Denny's grand slam is the BEST, but only in Florida. Whenever I've eaten in a Denny's outside of Florida, it's been gross. Why is that?? I also enjoy grits at Cracker Barrel, as well as their biscuits and gravy. I love breakfast at Cracker Barrel, but if you make a habit of it, you might as well just go buy a vacation home for the cardiologist of your choice!!

Those are called Pannelles. Out of this world! A very good friend of mine that I grew up with used to own a "Foccacaria" and his mother used to make the Pannelles. I loved them so much that when I used to walk in there she would automatically pull out a fresh roll, put the Pannelles on it, then some ricotta, some fresh grated mozzarella and put it in the oven. Delicious!

One of the most famous places for Pannelle Specials, Vastedde and Rice balls was "Joe's Of Avenue U" which was a sicilian foccacaria.


Note : Chickpeas my ass. Those are called Chi Chi Beans!!!

DC, that sounds outrageously good!!! Did you ever eat a gelato sandwich? My relatives love a nice fresh sweet roll with gelato in the middle. It sounds crazy, but it's good!

Can't say that I did. You mean to tell me with a name like Sicilian Babe you NEVER had a Pennelle Special?

You realize, of course, that some good ole southern boy is reading this and cursing the damn Yankees. Then he's gonna go out to Olive Garden to get a great Italian meal.

Here is a Panelle Special



As I said earlier, they usually put fresh ricotta and fresh grated mozzarella on the roll along with the Panelle and then heat it in the oven.

Nope. My grandmother always had chickpeas in her pocket, though, and used to eat them like peanuts, which I guess they are, sort of. We always called them cheechada (VERY phonetic spelling, btw).

Edit: Damn, that looks good, DC!!!!

"How could it take you five minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes? Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than any place on the face of the earth?"

You really are a very disturbed individual. That's why I love ya though.

I knew it was just a matter of time.

Did you really expect anything less?

I must disagree with you on that one. The Denny's here is great.
I wonder if New Brunswick has a Cracker Barrel? If so I'm so there to get the Smokehouse Breakfast minus the nasty grits.

Mig, there is no Cracker Barrel in New Brunswick. The closest one is probably about 45 minutes to an hour away. But don't despair. When in New Brunswick you'll be in New Jersey, which is known as the Diner Capitol of the world. And Diners usually make an outstanding breakfast!

Those pic's of that Panelle looks good. Is that seafood to?

I really need to buy an Italian cook book or something cuz I have no idea what all those dishes you guys are talking about that I can't pronounce are. I feel so retarded.

No reason to feel that way, Mig! Just a different culture.

No seafood. It's made from chickpeas, which are a kind of bean. They are the main ingredient in hummus, as well as many Italian dishes.

hummus?

Here's a recipe, Mig. In my family, we don't eat them in bread, more as a side dish or sometimes as an appetizer.

1 pound (500 g) chick pea flour
Olive oil or rendered lard for frying
Salt
Lemon juice
Minced parsley (optional)
Stir the chick pea flour into 2 quarts (2 l) of lightly salted water over a moderate flame, and stir the mixture steadily in the same direction with a wooden spoon until you obtain a soft, lump-free paste. When the paste begins to pull away from the sides of the pot, turn it out into oiled wooden molds, or spread it out about 1/4 inch high (1/2 cm) on your work surface (dust the surface with parsley before you spread if you're including it). Once the paste has cooled, cut it into 1 by 3-inch (3x7 cm) rectangles and fry them in hot oil or lard.

To serve them, lay several rectangles on a slice of still-warm freshly baked bread, season them with lemon juice and salt to taste, top with another slice of bread, and enjoy.

Thanks SB.

I never heard of chick pea flour. Can you buy that at any grocery store? That reminds me of making dumplin's a little.

Why would you feel that way? As SB said it's different cultures and backgrounds. Do you really think that I knew what the hell britches was?

I guess you are right. I sure would like to learn that culture though. Speaking of differen't cultures and backgrounds have you had any TANGLEGUTS?

So why don't you go to a college in your area and see of they offer a course on Italian culture?

What the heck is tangleguts? Is it the intestines of a cow or something?

I had the same reaction as you when I first learned about them. It's a weed/flower that grows in the woods that comes out this time of year. Pick them wash them put a little salt and pour hot bacon grease over them. Fry up some kind of meat and taters and you have a hillbilly dinner.

Italians do something similar to that with fried Zuchinni flowers. "Fiori di Zucca Fritti."

I guess our backgrounds have a little in common huh? Ya know what I love fried Zuchinni. If it ever warms up and stays warm I'm looking forward to planting my veggie garden. Nothing better than fresh veggies

I'm not sure if you can buy chickpea flour in any grocery store.

As for zucchini flowers, they are delicious. My mom dips them in batter and deep fries them. They are out of this world. But we call them sciurilli (sci is pronounced like "sh").

I swear to God, you're starting to scare me. Actually, there aren't any Denny's in or around the city, but I'm on the Jersey tpke quite a bit so I've tried a few of the Denny's on the way down. They suck!! The ones in Florida are soooo much better.

Plus, there's always the early bird.....Uncle Leo ??

What part of FL. do you go to?

"Jerry! Hello!"

I've only eaten breakfast at Denny's. In Florida, there's no better place to start the day.

I might have to get a Grand Slam tomorrow or go to Cracker Barrel. Come with me SB and I'll give you my grits.