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Benvenuti a Cucina Partenopea!

Cucina Partenopea is a private catering company and personal chef service specializing in intimate dinner parties of one to twenty people. Chef/Owner Antonio Capezzuto prepares authentic Neapolitan cuisine in your home, recreating the Southern Italian casareccio dining experience – homemade and at home.

Sit back, relax, and let Antonio and Cucina Partenopea cook for you, your family, and your friends in the comfort of your own home, filling the rooms with the sights, sounds, smells and, of course, tastes of an authentic Italian kitchen.

When you hire Antonio to cook in your home you are entering into a gastronomic partnership. Create your own menu or let Antonio guide you through a wide variety of antipasti, pasta dishes, main courses, and vegetable dishes. Choose the wine to go with your meal or have Antonio suggest some from his list of preferred Italian wines. Antonio will come to your house ready to cook and serve your meal at the hour you decide. Alternatively, ask about dinners hosted by Antonio in various venues around the East Bay.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN CUISINE
The culinary tradition of southern Italy holds an esteemed place in the ranks of Italian cooking. In fact, when most people think of Italian food they are thinking of dishes native to Naples and the southern Italian region of Campania. Spaghetti alle vongole with clams fresh from the Gulf, pasta al pomodoro with tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil of Vesuvius, and of course the famous pizza margherita with its simple flavors and colors of the Italian flag, are all staples of the Neapolitan menu. Antonio takes these classic recipes and lets them be, changing nothing but the provenance of the ingredients. He believes in buying local whenever possible, cooking with choice produce from local organic farms. Fortunately, the Bay Area is home to an enormous selection of fresh, local, organic produce, meats, and grains, and Antonio is forging relationships with several local farmers.

The magic of Neapolitan cuisine and the Mediterranean diet lies with their simplicity. Dishes tend to incorporate a single spice, a single protein, a single vegetable, and either garlic or onion in small amounts. The magic of Antonio’s dinners lies in the warm atmosphere created by eating delicious, healthy food that is cooked and eaten at home. No long lines, no loud restaurants, just the honouring of family and community through food, through eating together in one another’s homes.

MENU
A typical meal alla cucina partenopea involves:

•   antipasto e aperitivo: Italian appetizers can be meat- or fish-based or vegetarian. The range from assorted salumi (cold cuts) and rustici (various meats, vegetables, and grains deep-fried), to anchovies and sardines, bruschette, and, octopus salad. Neapolitans like a glass of prosecco before dinner.
•   primo piatto: The first course is often the only course at an Italian weekday lunch. This is the pasta course, though risotto and soup are also featured. Typical Neapolitan pastas include pasta e ceci (with chickpeas), pasta with potatoes and provola cheese, pasta e fagioli (with white beans), pasta e lenticchie (pasta with lentils) gnocchi alla sorrentina (potato dumplings with tomato sauce and mozzarella), pasta al forno (baked pasta such as lasagne and cannelloni), zuppa di broccoli e lenticchie (broccoli rabe and lentil soup).
•   secondo piatto: The second or main course is usually meat- or fish-based, but vegetarian options also exist such as melanzane alla parmigiana (eggplant parmesan) and polpette di zucchini (zucchini “meat”balls). Meat dishes include la genovese (beef in onion sauce), bracciola (beef wrapped around cheese, pancetta (Italian bacon), and pine nuts in tomato sauce), petto di pollo all’arancia (chicken breast in red orange sauce), and spezzatino di maiale con piselli (pork with peas and onions). Fish plates include calamari fritti (fried calamari), pesce all’acqua pazza (fish baked in a light tomato and wine sauce), and polpo alla Luciana (octopus in tomato sauce).
•   contorno: Southern Italy boasts the most varied and tasty vegetable side dishes. They come steamed, fried, sautéed, grilled, sott’olio (preserved in oil and sometimes vinegar), and baked, and feature all the colors of the vegetable palette. Simple salads are also available.
•   dolci: Neapolitans (along with their Sicilian compatriots) are master pasticcieri (pastry chefs) and tend to eat certain sweets at specific times of the year. Nevertheless, fruit is the most common dessert choice, especially pineapple .
•   pane, vino, acqua: no Italian meal is complete without the scarpetta (the lapping up of sauces with hunks of bread). Wine and water are the near universal beverages. Other non-alcoholic beverages available upon request.
•   digestivo: it is an uncontested conviction among Italians that a nice, strong grappa or amaro helps with digestion. In the smaller, more casareccia (home-style) eating establishments, the owner usually plonks down a bottle of grappa for the guests to draw from according to their digestive needs.

Cucina Partenopea
http://cucinapartenopea.com/
Reservations (510) 417-9670
antonio@cucinapartenopea.com