Maurizio’s Restaurant is a little slice of southern Italy in the
heart of downtown Morgan Hill. Step inside and you’ll be warmly
greeted by owner chef Maurizio Cutrignelli. He’s a man with a
buoyant Italian personality and winning smile. Everyone in town
hails him by his first name:
”
Mar-EATS-e-o!
”
Maurizio’s Restaurant is a little slice of southern Italy in the heart of downtown Morgan Hill. Step inside and you’ll be warmly greeted by owner chef Maurizio Cutrignelli. He’s a man with a buoyant Italian personality and winning smile. Everyone in town hails him by his first name: “Mar-EATS-e-o!”
Maurizio grew up in the Italian town of Bari. At the age of 15, he entered the Instituto Professionale Alberghiero di Stato Armando Perotti – a culinary school for chefs, waiters and bartenders. There were no chef-student openings at the time of his enrollment, so he began classes in bartending and waiting tables. But his passion for cooking led him to study the culinary arts on the side.
Maurizio moved to the City of Mushrooms in 1993. He waited on tables at local Italian restaurant Casa Mia while learning English. The next year, he opened a deli called Piccolo. His gourmet sandwiches became the talk of the town – people lined up every day for them. Silicon Valley’s Metro Magazine praised the Italian deli, proclaiming it offered “The Best Sandwiches in the South Valley.”
In 1998, Maurizio bought a “quaint little house” on First Street and he and his father, Michele, painted and renovated the place into a charming restaurant. Maurizio was so famous in Morgan Hill, he decided he had no choice but to name his new eatery after himself.
Despite his modesty, his menu is excellent. His passion for cooking comes across in the cuisine. As he quotes one of his favorite cooking teachers, Professor Ponzoni: “Make your customers happy – they will come back and smile.”
Scaloppine di Vitella ai Funghi
Ingredients:
4 veal pieces (3 oz each) – one per person
Olive oil
Flour
1/2-cup chopped mushrooms (“any kind you-a like”)
Salt and pepper
1-cup Marsala wine
Cold butter
1/4-cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tablespoons dairy cream
Two sprigs of fresh chopped parsley
One shredded carrot (for garnish)
Step 1: Pound the meat to the desired thickness. Heat a large frying pan on high temperature on the stove. Pour in about 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Step 2: Lightly flour both sides of the veal. You next want to test to determine if the oil is hot enough for cooking. Gently, dip a small portion of the bottom end of one of the veal pieces into the oil. If the oil starts bubbling and “spitting,” it is hot enough. Step 3: Place all four veal pieces into the pan and sear the meat to lock in the juices. You’ll need to cook the meat only about 30 seconds for each side, using tongs to turn each piece over. When done, take the veal pieces out of the pan and set aside on a plate to wait for later.
Step 4: In the same pan as the meat was just cooked in, place all the mushrooms into the hot oil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on top of the mushrooms. Keep turning the mushrooms occasionally until you start to see them get brown. When the mushrooms are “browned” to your satisfaction, drain off any excess oil.
Step 5: Take the pan of cooked mushrooms off the stove and set on a cool rack away from anything that might be flammable. Be really careful with this next step as you’re dealing with alcohol and heat. Pour a cup of sweet Marsala wine into the mixture. When almost all the alcohol is burned off, add the cold butter and sun-dried tomatoes and return the pan to the stove. Allow the butter to melt into the mixture, creating a rich brown sauce that will reduce as the liquid evaporates. In a minute or two of cooking, you’ll find you have a thick brown gravy mixture. Add the half-cooked veal over the mushrooms in the pan. Step 6: Cook the veal in the mushrooms for about two additional minutes from the time you put them in. Take the pan off the stove when the meat is cooked to perfection. Add chopped parsley into the mushrooms, stirring it into the gravy mixture. (Cooking tip: “Cook veal too little, it’ll be tough. Cook it too long, and it’s a-going to be tough,” Maurizio says.)
Serving suggestion: You can serve the veal and mushrooms simply as it is, or on top of a plate of freshly cooked fettucine. Add about a tablespoon of shredded carrots on the side of each plate to decorate with an orange color.
Maurizio’s Restaurant
25 East First St., Morgan Hill
Visit MauriziosCuisine.com for more information.
