Wise Guys Cooking

I have had a lifelong love affair with Columbo, well certainly for as far back as I can remember. The American detective mystery TV fim series spanned from 1968-2003 with Peter Falk playing a friendly, verbose, dishevelled police detective of Italian descent. Columbo was always underestimated by his suspects due to his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absent mindedness. However, he had a formidable eye for detail and shrewdly solved all his cases.

Columbo was often in a diner eating his favourite meal of chilli with dry crackers which fascinated me as a child, having never had chilli. His other favourite was peanut butter and raisin sandwich.

TV and films contribute, albeit subconsciously, to our love of food, and many cookbooks have been written off of the back of films. One of the most iconic films ever was Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, the movie and book were based on gangster and mob member Henry Hill. Throughout the film we see various members of the cast cooking and eating, a famous scene includes Hill and his mob colleagues whipping up a truly delicious meat sauce and famously slicing the garlic wafer thin with a razor.

Scorsese's own mother Catherine played a part in the film, she also cooked the on screen food in true traditional style.

Hill went into witness protection but published a book: The Wise Guy Cookbook, he capitalised on the notoriety of the cooking scenes within the film by producing recipes like: Sunday gravy (the famous meat sauce). The book is full of recipes from the old country interjected with colourful tales of his mobster life. Unfortunately I don't own a copy but I am on the lookout for one!

Naturally I own the complete box set of Columbo and happened to be watching an episode where the lieutenant makes himself a peanut butter and raisin sandwich. To all intents and purposes this should be quite a healthy snack, peanut butter is a relatively unprocessed food which is rich in nutrients and has a decent amount of protein. However, some commercial peanut butters contain partially hydrogenated oils, sugar and other nasties. Many health shops and good supermarkets now stock organic peanut butter and you can buy pure organic peanut butter online by the tub.

Raisins are a healthy member of the dry fruits category due to many nutritional values and health benefits. I always feel as if this sandwich is a naughty indulgence instead of which it is actually quite healthy and very delicious. Obviously try to use decent bread, wholemeal, granary or rustic as opposed to an over processed white sliced loaf, a great snack for children when they are calling for crisps or biscuits.

I alternatively have my peanut butter and raisins on toast.

What films or TV have inspired your choices of food? I'd be interested to hear your comments!

Well, I'm off to Spain tomorrow for 10 days so I will catch up with you all upon my return, take care.

'If your mother cooks Italian food, why would you go out to a restaurant?'
-Martin Scorsese

Love Donna xxxxxx