Italian Orange-Chocolate Cheesecake Tarts and The Godfather

In the world of cooking, there are some recipes that possess that rare quality of instant legacy. These are the recipes that, from the first taste, quickly establish themselves in your mind as something really, truly special. You know that these are the recipes that will grow well-worn and yellowed in makeshift cookbooks, that will be requested by eager-eyed relatives at parties, and that will be passed down to future generations. I know a few recipes like that: my future father-in-law's chocolate panna cotta. My grandmother's Christmas struffoli. My mother's potato croquettes. And now I have another recipe to add to that list. From the moment I tried these Italian chocolate-orange ricotta cheesecakes from Giada De Laurentiis, I knew--and as did everyone else at the Midsummer party where I served them--that they would be instantly memorialized.

The same thing happens with movies. There are certain films that, at some point while you are watching them, click in your mind as a masterpiece. For me, one of those films was the tragic, frightening, and mournfully beautiful The Godfather, made by Francis Ford Coppola. This movie, in my opinion, is the closest thing American cinema has achieved to the great works of Shakespeare, with its subtle drama and crackling outbursts of violence and family strife, offset by moments of elegiacal solitude. As an Italian-American myself, I would like to say that this film does not take a jaundiced eye at Italian culture the way that other gangster movies and dim-witted reality shows do. Instead, The Godfather provides an honest look at a criminal subculture that did exist, while reminding viewers that it was, in fact, a subculture and not indicative of Italian-Americans as a whole. First of all, with all of its brilliant symbolism of shuttered windows and doors, The Godfather demonstrates that its Corleone family is closed off from the outside world. Finally, because the characterizations are so sublime and realized, the film never feels exploitative. Let's take a look at Dan's thoughts.

The Godfather


What more can be said about The Godfather, Coppola’s masterpiece which is arguably not only the greatest American film, but a testament to American art in an even broader spectrum? What about by confirming that it is, indeed, a most exciting crime saga, charting the rise and fall of a criminal empire through the businesses of the Corleone family?

But its epic greatness runs deeper. The Godfather is, in many ways, the ultimate immigrant saga that ends, as did countless immigrant sagas of both real and fictional origins, in tragedy. Sure we see the glamour and the fruits of criminal life at the Corleone home, an estate of lush patios, jovial feasts, and good cooking. But by the time the first movie is over, Don Corleone (Marlon Brando in the pinnacle role of an already legendary career) has lost his loyal but hotwired boy Sonny (James Caan), been shot and almost killed while carrying oranges from the grocer, and seen his favorite son Michael (Al Pacino) begin to follow his path into a life that can only lead to more death. Suspense is killer in The Godfather, but at its core is a story of sadness.

Ah, but Francis Ford Coppola’s brilliance is in the details. There is a reason that, as much as certain organizations have denounced aspects of the film, the movie has a place of honor in every Italian-American household. It knows Sicilian culture to the smallest of nuances; its mannerisms, dress codes, and ways of celebration. It’s a movie about Italians that truly understands Italians. This makes Brando’s and Caan’s embodiments of Old Country hooligans all the more astounding.

True to the promise of the best epics, The Godfather is a beautiful film. Tinted in sepia that takes us back to the summer of 1945, The Godfather is the ultimate triumph of production values. From the musical score to the sets, Coppola takes us into another world and traps us into its dark offices and corners of violence.

Required reading lists have long been a staple of scholarly curriculum. Movies, a much newer art, are slowly rising to the level of books and the road ahead is long. Indeed, such a smaller percentage of movies can be called art in good faith. But some of us refuse to give up hope that film, at least at its best, will someday be esteemed with the great arts and be considered worthy of a standardized required viewing list. When, and that day may never come, The Godfather is an undisputed mandated viewing title for cinema literacy.

Thanks, Dan! And I too hope for the day when the general public will view film as being just as worthy of serious discussion as books. For some reason there seems to be this hierarchy of texts. I think film texts and book texts BOTH offer mesmerizing stories and discussion points.

Now, on to great recipes that deserve recognition. As I said before, I served these tarts at a St. John's Day/Midsummer party my family had because their round shape and sunny color reminded me of the Summer Solstice. They were so delicious, with their creamy and tart texture, and everyone fell in love with them. They came from Giada De Laurentiis, one of my all-time favorite chefs. I am addicted to her shows Everyday Italian and Giada at Home. Try these as soon as possible. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

    

Italian Orange-Chocolate Cheesecake Tarts

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup chocolate wafers, finely crushed (I used Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. fat-free or low-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 2 eggs
• Extra butter for greasing

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the cups of a mini-muffin with the extra butter.

2) Combine the crushed chocolate wafers and the melted butter. Place a tightly packed teaspoon of the mixture into each cup in the mini-muffin tin and press down firmly.

3) In a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sugar, orange zest, and eggs. Blend until smooth. Fill prepared mini-muffins cups with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture. Place the muffin tin in a baking dish and pour enough hot water in the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes. 

4) Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Use a small knife to gently pop the cheesecake tarts out of the cups. Serve and enjoy! (Makes about 14 tarts)

Next Time: Something superhero related!