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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 42
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 42

Location:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Issue Date:
Page:
42
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Wednesday, May 11, 1994 Electric Banana serves up meals to feed the band Annual Pre-Summer Sale Drastic savings on hundreds of designer fashions May 11-14 Blouses $19429 Blouses $14429 Dresses $39459 Mrs. Z's Meatballs Baking, rather than frying, is the best way to make meatballs, says Judy Zarra. They hold their shape better, and it's easier on the cook. 2 pounds ground beef (chuck cup finely grated Romano or other loan beef) cheese 4 to 6 large cloves garlic, 2 eggs, slightly beaten crushed 1 cup bread crumbs Salt and pepper to taste cup water Grind up fresh Italian bread, hamburger buns or other bread. Mix all ingredients well.

Form meat mixture into balls the size of baseballs (or a bit smaller, if you like. We used an ice cream scoop to help in Put meatballs in jelly roll pan that has been coated with vegetable non-stick spray. Pour a little water in bottom of pan. Bake in 400-degree oven for V4 hour or until done. No need to brown first Serve with favorite Italian tomato sauce.

Judy Zarra BANANA FROM PAGE D-l LOVED to dance." She pulls out photos of her in her costume. "They would advertise with this picture I could really bring them in." But now she's" back in the kitchen during the day and behind the bar at night Six days a week. Every week. On this sunny afternoon, with Best Kisser in the World and Madder Rose wending their way toward Pittsburgh and one of the Banana's Italian feasts, Judy is slicing eggplant She deftly cuts the purple vegetable into half-inch slices. She dips them into flour, then eggs, and begins to fry in olive oil The eggplant will be topped with cheese and baked.

Judy's menus keep vegetarian tastes in mind, including a meatless sauce for Social Distortion's Henry Rollins. "I used to always use meat in my lasagna, but now it's vegetari- Special offer: 100 cotton shorts, buy one and get the second at half price! MONROEVILLE 373-2888 Miracle Mile Shopping Center Route 22, Exit 6 off Pennsylvania Turnpike Sunday 12-5; Monday through Saturday 10-9 Nol velM on alt Rum, lingerie, mom treditt, previously purchased ltn or hi conjunction with other couporn. Lemon Ricotta Pie Crust: 3 cups flour cup sugar Vi cup vegetable shortening (she uses Crlsco) 2 eggs Approximately Vi cup cold water ANNOUNCING ATI'S GREATEST CELLULAR PHONE DEAL EVER Cut shortening into flour, which has been mixed with sugar. Add eggs and enough water to make dough. Divide dough into two balls, with one slightly larger than the other.

Roll out the large ball and line a 10-inch cake pan. Roll out the second ball and cut into strips, using a ravioli cutter, to make a lattice top. Filling: 3 pounds ricotta (she uses Lamagna), drained 6 eggs Grated peels of 2 lemons 1 cup sugar an I figured we already had meatballs." Today, she is into her third dozen of eggs. "Look at this," she says, genuinely happy, "the second egg in a row with double yolks." Sharing secrets Judy says quality ingredients are tantamount to success. People ask for a cookie recipe, then don't use butter and complain about how the cookies turn out "I use what the recipe calls for," she says without apology.

"And some people dont use olive oil," she adds, shaking her head. She pauses, considering one false start she herself made. "I tried to skip this step of frying the eggplant before I baked it Terrible. It needs the olive oil for the flavor." Building on her country cooking, Judy picked up on the Calabrese style of Italian cooking from her husband's mother and aunt His wife's meatballs, says Johnny with admiration, are even better than his father's. "I made these a little smaller than usual," Judy says of the 70 meatballs that simmer on the stove, sending smells of garlic through the house.

"Usually, they're about the size of baseballs." Although she hesitated at first to reveal her recipe, she eventually decided to share. "Nobody can make them like I can anyway," she says, a woman without guile. "Are you giving away our trade secrets?" teases son Donny, 21, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, Both he and his brother, John, 22, grew up in the club working the family business. Donny pulls out an autographs T-shirt from the former Black Sat bath bass player, now with Nuclei Assault: "To the Banana Ama ing Meatballs," the writing on tlk shut says. "They thanked her a thousand times," says Johnny.

A dying art The Zarras hadn't been in business long when they decided a square meal was the way to win bands and influence musicians. They figure they've been cooking since 1979. "We don't get 'em any cheaper, but we get more returns," Johnny says. Xhey chuckle when they remember the band member who compared the Banana's spaghetti with a competitor's inferior sauce. "He said they must have used tomato soup in theirs," Judy says in horror.

Still, the Zarras say, good meals are few and far between not just for bands, but for everybody. "Home cooking is a dying art," TRY IT YOU'LL LIKE DT WE GUARANTEE IT 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE SEE STORES FOR DETAILS LIMITED TIME ONLY Mix all ingredients in electric mixer. Pour into cake plate lined with pastry. Weave the strips of pastry into a lattice design for the top. (To prevent a soggy crust, we brushed the bottom crust with lightly beaten egg whitebefore filling.) If desired, brush lattice with egg white.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Note: Be careful not to grate white part of lemon peel, as it imparts a bitter flavor. (We carefully pared on the yellow peel, then chopped the peel in the food processor.) Makes 1 deep-dish 10-inch cake pan. (When we tested this recipe, -we had enough crust and filling for a 9-inch pie with lattice topping, plus a second 8-inch pie without topping.) Judy Zarra PLUS: 1st MONTH FREE 60 Minutes FREE Voice Touch FREE Voice Mail FREE Activation Almonettes 4 to 6 tablespoons flour, or more as needed to create a thick cookie dough SOUTH 831-1300 Rt. 88 Bethel Park NORTH 364-8900 Northway Mall EAST 372-1300 Rt 22 Monroeville DOWNTOWN 471-1300 Wood Street SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE 580-1300 CENTURY III MALL 655-4545 6 egg whites 2 teaspoons almond extract Vh pounds almonds, ground 2V4 cups sugar COMMUNICATIONS ADVANCED TELECOMM INC.

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PLEASANT NEW KENSINGTON RENO If you're a young person looking for a summer job or volunteer opportunity, place a free ad in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Summer Stuff '94 opportunity listings. This special section, published May 24, is the place for you to let folks know you're available to cut grass, babysit, help someone around the house or whatever you do best! This section will get your message to hundreds of thousands of Prttsburghers. Plus, extra copies will also be printed and available on request. To place your FREE Summer Stuff '94 ad, just complete the coupon below and get it to the Post-Gazette by May 20. For more information, call 263-1871.

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Mifflin 000-0000. CO 53 or not, was not what the English band GBH had in mind on its flight from London. She had prepared a "summer meal" of fried chicken, potato salad and the trimmings, but the band was looking for a repeat of the Italian food she had prepared for an earlier engagement. "They said they thought about my Italian food all the way over," Judy puts in. "They were so disappointed," Johnny says.

The Zarras, who live in Carrick, do some backyard gardening and Judy cans her own tomatoes and banana peppers and makes pickled eggplant. 1 Her prep cook won't forget one experience with the hot peppers. His crime: peeling three bushels of banana peppers without gloves. "It was beyond pain," he says. "I dunked my hands in baking soda, milk, Parmesan cheese.

I washed them a thousand times. The pain lasted all night Nothing helped." Only time, the doctor told him. Today, Johnny Zarra wears gloves to peel banana peppers. There are funny food stories, too. Johnny recalls the time his mother "started a war over a recipe." She had taken a white cake to a family gathering and everyone raved about it They wanted the recipe for what came to be known as "Aunt Jewel's White Cake." "She had used a cake mix, something you didn't do in our family," he says.

"So when people asked for her recipe, she found one in a book and gave them that, then she forgot which one she had given out and gave somebody else a different recipe. This went on for years." If you're going to make memorable food, you develop some preferences. Judy has some, but she's not unwilling to change. For example, for several years she had used a articular brand of tomato puree in er sauces, but recently happened on one she likes even better. La-Russa extra thick tomato puree, i Mirroring some Italian cookbook authors, she prefers Pecorino-Ro-mano cheese to Parmesan, even though she calls the dish "Eggplant Parmesan." "I brought home Parmesan and she sent me back with if Johnny recalls.

To them, Parmesan tastes salty and has' less flavor. Calling herself a "garlic she dismisses elephant garlic. "People that buy elepnant garlic are left out." Rock bands aren't the only ones who get in on the premium cooking. Judy bakes hundreds of Christmas cookies that she spreads around among friends. Last year, she used 100 pounds of flour.

Some traditional recipes come from family members, but over the years Judy has improved on some of them. "Each year I try something new," she says. Although Judy says people keep urging her to go into the restaurant business, that probably won't happen. If you want to sample her food, organize a rock band and get a gig at the Banana. PL Name jajj just eril fm wjv i awT" mmmammmmmvmmm wtili 5 i a i "Jr Address City State Zip.

Phone Age School Parent or guardian signature to authorize publishing of phone number Area (pick one): North South East West Ads will be listed under the area heading you choose. Then they will be arranged alphabetically by type of work, so list the job you want first. Fill in your message using as many of the three lines of spaces as you need. Abbreviate where possible to get more information in. Make sure you include your community and phone number in ad copy.

Today's Magazine Plus section, in your home-delivered Post-Gazette, learn how forming family rituals can strengthen your marriage and have a better relationship with your children. Plus, advertising from Builders Square and Healthy Choice line 1: line 2: line 3: Mail to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Classified Lobby Counter, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 With today's home-delivered edition. For home delivery, call 263-1121 fHitebuiglj fJost-fecttc.

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