Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

          The great Verrazano Bridge, Named after the Italian explorer Giovanni daVerrazzano (the correct spelling). who discovered New York bay. It's a stupendous structure that unites the borough of Brooklyn, with the Borough of Staten Island in New York City.

        Italian fusilli pasta with zucchine and canned tuna I brought from Italy. A very flavorful dish that is easy to prepare. Buon appetito.

  Shot at the NY Botanic Garden in The Bronx. This peaceful image is digital with no manipulation.

  Pasta is great but nothic sustains you a a hearty soup or "zuppa." This is a simple soup of Kale and cauliflower. It's healthy, delicious and economic.

  The view from my Manhattan studio. In the early to mid seventies I had a photo studio on 132 East 26th Street. It was fun but once I got my first child and bought a home in Queens, I let the studio go, It was nice while it lasted. This is a Kodachrome II shot made with a Nikon FTn and the 105 F 2.5 Nikkor a truly wonderful lens. 

  Pasta vith fava beans and dandelions; a variation on the traditional Sicilian "maccu" that is a thick paste that is added to pasta. Both.versions are delicious, nutritious and economic.

Another photo that begs the question of where does time go. Paris, 1972 at the Jardin de Luxembourg on a Sunday afternoon.    

  It's HARVEST TIME here in the North East

  Pennette rigate italiane with asparagus, Italian canned tuna and real zaffron. It's a simple dish that requires a bit of preparation but the result is light and delicate feast for the palate.

  This was when I knew that I had the eye to be a photographer. I used a borrowed Kodak Retina 35mm folding camera loaded with Kodachrome II. As they say the rest is history. This photo of lower Manhattan was taken frm the Brooklyn heights promenade in September of 1967. It's still one of my favorite images.

I found these delicious multi colored pomodorini si i whipped up a "spaghettino" that was simple and delicious.   

This image dates from 1971. A road in New England shot in medium format with a Yashica Mat 124 and Agfachrome 64. Where does time go, I wonder.

  Italian cuisine is a celebration of nature. Some dishes like this one are deceptively simple. In order to pull this off only the freshest and best ingredients will do. A wonderful Roman female chef calls this complex simplicity This is a delicious and healthy dish great on a rainy night, for example. .  

  Playing cards on the park in the famous Arthur Avenue Little Italy In The Bronx. This is the only true Little Italy surviving in new York City. The more well known one on Mulberry Street is now actually part of the ever expanding Chinatown. Only some stores and Italian restaurants proclaim this area as an Italian neighborhood with the caveat that there are hardly any Italians left. The players were enjoying the game on a late summer afternoon.                                        

  Uno spaghettino con salsa di pomodoro e melanzana siciliana. I pomodori erano freschi. Ho tagliato parte della melanzana a cubetti e l'ho aggiunta alla salsa prima di finire la cottura. L'altra parte l'ho fritta. A questo punto ho aggiunto basilici rigorosamente tagliato a mano e la pasta al dente. Ho mantecato bene aggiungendo acqua di cotture. A fuoco spento ho messo un filo d'olio crudo. Ho impiattato e le fette di melanzana per decorazione e per sapore. Na buona manciata di pecorino siciliano ovvero incanestrato ha chiuso il piatto. Naturalmente gli spaghetti erano italiani. Questa non e' pasta alla norma. This  spaghetti dish consists of a fresh tomato sauce with a Sicilian eggplant that was partly cubed and  sliced. Both were fried. When the sauce was almost done, I added the cubed eggplant and soon after I added the spaghetti al dente to the sauce. At this point I added basil cut by hand and all was stirred to allow  the flavors to meld while adding cooking

  Shot in side a coffee shop in Provincetown, Cape cod.

  I recently discovered this gem of a restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens (NYC). At 65-17 Fresh Pond Road. Rustico Taverna. The food is fantastic and the staff very friendly.  just returned frm Castellammare del Golfo, a sea town with incredible fish restaurants and ordered the Zuppa di pesce at Rustico and was very satisfied. Try it if you are in the area; you will not be sorry.

  The Gare D'Orsay in Paris was converted to a museum housing an extensive collection of impressionistic paintings. I always visit this amazing place every time I'm in Paris.

                    My beautiful Castellammare del Golfo, my native town. A truly wonderful place.

  This is the area that became to be known as DUMBO. Brooklyn in the eighties. Now this area is totally gentrified

  Pasta con patate e salsiccia. Pasta with potatoes and sausage. An appropriate dish for the end of summer.

The famous feast os San Gennaro is now in full sswing on Mulberry Street, Manhattan. It's a NY tradition and the street food is very good. The saugae and pepper hero is the star of the feast and must be savored. Buon appetito.  

  Please bare with me as I find the right look for the blog. I hope this doesn't bother you. I'm just trying to get the right feeling for my blog. Thank you for your patience. and thank you for visiting.

  Remembering my Mookie, a Belgian Sheep Dog in a class by itself. He filed my life with joy for 15 years. I miss him dearly.

  This is what is comically known as Sunday gravy but in this case I prepared authentic salsa alla bolognese or bolognese sauce. I naturally used imported Italian rigatoni. A feast to the palate. Un piatto goloso.

  A lazy late summer afternoon near Madison Square Park in Manhattan.

  A most delicious dish: imported Italian spaghetti with cream of eggplants and a sprinkle of walnuts

  Where does time go. This photo of this young girl playing at the fountain in Washington Square Park in Manhattan was taken in June of 1969! For me it seems as if I just shot it. Where is she now: probably a grandmother. This shows the power of photography in capturing and freezing a moment in time

  Trofie Italiane con asparagi e patate. Una delizia. Italian trofie pasta with asparagus and potatoes. Simply delicious.

Trying my new air fryer. Not to bad provided I add enough EVO. This was a light lunch and the contorno was also potatoes air fried. All in all I'm impressed.  

The return  I. have been away too long. My interest is now primarily in good food so in jest I call myself chef Rocco. I hope you enjoy my dishes. Of course I will also post my photos. Moon on the left bank. Paris, France 2017.