Gabriele Corcos

Gabriele Corcos (born October 7, 1972) is an Italian celebrity cook, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is the creator, host, and producer of Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel. He is also the author of a New York Times best-selling cookbook, Extra Virgin. Corcos owned The Tuscan Gun Officine Alimentari in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, New York, which is now permanently closed.

Notes

Note inserite da Andrea Cassigoli:

Foto da https://www.instagram.com/annalisa.modena.corcos/?hl=it; https://www.facebook.com/gabriele.corcos, https://www.facebook.com/thetuscangun/, https://twitter.com/TheTuscanGun, https://www.facebook.com/debi.mazar.35, https://www.facebook.com/Debi-Mazar-99540458066/, https://twitter.com/debimazar, https://www.instagram.com/debimazar/?hl=it; https://www.facebook.com/fabiodellatorre.bosconi/, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=654285922, https://www.facebook.com/chiara.sinatti; https://www.facebook.com/lucia.sinatti

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/blog/fattoria-i-bosconi-some-history-2/: "On the fall of 1918, my great great grand-father Chimici fell in love with a small valley in Fiesole, just about three miles north-east of Florence. The land was covered with olive trees and a generous vineyard stood in the heart of the property. These fields have been in my family ever since, but so many things happened in the last century…".

Gabriele Corcos in http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2011/03/30/welcome-to-tuscany/: "Welcome to my home! Let me introduce you to the family… Mamma Annalisa, who taught me to cook most of what I feed my family. Nonna Lola, who taught my mother. Babbo Leonardo, who one day got me in from of the fireplace and said “Ok, let’s cook dinner!” And my brother Fabio, the very first person I ever cooked for".

Gabriele Corcos in http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2011/04/07/14132/: "Each year growing up, my brother and I endured two complete calendars of religious festivities and rituals, one for my Catholic mother and her family, and one Jewish father and his. You see, my parents were slightly progressive in the 70s, and when I was born out of a mixed marriage, neither one of them felt necessary to influence my religious views one way or the other. In their opinion, it was good enough to be expose me to both cultures, and the choice of faith would be mine".

Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar, "Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from our Tuscan Kitchen", 2014: "Prosciutto e Melone - My Jewish grandfather on my mother's side didn't care about keeping kosher. So when I was a young boy at the beach with my grandparents - and my observant doctor father was still working at the hospital - I got to enjoy this classic combo of porky saltiness and fruity sweetness. Other times, when my dad was around, I'd look down the table and see Nonno Renato openly enjoying his forkful of prosciutto and cantaloupe. Then he'd just smile and wink at me".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/uova-in-tazza-con-polenta-e-funghi-b... (21.12.2017): "Uova in Tazza con Polenta e Funghi – Baked Eggs with Polenta and Mushrooms - We had a Sunday morning ritual at the farm in Fiesole. My early-rising grandfather, Renato, would start a fire in the dining room and by the time everyone was up, it had died down to coals to use for cooking. These eggs cooked with polenta and mushrooms were my favorite “brunch.” We always used the same ancient coffee mugs for this dish. It was my job to break the egg into each mug—I was so proud to be the one responsible for topping our meal with its main ingredient. Renato would then literally screw each cup into the deep bed of coals, cover them with a at piece of wood, and the heat would cook them quickly".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/acciugata-di-renato/ (23.10.2010): "Acciugata di Renato - Renato was my grandfather, the one that I inherited the farm from. When I was a kid, we used to drive his car through the fields. It was one of those old models that had had the suspensions that would rise, and we would drive through the fields and pick up the grapes and vegetables and stuff. He would grill all the vegetables, especially the zucchini. He had this sauce, which is more of a southern tradition, but because he made it so often it has become one of our traditional recipes. I miss my grandpa".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/grilled-mackerel-with-sicilian-style... (11.07.2015): "Grilled Mackerel with Sicilian-Style Tomato Sauce - There is something very special about the Italian Summer and the profound attachment we have to our local seafood… I remember being woken up at the crack of dawn by Renato, my great grandfather, when I was very young and spending my school break by the shore south of Livorno, on the coast of Tuscany. He would have a couple of coolers loaded with ice already tucked into the trunk of his magnificent Citroen DS “The Shark” as we all used to call it, he would load me and my younger brother in the back seat and drive straight to the port where fisherman would unload their prey: he had friends there, knew most of those guys by name and they all treated him with the outmost respect. My brother and I would sit on a bench or on a pile of wooden boxes, mesmerized by the amount of fish in front of us, the colors and shapes, the fresh smell of the ocean… we would assist the spectacle while chomping on a piece of warm freshly baked Onion Schiacciata or Cecina (Chick Pea Cake), that was our breakfast of the champions. Soon we would return to our house where my mom and my grandma would be waiting for us to go to the beach. Renato would spend most of the day talking menus to himself, thinking of different ways to cook whatever he found at the market in the morning: he was always so excited about his ingredients and his delight was so incredibly contagious… our friends could not resist inviting themselves for dinner every other day. I miss those moments very much, and I always work very hard to make sure I pass down this “simple way of enjoying life” to my daughters, in the hope to keep alive memories, traditions and obviously our family recipes".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/seared-octopus-and-rucola-salad/ (06.01.2017): "Seared Octopus and Rucola Salad - Octopus has always been one of my favorite summer bites. I remember spending my summers while growing up in a small town called Quercianella; my grandfather had a house about a mile from the coast and we would spend many fun weeks there every year. Wearing my snorkel and exploring every inch of water I could was my daily mission. I would wear a small knife on my thigh, carry my little red ballon attached with a string to my wrist and hang underneath it a small net to collect my finds, from sea urchin shells to bottle caps. My grandparents used to drag me to the beach very early in the morning, by 9 am we would already be all set under our rented cabana; but not my friends, they would stroll in always a couple of hours later, leaving me to discover that after all… less people swimming and the earlier morning hours were in fact the perfect recipe for what became memorable explorations and wonderful memories. One of those quiet mornings I was invited by our lifeguard to go fish with spears; he would start working at 10 and had some time to kill… literally! Ten minutes later we were floating slowly trying to scope any possible pasta sauce ingredient to share afterwards. I will never forget. The glare of the morning Sun, low on the water, was spaying rays of light on the bottom of the sea, creating patterns on rocks and sand, it was so damn beautiful and relaxing. All of the sudden Ramon, yeah his real name, tapped me on my shoulder and started pointing at something with his hand. A moment later, with quiet moves he was diving lower and lower, parallel to the bottom of the sea, until he made a move. A bubble of black stained the water, and all of a sudden, all wrapped around the head of the spear I see it. Fighting, giving all it had, now that all of the sudden camouflaging is not a priority task, the octopus has the color of sand.. and I can see it clearly. Ramon grabbed the octopod with his hands, and with a magic trick tied it with a string to the side of his speedo. Mothers and Grandmothers, they all loved Ramon!".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/chocolate-budino/ (10.02.2018): "Coffee Chocolate Budino - My grandmother Lola used to bribe my brother and I with this recipe: “First do some chores, then I’ll make you dessert”. Her recipe was a little more straight forward than this, and I actually never had the opportunity of writing it down while growing up… she never wrote it down either, it was passed down orally, the old school way. The one thing I remember though is that if by any chance my grandfather Renato was around, he would ask for a shot of coffee to be added to it, as he loved the “adult” touch to it; a wonderful and subtle back flavor of espresso…. and that’s how I got to love it even more. I had to re-develop this recipe through the years, and I think this version of it is the best I have ever made, this one is for the books… and for all your family and friends to enjoy!!!".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/ricotta-cheesecake-with-chocolate-ga... (15.08.2015): "When in Tuscany it is fairly easy to realize the almost exclusive savory use that people make of ricotta. I remember the last glory days of our farm, when on Sunday mornings the shepherd would come up from the valley and bring fresh ricotta for my grandparents. Lola would bring in the garden small ceramic bowls, pour a few dollops of fresh cheese in it and finish it with a touch of salt and a generous sprinkle of our olive oil; it was Heaven".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/madeleins/ (19.08.2012): "I remember making Madeleins for the first time when I was a kid and my parents would drop me off at my grandparents for the weekend while my dad was traveling for work. Madeleins were one of the first things we baked together. My grandmother was one of the classiest women I know and had a thing for elegance. She always thought serving tea with madeleins was not only nice but necessary whenever some of her lady friends dropped in for the afternoon. While I didn’t necessarily always enjoy the afternoon tea with her and her girlfriends, I always did enjoy these sweet, fluffy cookies and though these days I am not much of a baker, I make two exceptions, my unsalted Tuscan bread and these delicate, petite cookies that help a strong cup of espresso go down easy".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/45-cenci-and-frittelle/ (11.02.2010): "Cenci and Frittelle – Carnival Fritters - This two recipes also are coming straight out of our family book. Since I can remember in fact, every Carnival season my grandmother Lola used to deliver to our house a basket lined with a beautiful linen hand-embroidered cloth, full of Cenci she had been frying all day".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/13-naked-gnocchi-with-spinach-and-ri... (01.03.2008): "Naked Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta - Today, for the very first time, we will be cooking with butter instead of olive oil. This succulent and kids friendly dish comes again from my grandmother’s kitchen; it is not a traditional Tuscan recipe, like many we already shared… Lola is from Venice, and this “Strozzapreti” version has been served on our table since I can remember.There are several legends to explain the name “Strozzapreti” (The Priest Chockers)… One is that gluttonous priests were so enthralled by the savory pasta that they ate too quickly and choked themselves, sometimes to death. As always, there are several variations and preparations… some even involving different ingredients, but still intended to choke Priests, I assume. The recipe we are posting calls for ricotta cheese, and needs to be cooked in the oven. The main variation on this dish replaces the ricotta with boiled potatoes (1Lb)… when the balls are ready, instead of cooking them into the oven, they need to be cooked in salted boiling water, as if they were regular pasta. Cooking time is extremely short, as soon as the gnocchi will come to the surface they are ready to be collected, drained and served".

Gabriele Corcos in http://thetuscangun.com/recipe/gnocchi-alla-romana/ (27.10.2015): "While growing up this recipe has always been one of my favorites. Straight out of Nonna Lola’s kitchen, this dish encompasses everything that a family meal is about: comfort, happiness, delicious flavors and lots of love. Yes you can read it as a very nostalgic note, as every time I savor a bite of these gnocchi my mind gets transported back in time and very far away… all the way back home in fact. My grandmother used to prepare a full casserole of these gnocchi in her kitchen and then call me up to walk through the fields to go get it. She would tape a note on top of it with instructions about when to put it in the oven and at what temperature. I would all happy go back home, set up the kitchen table and turn the oven (and the TV) on, and start cooking the gnocchi while my parents were on their way back from work. This gnocchi can allow you to be a bit creative as well. When I make it for the family I place them lined in a casserole and use a spatula to serve portions at dinner time, but at my shop I like to prepare individual cast iron ramekins that can be baked to order and plated differently".