# @alkemy.x on Facebook

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.facebook.com/1508187694641048/posts/2518297061727725
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55144938-alkemyx-facebook
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/4cd3a12f8c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-07-12T14:57:00.000+00:00

## Caption

Happy #TBT people! Today we bring you a delectable #LabDay from Producer, Brian Opila. Brian is taking us back to his childhood when he learned to cook from his Italian mother and grandfather. 

"Food is the ultimate barrier breaker. It brings people together from all walks of life to enjoy the most simple of pleasures, every person loves eating damn good food.” - Brian Opila

Not only did our Philadelphia office devour the delicious braciole, but Brian was generous enough to provide the recipe. We know what you’re all doing this weekend! 

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Cooking is one of my favorite passions and is in my blood. My grandfather and my mother are both full blooded Italians and like with most Italians, everything revolves around the kitchen and eating. 

My grandfather owned a restaurant in the Bronx until 1973 when he and my grandmother decided to move to Florida. He started a catering company in Jupiter and mostly worked with local churches as charity, brining smiles to all he crossed paths with right up to his death in 2006. Every time I cook, it makes me smile as I know my grandfather’s aura is with me and that I’m continuing his quest of making people happy through food.

I grew up in the kitchen, cooking with both my grandfather and mother, soaking up all their valuable knowledge along the way. I learned a whole bunch of dos and don’ts but most importantly, the reason why we cook. Food is the ultimate barrier breaker. It brings people together from all walks of life to enjoy the most simple of pleasures, every person loves eating damn good food. 

Before we get to what I chose to cook, I want to share some simple cooking tips that will help every person with their cooking.

1) LESS IS MORE!! Spices, sauces and the like are all great and help enhance flavors but you want to let the tastes of your main ingredients shine. You can always add more spices and sauces but you can’t take it away if you add too much. So start small and slowly add as needed
2) When cooking vegetables, the goal is to undercook the veggies as nothing is worse than mushy veggies.  Cook them fast and on high heat. You can always cook them more if need be but once they are overcooked, they’re garbage.
3) A simple trick to make your vegetables taste great and different is to sauté/steam them with a little bit of chicken stock. Sautéing garlic in the oil before you add the veggie does wonders as well. 
4) Get creative! Use recipes as guidelines but feel free to experiment. This isn’t baking where everything needs to be exact. That’s why cooking is the way more creative (and better) medium between the two in my opinion.
5) Cooking is therapy. Let all your worries melt away and totally escape life for a bit. 

Now on to what I cooked. I chose to cook my grandfather and mother’s take on the Italian classic, braciole. For those of you who don’t know what braciole is, it’s basically a thin slice of meat (usually flank steak, pork, veal or chicken) that is pounded as thin as possible, then rolled up with a breadcrumb mixture in the middle that is cooked in a tomato sauce. The main difference with the typical recipe and my family’s is that my family uses no tomato sauce. We feel the flavor gets lost in the tomato sauce and does a disservice to the braciole. I went one step further and added a little twist to my family’s recipe. If time allows, I slow cook the braciole in a crock pot or in the oven on the lowest heat setting instead of baking at 350 as I feel the meat melts in your mouth better when it is slow cooked.

Here is the recipe, happy cooking and enjoy!

Panzarino Style Braciole
**I didn’t list out exact portions of the ingredients because I go by feel and taste as I go. I know some people will not feel comfortable doing this but let go! Trust your instincts, nose and taste buds to be your guide. Trust me, you’ll be happy you did.**

1. Mix Pecorino Romano cheese, seasoned Panko Italian bread crumbs, minced parsley, minced garlic, minced basil, freshly cracked pepper and salt and a dash of olive oil together.
2. Lay the thin slices of pork (ask your butcher at the grocery store to cut you thin slices of pork for making bracioles, they’ll know what to do) out flat on a work surface and pound the pork with a cooking mallet.
3. Spread the bread crumb mixture evenly on the pork. Lay a thin slice of sharp provolone on each piece of pork.
4. Starting at one short end, roll up the pork (like a jelly roll) and stick a couple toothpicks through each roll up so it’s stays nice and tight. Season the outside with a tiny amount of sea salt and pepper.
5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat and add pork roll ups.
6. Cook, turning until browned on all sides.
7. Add about a ½ cup of dry white wine (like Pino Grigio) to a slow cooker (crock pot). Add the browned pork roll ups and set the slow cooker to the low cook setting. Cover the crock pot and cook for 6 hours or until the pork is cooked. 
8. Remove the braciole from the crock pot and transfer to a serving plate. Voila and enjoy!

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## Tags

tbt, labday

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