Foodie Fridays: What Would Al Capone Eat?

You know the name. Capone. Al Capone.  In Prohibition-Era Chicago, Al Capone was listed as Public Enemy # 1.  Many feared him and the legend lives on today.  Yet, there is one person who knew the man, personally.

Deirdre Marie Capone, Al's grand-niece, spent many Sunday dinners with her grandfather's younger brother and remembers him in quite a different way.  "This is the man who taught me how to swim, traded "knock-knock" jokes with me and someone I helped cook spaghetti" she remembers.

Al Capone and Deirdre Marie Capone

Ms. Capone has written a wonderful book about her family and her memories of Uncle Al called "Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story From Inside His Family."

Ms. Capone has generously allowed us to reprint some of her uncle's favorite recipes.  Being Italian and living on Chicago's South side he couldn't help but have a love for good, comfort food.

Try out some of the recipes below for yourself, then get the book and try more! It's "an offer you can't refuse."


"The two foods I missed most after moving away from Chicago were Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Italian beef in particular is simply not available anywhere else. But now you can make it yourself using Al Capone’s recipe. It is hard to find the giardiniera, but it is available in Italian stores and is usually labeled “Chicago-Style Giardiniera.” ~ Deirdre Marie Capone

Al’s Recipe for Italian Beef 

 3-4 pound rump roast
6 (or more) cloves garlic
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp salt
½ tsp onion powder
 ¼ cup chopped parsley
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
 ½ tsp paprika
 ¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp thyme
6 hard crusted rolls or a loaf of Italian bread
3 red or green peppers
¼ cup olive oil
 Hot giardiniera

Preheat oven to 225°. Mix dry ingredients together. Mince garlic. Place meat into a roasting pan and sprinkle with dry ingredients evenly. Place minced garlic on top of meat. Cover roasting pan tightly with cover or foil and place in oven and cook for 6-8 hours. Wash peppers and slice, removing seeds and stem. Fry them in olive oil until limp.

After cooking, remove the foil and break meat apart with a fork. Pile on bread and top with fried peppers and hot giardiniera.


Al Capone’s Biscotti 

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
 ½ cup butter
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
2 ounces anisette

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter with sugar. Beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Mix all dry ingredients together and sift into creamed ingredients. Add the anisette and mix well again. Shape into 4 loaves and bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on cutting board. Cut immediately into ½ inch slices. Place slices, cut side up, on the baking sheet and place in low heated oven to toast. Turn them to toast both sides. Cool and serve.

To find out where to get the book visit www.UncleAlCapone.com.









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Photo credits: Book cover photo courtesy of Deirdre Marie Capone - "Uncle Al: The Untold Story From Inside His Family" : All rights reserved
Photo credit:  Al Capone photo courtesy of Talk Radio with Meria Heller (www.meria.net)
Recipe credits: Deirdre Marie Capone - "Uncle Al: The Untold Story From Inside His Family": All rights reserved
Quotation credit: Deirdre Marie Capone - "Uncle Al: The Untold Story From Inside His Family": All rights reserved