Posted on 02/27/2010 3:16:03 PM PST by lowbridge
-snip
By recreating the pasta sauce that Clemenza taught Michael to make in the Godfather, and pitting it against the sauce that Paulie and Vinnie made while in the slammer in Goodfellas, I could once and for all determine which pasta sauce was better and, by extension, which was the superior film.
The first step was to capture the recipes. A ton of information is given out onscreen and in the dialogue, but it takes some digging to get at it. We see two cans each of tomatoes and tomato paste on the counter in Godfather;we hear Vinnie talk about putting two cans of tomatoes and three onions in the sauce. Vinnie says he puts veal, beef, and pork in the meatballs, and we also see him putting some bone-in meat into the sauce; Clemenza shoves in a plate of sausages and meatballs that would be easy to recreate. I went over the video like it was the Zapruder film; no detail escaped my eye.
The sauces are actually very similar in many respects: canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, meatballs, and sausage are all involved prominently. There are six main differences:
1.Paulie slices the garlic paper-thin with a razor “so that it would liquefy in the pan with very little oil”; we don’t see Clemenza’s garlic, but are left to assumed that he chops it like the rest of us.
2.Vinnie puts browned meat (some of it bone-in) into the sauce, then separately talks of meatballs (meatballs AND meat? Hmm. I’m intrigued; for my take I’m using a pig’s foot and some beef stew meat, and will remove the pig’s foot when all’s said and done). Clemenza just puts in sausage and meatballs.
(Excerpt) Read more at portablechefnyc.com ...
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A Wiseguy version of ‘Julie and Julia’
To even suggest that "Goodfellas" might be as good a movie as "The Godfather" is insulting.
thatsa lotta free time
My Nonna's pasta sauce recipe would kick butt on both of those sauces though.
Goodfellas is every bit as good as the Godfather. Both are great flicks and impossible for me not to watch.
You gotta problem with that?
Please share.
They are two completely different movies, yes both were about the Mob, but that’s where the similarities end.
Evidently there’s another similarity: they both include a scene in which mobsters make pasta sauce.
For the record, I think Godfather II is far superior to The Godfather or Goodfellas and Goodfellas is better than Godfather III. However, I just don’t think Goodfellas is on the level of either of the first two Godfathers. Goodfellas has plenty of action, but it lacks the drama of The Godfather.
Exactly!
Clemenza put a lot of wine into the sauce.
my husband loves mob movies because they are always eating!
Forget about it!
Damn that looks good! I got nothin.
Both are excellent and I also prefer part II, mostly because of the Deniro scenes of the early days. But it seems like a close call to me.
I like simple and easy:
6 cans of tomato paste
1 whole white onion
3 pounds ground beef
3 pounds ground Italian sausage
2 heaping tbls diced garlic
1 large crockpot
15 hours
Add water to keep it 1/4 inch below the lid
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