for walk-ins, but we are taking phone in reservations for all dining rooms. At the moment we will not have online reservations available. So call!!

Valentine Weekend Specials

Available Friday - Sunday

M’tucci’s Moderno

Lobster Ravioli

House-made Lobster Ravioli With Cold Water Lobster And Crab Served With Wild Pink Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Grape Tomatoes, Basil & A Lobster Cream Sauce. $32

Pan Seared Sea Scallops 

Pan Seared Scallops Served With Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Artichokes, Sautéed Organic Baby Arugula And Topped With Lemon Caper Butter Sauce And Smoked Prosciutto Powder. $31

Surf And Turf Special Entrée & Dessert (For Two) 

Two Harris Ranch 12oz Ribeyes Perfectly Grilled The Way You Love It, Served With Pink Patagonian Shrimp (6) Tossed In Garlic Butter, Served With Rosemary Pecorino Saltwater Potatoes & Grilled Asparagus. 

For Dessert A Chocolate Covered Red Velvet Cake Roll Filled With Chantilly Cream, Topped With Raspberry Meringue And Chocolate Cake Pieces. $59

Add a Bottle of M'tucci's Dolcetto $85

Gelato & Sorbetto Pints

Cheesecake Gelato With Strawberry Swirl

Chocolate Sorbetto

Raspberry Prosecco Sorbetto

Sparkling Bottle Specials

Rotari Brut Doc 2013 Sparkling Wine - $37

Argyle Brut Willamette Valley 2014 - $60


Cocktail Specials

Lot 75 : House Infused Lavender Botanical Gin, Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, Cane Sugar, Lemon Twist $9

The Blush Flower : Uncle Val's Botanical Gin, Aperol, Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, Cranberry Shrub Syrup, Muddled Cucumber, Orchid Flower $9

Chocolate Covered Strawberry: Muddled Strawberry, Absolut Vanilla Vodka, Chocolate Liquor Simple Syrup, Half And Half  $9

Green Point: Michter's Rye Whiskey, Yellow Chartreuse, Sweet Vermouth, Angostura & Orange Bitters, Lemon Twist $14

M’tucci’s Italian




M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Lobster Salad: stuffed Fried Avocado, House Bacon Chutney, Roasted Apple, Greens tossed in Calabrian Vinaigrette $9

Chicken Scallopini: Lightly Breaded Chicken, served with House Fettuccine, Sautéed Mushrooms, Marinated Tomato,, Local Feta, Herbed Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $16

Lamb Rib Chops: Sweet Potato Puree, Haricot Vert, Mint Gastrique $23

Pan-Seared California Halibut: Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes, Grilled Escarole, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22

12 oz Chianina (New Mexico Raised Italian Beef) Rib Eye: Choice of Sweet Potato Mash or Saltwater Potatoes, Choice of Grilled Marinated Artichokes or Haricot Vert or Asparagus $52

32 oz Chianina Bistecca all Fiorentina: Choice of Sweet Potato Mash or Saltwater Potatoes, Choice of Grilled Marinated Artichokes or Haricot Vert or Asparagus $130. Must pre-order today for Sunday Only.

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M’tucci’s Italian

16 oz Hand Cut Herb-Rubbed NY Strip: Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $32

Lobster Pasta: Lobster, M’tucci’s Sackett Farm Bacon, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Saffron Shrimp Cream Sauce, Pappardelle Pasta $31

Pan-Seared Alaskan Halibut: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichoke, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $31

Chocolate Dipped Red Velvet Swiss Roll: Raspberry Meringue, Chocolate Cake Crumble

M’tucci’s Catering

As we are now in the Yellow Zone and creeping toward the green zone, we are looking forward to some Spring, Summer and Fall Wedding Receptions. M’tucci’s Catering Manager, Taña Martinez, will take part in the Behind the Curtain: Virtual Wedding Show on February 21 telling brides what they can expect from M’tucci’s. You can see our full catering menu by clicking here.

M’tucci’s Wine

Don’t forget to try a glass ($8) or bottle ($32) of M’tucci’s private label wines, grown and bottled in California.

2019 Bianco – 100% Verdelho – Contra Costa County, CA

Peach, Green Apple, Honeydew, Balanced Acidity

Thanks to the acidity, this will pair really well with almost the whole spectrum of white wine pairings.  Most people will consider this to be similar to Sauvignon Blanc.  It’s a Portuguese grape native to the island of Madeira.  It’s one of the four “noble” grapes of Madeira.  It is very rarely planted in the US.

2019 Dolcetto – 100% Dolcetto – Russian River Valley (Sonoma County), CA

Black Cherry, Cranberry, Tobacco Leaf, Medium Tannin & Light Acidity.  

Perfect compliment for charcuterie but will stand up to other dishes where other bigger-bodied red wines would typically be paired because of the tannins.  (Editor’s Note: I had a glass with the Five Pork Bolognese yesterday and It was terrific). It would be considered similar to a Pinot Noir, but has a bit more depth and more tannin.  Dolcetto (little sweet one in Italian) is best known as a varietal from Piedmont in Italy and for being a bit drier, which this American version definitely shows.  Another rare varietal in American winemaking

2018 Rosso – 70% Carignan, 28% Grenache, 2% Charbono – Mendocino County, CA

Leather, Vanilla, Pomegranate, Balanced Tannin, Long Finish

This wine has really impressed us in all of our tastings.  Think of it as a bit of a merlot/cab/Syrah type blend.  It’s got big enough tannin to stand up to almost any red meat, but will also pair great with tomato sauces and even to charcuterie.  Carignan has Spanish origins, but is more common in French wines.  Grenache is used in many of the popular wines from the Rhone region in France. It is called Garnacha in Spain and is a common blending partner with Carignan, which results in a nice tannin and balance.  Charbono (also called Charbonneau) originated in the Savoi region of France. It was confused as Dolcetto in the early days of California winemaking, but is definitely a different grape. It commonly has high acidity and rich, fruity complexity. It is called Bonarda in Argentina, where it’s the second most planted grape behind Malbec.  This wine will continue to get better with each year in the bottle.   

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Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

The Pasta of Rome

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Three of the iconic pastas of Rome have their differences, but the use of Pecorino Romano sheep’s milk cheese is the common denominator. Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe and Amatriciana are the holy trinity of Roman pasta dishes on restaurant menus. Quite often, U.S. versions take liberties with the recipes, using bacon instead of guanciale (cured pork cheeks) or even Parmesan!! That will not happen in Rome.

Carbonara is traditionally made with Spaghetti, crispy pork (guanciale) and a blend of lightly cooked egg and cheese. M’tucci’s Twenty-Five makes an amazing version with Capicola (Applewood Smoked Pork Shoulder) and Prosciutto. Italians consider it to be one of the most popular pasta dishes in Italy, after Tagliatelle Bolognese.

Cacio e Pepe is a deceptively simple dish, with only three ingredients: pasta (with some pasta water), cheese (Pecorino), and fresh cracked black pepper. However, it’s probably the one dish that most confounds home cooks who can end up with rubbery, chunks of cheese instead of a silky sauce that clings to the pasta (me included). All three of our restaurants serve this dish with our eggplant parmesan, except M’tucci’s Moderno puts a little twist on it and calls it Cacio e Pesto.

While Amatriciana is the only red pasta of the three, it is popular throughout Italy. It originated in the town of Amatrice, which is northwest of Rome in the mountains. An ancient city with Roman ruins, it was devastated by an earthquake in 2016, which killed nearly 300 people and destroying 75% of the buildings in town.

While many Italian sauces are harmonious, this is one sauce that has contrasts with the saltiness and richness of the pork, the sweetness of the tomatoes, and the zing of the red pepper flakes. The Italians are very passionate and rigid when it comes to the ingredients in this dish. A little wine is OK, Onions are OK, too, but never garlic. A few years ago, a celebrated Italian chef suggested on a television program that you could add garlic to Amatriciana. The country’s largest newspaper La Repubblica published an article the next day denouncing the chef.

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The main course for this week’s meal kit is Pasta Amatriciana, (no garlic), made with M’tucci’s house cured guanciale, San Marzano Tomatoes, Pecorino and tossed with M’tucci’s version of fresh Bucatini pasta. Toss the salad with marinated tomatoes, follow the easy instructions for making the sauce, bake M’tucci’s Chocolate Chip Cookie dough and 20 minutes later you are ready for a three course feast. Order now, because at $32 to feed two people, these won’t last long. This card and an instructional video are included with every M’tucci’s Meal Kit.

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Super Bowl Sunday - At all M’tucci’s Locations

Patio or Carryout

Any Two Pizzas for $18

Family Charcuterie Board for $18

M’tucci’s Valentine’s Weekend

Don’t miss the special meal kits for Valentine’s Weekend. Executive Pastry Chef Brianna Dennis has created a fondue kit loaded with house made sweet goodies and Chef/Partner Cory Gray has a special three course meal that includes all of the major Valentines food categories: lobster, steak and chocolate. The Fondue ToGo will be $25 and the three course dinner is $49. Phone orders Please.

Fondue Togo kits $25.00 Available for order now.


Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14
Kit includes:Caramel Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Brownie pieces
Prosecco marshmallows
Strawberries
Palmier cookies
Pound cake


Meal prep kit for 2 people $49.00 - Order Now

Limited supplies picked up at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14


Appetizer: Buttered Lobster Cream Cheese Puff Pastry w/ Lemon Cream Caper Beurre Blanc

Entree: M’tucci’s Bacon Wrapped 6oz Filet Mignon, Roasted Asparagus, Salt Water Potatoes with a Creamy Tuscan Garlic Shrimp Sauce.

Dessert: Cannolis with Sweetened Ricotta filling and Chocolate Covered Strawberries.


Dessert Special $8.00

Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14

Chocolate Covered Red Velvet Cake Roll filled with Chantilly Cream, topped with Raspberry Meringue and Chocolate Cake Pieces.



Valentine’s Day Gelato and Sorbetto special:

Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14, $8.00 per pint

Cheesecake Gelato with Strawberry Swirl

Chocolate sorbet

Raspberry Prosecco Sorbetto

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Hand Cut Bone In Sackett Farm Pork Chop - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $23

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $29

Sunday Only: Half Rack of Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, House Made Cole Slaw and House BBQ Sauce for $18

M’tucci’s Moderno

Pork Belly Risotto w/ Celery, Carrots, Mushrooms, Alfredo Sauce $19

Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $21

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz Chianina Flatiron Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $22

Gelato: Blackberry with Blackberry Jam Swirl

Sorbetto: Raspberry Lemon

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

The Wonders of Pork

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One of our goals when we created a partnership with Sackett Farm in Iowa, was to serve pork with more flavor. The heritage breed of Duroc combined with the careful feeding and pasturing, means that our pork is now better than ever. The second goal was to increase the variety of products that we could offer to you. We are buying the entire pig, which is then processed to our specifications by another family-owned business. Of course, we have all of the popular cuts like chops, loins and ribs, but we also are using lesser-known parts for our cured meat program (bacon, pancetta & guanciale) and to create special cooked dishes.

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Unless you visit a serious butcher counter, you are probably not going to find pork belly. However, it’s a wildly popular cut in many parts of the world (there is even a food series on Netflix dedicated to pork belly in Korea). Most Koreans claim to eat pork belly at least once a week and in a recent survey 85% claimed that it is their favorite meat.

In Latin American & Caribbean cuisine it is called chicharrón (not to be confused with fried pork skins) and is used in tacos as well as in braised dishes.

In France, the Alsace region is known for choucroute garnie, which is pork belly, sausages, potatoes and sauerkraut slow cooked together to create a hearty meal.

Italians use most of their pork belly for pancetta, which is similar to bacon. Pancetta is cured with salt, sugar and spices, but it is not smoked. The most common use for pork belly in North America is bacon or salt pork.

Pair this succulent cut (the flavor is in the fat baby!) with a cooking technique which originated in France and you’ve got something special. Confit is a method of cooking any type of meat slowly in grease, fat or syrup, and was originally used as a way of preserving meat . Most restaurants serve a confit of goose or duck, typically using the legs. The legs are salted, seasoned with herbs and slowly cooked in their own rendered fat, then cooled and preserved in the fat. Even people who don’t like duck, love this!

Chef Cory is using the confit technique with this week’s Meal Kit. Sackett Farm Pork Belly is slowly cooked in Apples, Fennel, Seasoning and Pork Fat for four hours. It comes portioned with instructions on finishing it for your dinner. Slice it and arrange it on top of the Creamy Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. We’ve also prepared a salad with fresh Spring Greens, Shaved Fennel, Candied Pecans and Feta. Wait, there’s Chocolate Sorbetto for dessert. A generous dinner for two for only $32.

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M’tucci’s @ Home - Cooking with Cory

- Salad- Shaved Fennel, Candied Pecans, Feta Cheese, Orange Honey Vinaigrette, Spring Mix -

- Sackett Farm Pan Seared Apple Fennel Pork Belly Confit with

Creamy Risotto, Mushrooms, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Haricot Vert, Roasted Butternut Squash -

- Chocolate Sorbetto -

Order online or call. Only $32 while supplies last.

M’tucci’s Valentine’s Weekend

We will have several dine in specials for Valentine’s Weekend. They will be announced next week. Don’t miss the special meal kits for Valentine’s Weekend. Executive Pastry Chef Brianna Dennis has created a fondue kit loaded with house made sweet goodies and Chef/Partner Cory Gray has a special three course meal that includes all of the major Valentines food categories: lobster, steak and chocolate. The Fondue ToGo will be $25 and be available to pre-order next week.

Fondue Togo kits $25.00 Preorders Available.


Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14
Kit includes:Caramel Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Brownie pieces
Prosecco marshmallows
Strawberries
Palmier cookies
Pound cake


Meal prep kit for 2 people $49.00

Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14


Appetizer: Buttered Lobster Cream Cheese Puff Pastry w/ Lemon Cream Caper Beurre Blanc

Entree: M’tucci’s Bacon Wrapped 6oz Filet Mignon, Roasted Asparagus, Salt Water Potatoes with a Creamy Tuscan Garlic Shrimp Sauce.

Dessert: Cannolis with Sweetened Ricotta filling and Chocolate Covered Strawberries.


Dessert Special $8.00

Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14

Chocolate Covered Red Velvet Cake Roll filled with Chantilly Cream, topped with Raspberry Meringue and Chocolate Cake Pieces.


Valentine’s Day Gelato and Sorbetto special:

Limited supplies at each M’tucci’s location starting 2/12-2/14, $8.00 per pint

Cheesecake Gelato with Strawberry Swirl

Chocolate sorbet

Raspberry Prosecco Sorbetto

M’tucci’s Moderno will take reservations for the Love Pods for Valentine’s Weekend Thursday - Sunday. You must call to make a reservation - for February 11-14 only!

M’tucci’s Moderno will take reservations for the Love Pods for Valentine’s Weekend Thursday - Sunday. You must call to make a reservation - for February 11-14 only!

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Herb-Rubbed NY Strip Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $27

Lightly Breaded Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $19

Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27

M’tucci’s Moderno

Ricotta Pesto Ravioli - Roasted Artichokes, Grape Tomatoes in a Pesto Cream Sauce

Harris Ranch Flatiron Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Italian Verde Sauce

Pan-Seared Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $24

Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)

Drink Specials by Matt

Del Rio Punch: Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Lime, Pineapple & Orange Juices, Red Chile & Club Soda

Violet Villa: Espolon Tequila, Lime Juice, Violet Liqueur

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz Hanger Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21

14 oz Sackett Farm Cherrywood Smoked Bone In Pork Chop: Campfire Potatoes, Braised Spinach, Mango Coulis $18

Gelato: Dark Chocolate Brownie w/ Candied Bacon - Banana w/Fudge Swirl

Sorbetto: Vanilla/Lime/Blackberry

M’tucci’s Wine

2019 Bianco – 100% Verdelho – Contra Costa County, CA

Peach, Green Apple, Honeydew, Balanced Acidity

Thanks to the acidity, this will pair really well with almost the whole spectrum of white wine pairings.  Most people will consider this to be similar to Sauvignon Blanc.  It’s a Portuguese grape native to the island of Madeira.  It’s one of the four “noble” grapes of Madeira.  It is very rarely planted in the US.

2019 Dolcetto – 100% Dolcetto – Russian River Valley (Sonoma County), CA

Black Cherry, Cranberry, Tobacco Leaf, Medium Tannin & Light Acidity.  

Perfect compliment for charcuterie but will stand up to other dishes where other bigger-bodied red wines would typically be paired because of the tannins.  (Editor’s Note: I had a glass with the Five Pork Bolognese yesterday and It was terrific). It would be considered similar to a Pinot Noir, but has a bit more depth and more tannin.  Dolcetto (little sweet one in Italian) is best known as a varietal from Piedmont in Italy and for being a bit drier, which this American version definitely shows.  Another rare varietal in American winemaking

2018 Rosso – 70% Carignan, 28% Grenache, 2% Charbono – Mendocino County, CA

Leather, Vanilla, Pomegranate, Balanced Tannin, Long Finish

This wine has really impressed us in all of our tastings.  Think of it as a bit of a merlot/cab/Syrah type blend.  It’s got big enough tannin to stand up to almost any red meat, but will also pair great with tomato sauces and even to charcuterie.  Carignan has Spanish origins, but is more common in French wines.  Grenache is used in many of the popular wines from the Rhone region in France. It is called Garnacha in Spain and is a common blending partner with Carignan, which results in a nice tannin and balance.  Charbono (also called Charbonneau) originated in the Savoi region of France. It was confused as Dolcetto in the early days of California winemaking, but is definitely a different grape. It commonly has high acidity and rich, fruity complexity. It is called Bonarda in Argentina, where it’s the second most planted grape behind Malbec.  This wine will continue to get better with each year in the bottle.   

Try a glass for $8 or a bottle for $32. Due to NM Liquor laws, you can’t buy an unopened bottle for take out, but you can grab a seat, order a bottle, have a taste, then we’ll package it for you to take home. Them’s the rules.

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

La Cucina Povera

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La Cucina Povera is cooking simply, with the best ingredients available. Literally it translates to “the poor kitchen”, “cooking of the poor”, or “peasant cooking”. However, the building blocks of Italian cuisine originated with this concept, which is most commonly associated with Southern Italy. You could say that la cucina povera is Italian soul food.

The rigors of the feudal system, where the poor subsisted on what they grew or could forage, was a hard enough life. When the system collapsed, so did life in the South, which led to mass migration from the south with many leaving Italy for life in America in the mid to late 1800s. Italian-American cooking originated with these immigrants from Calabria, Basilicata, and Campania. However, the true art and concept of la cucina povera has little resemblance to much of today’s Italian-American cooking.

A vegetable market back in the days before the Euro.

A vegetable market back in the days before the Euro.

This weekend’s meal kit is firmly based on la cucina povera. Minestrone soup is ubiquitous in Italian restaurants in America, but very rare in a restaurant in Italy. In Italy it’s a dish that is created at home with the ingredients at hand. The word minestrone comes from the word minestrare, which means “to serve.” Italians use the word zuppa to describe lighter soups, while minestra or minestrone are used to describe heartier soups or stews. As with most Italian sauces and stews the flavors are built by adding the ingredients in stages, until a marriage of flavors is achieved. Italian Wedding Soup, is not typically served at Italian weddings, rather its Italian name, minestra maritata, refers to the blending or marriage of flavors.

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The main course, Chicken Cacciatora, also comes from la cucina povera, and translates to “hunter’s-style chicken”. Once again, the dish used what was available from the garden or foraged from the countryside, with wild rabbit the original meat in the recipe. Italians use a variety of vegetables, instead of the more common Italian-American cacciatora which often uses a heavy marinara sauce.

Chef Cory substituted chicken thighs (the most flavorful piece of chicken!), and uses several vegetables, added in stages (as shown below) in the recipe to make a hearty stew. Most cacciatora recipes call for white wine and chicken broth. Instead Cory used red wine for deglazing. This recipe also relies on the blending or “maritata” of flavors, which results in a richer sauce.

As usual, the meal comes with a detailed recipe card and a link to a video that shows you how to prepare your meal. The soup and creamy polenta are prepared for you, all you have to do is prepare the Cacciatora with the prepped and portioned ingredients. Tonight you can cook like an Italian and Chef Cory!

Available for pick up at all M’tucci’s Locations

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Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

7 oz Cajun-Rubbed Tender Roast Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $23

Pan-Seared Ruby Red Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $21

Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27

M’tucci’s Moderno

Sackett Farm Pork Shanks - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéd Spinach, Mirepoix Sauce $23

Beef Tip Tortellini - Cajun Seaonsing, Diced Tomatoes, Green Onions, Rosa Sauce & Gorgonzola Cheese $19

Pan-Seared Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $24

Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)

Drink Specials by Matt

Del Rio Punch: Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Lime, Pineapple & Orange Juices, Red Chile & Club Soda

Violet Villa: Espolon Tequila, Lime Juice, Violet Liqueur

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

7 oz Chianina Flatiron Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $22

Gelato: Raspberry/Cherry/Limoncello

Sorbetto: Citrus Apple

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!

M'tucci's in the Last Half of 2020

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We covered the first half of 2020 in last week’s La Gazzeta, so let’s wrap up July through December and put it behind us. It wasn’t all bad, as the Partners at M’tucci’s were determined to not only survive the economic challenges but, if possible, thrive.

JULY

With COVID numbers dropping in July we were able to welcome guests back to our dining rooms. That only lasted until the 13th, when we were ordered to restrict our business to patio dining and take-out orders. M’tucci’s YouTube Channel was busy with Chef Cory demonstrating techniques for using veggies from your garden or from the local Farmer’s Market. The weekly Meal Kits returned with Ravioli, Meatballs & Spaghetti and M’tucci’s Baby Back Ribs offered for the last three weeks of the month.

AUGUST

Each location came up with a Patio Happy Hour menu that was available from 3:00-6:00 and was very popular (enchanced, of course, with misting units and fans for our high desert summer). La Gazzeta covered how chicken is used in Italian cooking and had features about Risotto and Chianina Beef.

SEPTEMBER

The weather cooled a bit and the patios continued to be a great spot for lunch, happy hour or dinner. We launched M’tucci’s House Made Gelato, with Executive Pastry Chef Brianna Dennis creating familiar and new flavors that were available at all locations. La Gazzeta had a feature about our bread, which is made with a natural starter. We explained why the absence of commercial yeast and preservatives is better for health and digestion (all of you gluten-free people should give it a try - you might discover that you are not actually allergic to gluten, but that you are allergic to bad ingredients!).

The see-saw of restaurant restrictions was on the upswing, allowing limited indoor dining, so we brought back our Brunch menu and put the Meal Kits on hold.

OCTOBER

Taña Martinez, who had previously been in charge of catering, returned as the manager of M’tucci’s Catering after taking time away to have her son. She started preparing for whatever we might be allowed to do for the holidays. In the meantime, she orchestrated a couple of cool wedding receptions at a private residence and at Casa Rondeña Winery.

The big news was the forming of two new partnerships; one with the Sackett family, an Iowa farm family, and the Fantasma family, pork processors near Kansas City. Company President John Haas had been searching for a family farm that specialized in Heritage breeds since the Spring. Along with Chefs Cory Gray and Shawn Cronin they finally were able to travel to Iowa & K.C. to meet the Sackett and the Fantasma families to see their operations. Their products have significantly raised the quality of the pork we offer.

NOVEMBER

. . . . and we’re closed to indoor dining again, so we started preparing our patios to keep you warm, comfortable and safe. With dining rooms closed, it meant we had the space to assemble our Weekend Meal Kits and to start planning for a special Thanksgiving kit. Chef Cory put together a kit that featured a ragu made with Sackett Farm pork and designed a Thanksgiving kit with sides and a dessert, which allowed guests to buy and prepare their own turkey, prime rib for dinner.

Our founder, Jeff Spiegel, wrote an inspirational OpEd piece for the Albuquerque Journal encouraging everyone to stay positive and to look for opportunities amidst turmoil.

Pastry Chef Brianna put together an impressive selection of Thanksgiving pies that were wildly successful - and really tasty.

DECEMBER

Let’s just say we kicked butt in December. The pork from Sackett Farm was incorporated into our traditional pork dishes and specials, and the amazing holiday Farmer Butcher’s Kit featured products from their farm. Pastry Chef Brianna created a kit that included gingerbread to build and decorate a Ginger Bread House, materials to make and decorate cookies, and the Bombs to indulge in Hot Chocolate Bombs while making all these holiday sweets. We put together Christmas/Holiday Ham Dinner kits featuring Free-Range Berkshire Spiral Cut Hams from our new partners, the Fantasma family. Probably the best Ham I have ever tasted.

On Christmas day we introduced our new Gourmet M’tucci’s TV Dinners. Six yummy meals that are purchased fresh and heated in the microwave before serving. Only $9 each.

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The year was finished in style with a wildly popular New Year’s Eve Meal Kit for Couples: Crab Cakes with Garlic Aioli, Cajun Rubbed Beef Tender Roast and Champagne Cake with Chantilly & Fresh Strawberries. My wife and I enjoyed this on NYE and we hope that you did, too.

If all of this wasn’t enough, M’tucci’s Wine arrived after spending much of 2020 selecting the right grapes and growers, and finding a winemaker in California who understood our vision. M’tucci’s Bianco, Dolcetto and Rosso are, for now, only available at M’tucci’s locations.

We can’t finish without, once again, extending our heartfelt thanks for all of the support and words of encouragement we received during the past year. We’ll continue to come up with new and innovative ways for you to enjoy the best damn house made Italian food we can produce: at home or with us.

Stay tuned, because new things are coming (hint: think pork).

M’tucci’s @ Home - Cooking with Cory

Salad- House Mixed Greens, Dijon Vinaigrette, Haricot Verts, Roasted Butternut Squash, Marinated Tomato, Tucumcari Feta Cheese-

-Harris Ranch Beef Tip Porcini Cream Sauce Tossed with House Made Pappardelle Pasta. Garnished with Scallions and Pecorino-

-M'tucci's Famous Lemon Bars-

It’s easy to prepare, watch the video below to see how to complete this great meal.

Now available, the meal kit feeds two people and is only $32. Order online or by phone.

Now available, the meal kit feeds two people and is only $32. Order online or by phone.

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

12 oz Hand Cut NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Lemon, Balsamic Reduction $29

Pan-Seared Lightly Breaded Sand Dabs - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $19

Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27

M’tucci’s Moderno

10 oz Cold Smoked Sackett Farm Pork Chop - Italian Vegetable Succotash, Apple Bacon Bourbon Mostarda $21

Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $21

Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Hand Cut 7 oz Hanger Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $21

Sackett Farm Cold Smoked Bone-In Pork Chop: Campfire Braised Potatoes, Braised Spinach MangoCoulis $18

Gelatos: Dark Chocolate with Brownie Pieces & Chocolate Hazelnut with Marshmallows and Toasted Hazelnuts (M’tucci’s Rocky Road)

Sorbetto: Limoncello Cherry

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!