Customer Reviews (6)

Disappointed
This is the first time over a number of years that I have been disappointed in the purchase of a book.The cover of the book had big creases in it and the corner of the book cover was turned up.There was also writing on the inside.I always select a book in "good" or "very good" condition and this was my first disappointment.

Everything looks as good as the photo, and tastes like Grandma made it
3 couples spent ten days in a house in Italy - we cooked all our meals, using this cookbook. Every meal was better than the next, even my first try at homemade pasta. Everything turned out like its picture, and we kept saying, "This tastes like what my Grandma made!"When we got home, we each bought a copy, and several for gifts.Don't let out-of-print stop you - get a used copy and enjoy! Simple ingredients, simple instructions, fantastic taste. It's printed for American cooks, in American/English measurements.

Most satisfied with both book and shipping
I was very satisfied with the timely arrival of the book as well as the excellent quality of it--practically new!

Excellent!
Can't get a better book for simple Italian cooking. Particularly if you want "real" Italian food.The pictures are great as well.

This is the best cookbook I own.
I collect cookbooks and especially love Italian ones (both of my parents grew up in Italy). When my friend bought this for me, I was hesitant that a "sale table" book would be any good.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Every recipe I've tried from this book has the approval of my Italian-raised mom (a big deal to me) and the adoration of my non-Italian foodie friends, as well. The step-by-step pictures help me make sure I'm "on track" with any new recipe and the gorgeous food pictures certainly encourage me to try new recipes, as well.

My favorites:
Parmesan Risotto
Suppli
Baked eggs with tomatoes

The bolognese is good and I've been tweaking the recipe each time to get it closer to my Nonna's recipe, but even straight out the gate it was a pretty good facsimile. ... Read more

Product Description
Linguine with Fresh Clam Sauce. Roast Chicken with Bread, Sausage, and Saffron Stuffing. Juicy Meat Loaf with Red Wine and Tomato Glaze. Winter Squash Stew with Green Olives and Garlic. Orange-Almond Ring Cake. Italian Cheesecake. Award-winning Italian cookbook author Julia della Croce offers 125 mouthwatering, comforting dishes in this enticing book. From Welcoming Dishes and Bowlfuls of Soup to Pasta by Heart and Everyday Sauces; from Meat, Fish, and Seafood Entrees to Vegetable Accompaniments; from Sunday Treats to Baby's First Meals--all your family and friends are accounted for.Comfort food is casual and relaxed, designed to sustain the body and uplift the spirit. Readers will find that this collection of recipes reflects the rustic, simple elegance of the best in Italian home cooking. Today's recovering economy and fast-paced lifestyle make it even more important for us to remember the exquisite sense of well-being, the warmth and excitement we once derived from eating food slowly and lovingly cooked at home. This book is an homage to that kind of food; to the kitchens of the Italian people, the author's own family of devoted cooks included, who have developed and preserved Italian cooking through generations.Illustrated throughout with beautiful full-color photography by ChristopherHirsheimer, ITALIAN HOME COOKING is a must-have for all cooks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

True Comfort
What a nice cookbook!Ms. della Croce has a relaxed and confident approach to her food, and you can tell its HER food.Lovely, honest stuff & great pictures too.

Simple and delicious
Easy to make, delicious dishes - what more could you ask of a cookbook? Julia della Croce has delivered another well thought out, inspiring collection of recipes. ... Read more

Product Description

Rome is the most beloved city in Italy, if not the world. Rich in culture, art, and charm, the Eternal City is also home to some of the most delicious and accessible cooking in all of Italy. Influenced by both the earthy peasant fare of the surrounding hillsides and the fish from the nearby Mediterranean, Roman food makes the most of local ingredients and simple, age-old techniques. Yet while Italian cookbooks abound, no American book has focused on Romes unique and varied fare. In this beautifully illustrated cookbook, author David Downie and photographer Alison Harris offer a comprehensive collection of more than 125 Roman recipes, exploring the lively, uncomplicated food traditionally served in Roman homes and trattorie. From well-known dishes like Spaghetti Carbonara, to popular snack food like Pizza Bianca, to distinctive specialties like Roast Suckling Lamb, each recipe in Cooking the Roman Way is simple, authentic, and easy to make at home. With four-color photographs of landmarks, markets and food, stories about and profiles of food vendors, entertaining anecdotes, and a food lovers guide to the streets of the city, this book paints a vivid picture of Rome and the food that has sustained it for millennia.Amazon.com Review
David Downie's delectable Cooking the Roman Way begins with an irresistible invitation: "Close your eyes and imagine you're in Rome, seated al fresco in the sun on a rooftop terrace...." This is a must-have cookbook for anyone who loves Italy and its food, serious cooks and armchair cooks alike. The recipes are simple, well-researched, and perfectly authentic. Downie delivers history and tradition so vividly you feel as though you went to Rome and learned these facts for yourself, and Alison Harris's photos help make that impression all the more real.

The more than 100 recipes are divided by course. Antipasti include the venerable Sweet-And-Sour Baby Pearl Onions, even more addictive than, Downie warns, Farro Risotto Balls with Basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano, little deep-fried nuggets of comfort food. Primi piatti include the aromatic Fennel and Bean Soup with Cherry Tomatoes, Mint, Basil, and Sage, and plenty of pasta recipes, any of which would make a great meal. Secondi cover meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, and include the marvelously rich Roman Oxtail Stew, and Spicy Boned Lamb Leg Sautéed with Rosemary, Wine, and Vinegar. Contorni are vegetables and side dishes, such as Sweet Pepper Rolls Stuffed with Cheese and Anchovy, and dolci include desserts such as Ricotta Lemon Fritters with Sambuca and Fresh Strawberry Tiramisu. Beautiful enough to give as a gift, easy enough to use every day, Downie will definitely have you Cooking the Roman Way. --Leora Y. Bloom ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Cooking the Roman Way: Authentic Recipes from the Home Cooks and Trattorias of Rome
Excellent service, prompt delivery, excellent condition
as described, packaged well.
Would use again.

Simple, authentic & fabulous recipes!
This is a completely enjoyable book.The recipes are authentic and accessible.The photos and stories are wonderful as well.Anyone who has been to Sant'Eustachio for coffee will appreciate his quest for the secrets of the Gran Caffe!All of the recipes I've tried have been fabulous.Make sure to try the Gnocchi alla Romana and the Carciofi alla Romana.They are perfect!

Excellent Collection of Mainstays
Everything I eat comes almost exclusively from this book. Downie does an excellent job in presenting an unbiased, uncompromising view.

I would be very pleased to read a book on the raising, selection, and slaughtering of swine detailing the curing processes used in rural America for Italian-style deli meats.

I think David Downie is just the man for this task.

Awesome, authentic Roman recipes
Many excellent recipes with a bit of history thrown in.The Tiramisu recipe is worth the cost of the book.

indispensable guide
I bought this book before a planned trip to Rome for the stories of restaurants and food stalls and eating in Rome. Then I realized how wonderful the recipes are. This book was an indispensable addition for our trip to Rome - I took along a list of restaurants and dishes to try, which I would never have known about without this book. And one of my best purchases in Rome was an abundance of dried spices from the Campo de Fiori spice man, one of many colorful locals featured in "Cooking the Roman Way"! Back at home, it is a favorite choice for finding great recipes and I have given several copies as gifts to serious cooks and Italophiles alike. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Easy and Delicious!
I love this book. I had it before but misplaced it when we moved. Since I can't live without these recipes, I had to buy it again. The recipes are simple, and the directions are easy to understand. I highly recommend this book.

common recipes, could be found in many other italian recipe books etc.
this book of recipes is alright, especially for just looking over to get an idea of a very simple italian like meal to make. some tast recipes but nothing really special though.

my favorite cookbook
Terrific receipies, photos, food.I use it all the time.I bought this copy for my daughter because she asks for the receipe everytime I cooked from it when she visits.

Fantastic
I have made about 10 recipes out of this cookbook.They have all been great.I prepare food (chop, peel, etc) ahead of time because I'm busy.Once I'm ready to cook it takes about 30-45 minutes for most meals to be ready to serve.Portions are generous and easily serve more than 4 as noted.Some of the ingrediant lists are long, but still easy.

Simple and Authentic
I lived in Italy for 2 years, and this book has some dishes that I remembered having in Milan and Genoa. There are no extravigant ingredients, everything is simple, and the big color pictures for each recipe make it the best Italian cookbook I own. ... Read more

Product Description
Arthur Schwartz, popular radio host, cookbook author, and veteran restaurant critic, invites you to join him as he celebrates the food and people of Naples and Campania. Encompassing the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, and Salerno, the internationally famous resorts of the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Ischia -- and, of course, Naples itself, Italy's third largest and most exuberant city -- Campania is the cradle of Italian-American cuisine.

In Naples at Table, Arthur Schwartz takes a fresh look at the region's major culinary contributions to the world -- its pizza, dried pasta, seafood, and vegetable dishes, its sustaining soups and voluptuous desserts -- and offers the recipes for some of Campania's lesser-known specialties as well. Always, he provides all the techniques and details you need to make them with authenticity and ease.

Naples at Table is the first cookbook in English to survey and document the cooking of this culturally important and gastronomically rich area. Schwartz spent years traveling to Naples and throughout the region, making friends, eating at their tables, working with home cooks and restaurant chefs, researching the origins of each recipe. Here, then, are recipes that reveal the truly subtle, elegant Neapolitan hand with such familiar dishes as baked ziti, eggplant parmigiana, linguine with clam sauce, and tomato sauces of all kinds.

This is the Italian food the world knows best, at its best -- bold and vibrant flavors made from few ingredients, using the simplest techniques. Think Sophia Loren -- and check out her recipe for Chicken Caccistora! Discover the joys of preparing a timballo like the pasta-filled pastry in the popular film Big Night. Or simply rediscover how truly delicious, satisfying, and healthful Campanian favorites can be -- from vegetable dished such as stuffed peppers and garlicky greens to pasta sauces you can make while the spaghetti boils or the Neapolitans' famous long-simmered ragu, redolent with the flavors of meat and red wine. Then there's the succulent baked lamb Neapolitans love to serve to company, the lentils and pasta they make for family meals, baked pastas that go well beyond the red-sauce stereotype, their repertoire of deep-fried morsels, the pan of pork and pickled peppers so dear to Italian-American hearts, and the most delicate meatballs on earth. All are wonderfully old-fashioned and familiar, yet in hands of a Neapolitan, strikingly contemporary and ideal for today's busy cooks and nutrition-minded sybarites.

Finally, what better way to feed a sweet tooth than with a Neapolitan dessert? Ice cream and other frozen fantasies were brought to their height in Baroque Naples. Baba, the rum-soaked cake, still reigns in every pastry shop. Campamnians invented ricotta cheesecake, and Arthur Schwartz predicts that the region's easily assembled refrigerator cakes -- delizie or delights -- are soon going to replace tiramisu on America's tables. In any case, one bite of zuppa inglese, a Neapolitan take on English trifle, and you'll be singing "That's Amore."

A trip with Arthur Schwartz to Naples and its surrounding regions is the next best thing to being there. Join him as he presents the finest traditional and contemporary foods of the region, and shares myth, legend, history, recipes, and reminiscences with American fans, followers, and fellow lovers of all things Italian.

I acclimated quickly to Naples. The palm trees in the park along the sea seduced me. The decrpiet Baroque splendor of the city stunned me...And, of course, there was the food. The catering shops carried all kinds of macaroni-filled pastries, individual size and huge ones to cut a wedge from; cakes of fried pasta, fried balls of rice, stacks of vegetable frittatas, baked lasagne, and ziti. There were fry shops with fritters and croquettes, trendy pizzerias with long pies sold by the meter, and traditional pizzerias, every surface white marble, where I first learned to eat pizza with a knife and fork. I indulged in pastries and baba every morning and afternoon, drank short, powerful coffeess all day, and finished each evening with a stroll and a gelato. I ate linguine with clams oin Posillpo (then took a nap on a jetty on the sea); drank Gredo di Tufo (whoite winer) and stuffed myself and buffalo mozzarella at every opportunity. I could see right away it was a tough place to eat through, so I kept going back for more.

There were still warm almond-studded taralli, rings of crisp lard dough, from a street vendor by the sea, pasta and beans on a nineteenth-century trattoria, lamb ragu and cavatelli in the hills of Benevento, goat ragu and fusilli in the Monti Alburni, squid and potatoes on Capri, rabbit braised in tomatoes on Ischia, fish stew at the beach near Gaeta, the lemon chicken in Ravello.
from the introductionAmazon.com Review
Naples gave the world pizza and spaghetti with tomatosauce. In Naples at Table, Arthur Schwartz reveals theunexpected breadth and depth of dishes to be enjoyed in Naples andthroughout Campania, the rich region where this culinarilyunderappreciated city is located.

Campania is the home ofmozzarella. In fact, by Italian law, only cheese made from the milk ofthe water buffalo of Campania should be bear this name; the cow's-milkcheese we call mozzarella is more rightly called fior di latte,"flower of the milk."

To most people, southern Italy is the land ofred sauce, from the light salsa insalata, made with rawtomatoes marinated in olive oil and seasoned with salt and basil, tohefty, long-simmered, meat-flavored ragu. Schwartz introduces us toLa Genovese, an onion-based sauce Neapolitans began makingcenturies before the tomato arrived from the New World so they couldpair it with its soul mate, pasta.

Anyone interested in Italianfood will find the more than 250 recipes and the almost overwhelmingwealth of information in Naples at Table fascinating. There ishistory, going back to the ancient Greeks, and stories as onlySchwartz can recount them. One of the best is how Zuppa Inglesemay have gotten its name. Discover Woodman-Style Baked Pasta with MeatSauce and Mushrooms; lusty Baccalà "Arrecanato," a casserole of saltcod and potatoes; an authentic Zuppa Inglese; and so much moreas you travel around Campania with Schwartz, meeting chefs and homecooks from Naples and Salerno, Benevento up in the mountains, outalong the Amalfi coast, and the jewel-like islands of Ischia andCapri. --Dana Jacobi ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania
Via Amazon - Excellent service, prompt delivery, excellent condition
as described, packaged well.
Would use again.

Truly authentic recipes
I purchased this for myself about 2 months ago from amazon.The recipes are wonderful and delicious.My family is from the city of Naples Italy and everytime I try a recipe everyone comments on how delicious it tastes.Best cookbook I ever purchased.

as explained
product came as advertised. took awhile to ship but still within in the explained time period

Naples at Table
Great book with local history and regional classic recipes.Reading this book made me feel like I was back in Italy.Mangia!

great book
Everything about this book is great from the layout, the writing, quick facts and fantatsic recipes.This is destined to be a new classic in my house. ... Read more

Product Description
The Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy is home to several of the world's most renowned gastronomic cities - the capital, Bologna, has given its name to the famed Bolognese sauce; from Parma comes proscuitto, the best-known pork product of Italy; Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has been made in Parma and Reggio-Emilia for over 700 years; and, Modena has been producing unrivalled balsamic vinegar for centuries. This culinary heartland is also well-known for its delicate home-made pastas. Chef-instructor and author Giovanna Bellia LaMarca guides readers through the wealth of local delights in Emilia-Romagna. From antipasti as simple as melon with prosciutto to lesser-known specialities like chestnut fritters, the recipes take the home chef on a journey across the region. The next stop is home-made tagliatelle noodles and a rich, hearty Bolog-nese Ragu. To end on a sweet note, try a unique dessert like Torta Ferrarese, a confection made with fresh egg noodles layered with almonds, sugar, and butter that hails from the town of Ferrara. A section on cooking techniques teaches you the correct way to peel chestnuts, clean leeks, soak dried beans, and much more.Also included in this title are guides to the wines of the region and Italian ingredients, a resource section with speciality retailers, and a bibliography. It features a section on cooking techniques and a Glossary of Italian ingredients and list of speciality sources. ... Read more

Product Description
If there is one cookbook that belongs on th e bookshelfof every kitchen, it's an Italian cookbook. No other cuisine in theworl d holds a wider appeal to professional and amateur cooks. Also,with the success of such recent books as Under the Tuscan Sun andBella Tuscany by Frances Mayes, the in terest in regional Italiancooking and culture is at an all-time high.

Lavishly designed, oversized and with easy-to-follow, step-by-stepinstructions for over 230 recipes, Regional Italian Cuisine, writtenby a quartet of esteemed cooking w riters and editors, travels to andbeyond the sun-drenched fields of Tuscany to feat ure dishes thatcover other Italian regions known for delicious food.

Twenty-one Italian regions are broken up into eight chapters. Eachchapter includes an introduction to the historical, cultural andgeographical impact on the local cui sine. Along with understandinghow the cuisine has evolved, a glimpse of the persona lity andlifestyle of the people of each region is provided. Tips for culinarysightseeing and events are also included. Finally, typical regionalrecipes are presented.

Readers will enjoy learning how to cook risotto dishes and make uniquecheeses and sausages from the Po Valley. The Abruzzi, Molise andApulia regions are also included , with mouth-watering meat and fishdishes and instructions for how to season meals with locally grownpeppers and a dizzying array of olive oils, most now available inNorth America. Of course no festival of food would be completewithout an explo ration of the food of the Marche, Umbria and mostnotably Tuscany. With this beautif ul, user-friendly cookbook, readerswill have so much fun preparing dinner that in n o time many will bedelighting in one of the book's most treasured recipe's Bisteccaal Fiorentina.

Along with regional and local fare, Italian food lovers will bepreparing dishes from soup to nuts, associated with such ancientItalian locales as Genoa, Milan, Bologn a, Florence, Rome and Naples,thanks to the clearly presente d recipes. Full-color photographs ofItaly's breathtaking cityscapes, coastal region s and countrysidefurther enhance the culinary experience.

Books on regional European cooking and culture continue to be popular,with such recent titles as Encore Provence by Peter Mayle and BellaTuscany by Frances Mayes ensc onced on the New York Times bestsellerlist. Now with the publication of Regional It alian Cuisine there isfinally a book that will please the professional chef, amateur cookand lover of fine dining. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The best!
Made this purchase after a recent trip to Tuscany.This is the best cook book that I own.These recipes really take me back to Italy.

Regional Italian Cuisine
Excellent service, prompt delivery, excellent condition
as described, packaged well.
Would use again.

great book
I have to say that this book is great.I am takng Italian cooking classes and this book came in handy quite a few times for there authentic recipes and learning the regions that they come from.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to cook Italian.

great book..
i've had this book for over a year now and it's AMAZING..what i also think is nice is that it gives the name in both italian and english, in case you ever are in italy and want to order it..i think that everyone should familiarize themselves w. the real thing and not the americanized garbage that they offer at your local pizzeria..if you ever spend time in italy, you'll find out that there are pasta dishes that we eat here that they DON'T eat there..(don't expect to find penne alla vodka, fettucini alfredo, etc.. they're american creations)why go out for pasta when you can make it fresh at home..?get this book!!

Best Authentic Italian Cookbook
There is no Italian cookbook that comes close to this one. This is authentic Italian Cuisine from every region in Italy. I am Italian and have been cooking for 50 years and I have many Italian cookbooks and some supposedly Italian cookbooks. When I got this one, I gave away most of my other Italian cookbooks. This covers every main dish from each region with specific instructions on how to make it. The price is very reasonable also for the ONLY Italian cookbook you will ever need. ... Read more

Product Description
Toscana Mia is the next best thing to visiting Villa Delia, the best-selling author’s inn and cooking school in a refurbished 16th-century Tuscan farmhouse. A celebration of the good life, Tuscan style, the book features the dishes Umberto Menghi watched his mother and grandmother prepare in their farmhouse kitchen, or ate at village banquets on celebration days, while growing up in Pontedera, Tuscany. Menghi has gathered over 100 authentic recipes from family, friends, and culinary associates around the region, and has put them in context, historically, geographically, and culturally. Included are tips on handling herbs, selecting olive oils, cooking beans the authentic Tuscan way, and exploring the wines of Tuscany. Over 100 photographs are featured. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Pure Italian
The recipes are very good and easy to follow.The basics in the back of the book are fabulous for making up ahead of time to keep on hand.The Tiramisu recipes is really easy to make and very delicious.The stuffed zucchini are very healthy and taste great, even the kids will these!I highly recommend this cookbook.

Excellent reference forfans of Tuscan cooking
If you have been to Toscano and loved the food, then buy this book.Reading this book and looking at the pictures is just like being transported back to Tuscany.If you are looking to expand your collection of authentic Italian cookbooks this book will make an excellent addition to your collection.

The directions are well written and easy to follow.Each of the recipes that I have tried has been fabulous.The Mushroom Carpaccio is a knock out of a recipe.The recipe for Pureed Vegetable Soup with Parmesan Foam is also a winner.If you are fan of potatoes, the Mashed Potatoes baked with eggs and cheese is also fabulous.

There is a recipe in the back of the book for making your own wine vinegar that I am dying to try.Who knew that you could make a mother from broken spaghetti?That recipe has me really intrigued; I just haven't tried it yet.

I love the stories of growing up in Tuscany, and the beautiful pictures of the Tuscan countryside.This book is a winner for anyone that has traveled to Tuscany and fallen in love with the food and the people.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves Tuscany, or wants to.

Recipes come with extensively detailed instructions
Written by Umberto Menghi (a professional chef and restaurateur who grew up in Tuscany, Italy), Toscana Mia: The Heart And Soul Of Tuscan Cooking is a splendid cookbook that celebrates Italian (and especially Tuscan) culinary traditions with its savory and taste-tested recipes. From Deep-Fried Cauliflowers; Florentine Cannelloni; and Tuscan Braised Beef; to Pureed Vegetable Soup with Parmesan Foam; Saffron Risotto with Pumpkin; and Tuscan Ring Cake, the recipes come with extensively detailed instructions, as well as recommended wines and producers to accompany fine dining. Toscana Mia is very highly recommended for any kitchen cook interested in exploring exquisite Tuscan flavors and styles. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring together fresh healthful ingredients, a laid-back attitude, and comforting satisfying meals and you know why Italian is one of the world’s most-loved cuisines. Cook Italian with aplomb, using the choicest ingredients and these authentic recipes — for antipastis, pastas, gnocchi and risottos, fish and meats, and desserts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Top of my wish list
Just looked at this cookbook.Beautiful pictures and easy directions on how to make these delicious sounding reciples.I've moved this cookbook to the top of my wish list. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of my favorite cookbooks
This is one of my favorite books.I originally bought it when I came back from Rome after tasting Saltimbocca Alla Romana.My favorite food ever.This book had it and it was just like the dish I had when I was in Rome.I've used this book now for over 15 years and everyone loves it when they see that book out on the counter.I highly recommend this one.

What to cook when you have some serious company
I've owned this cookbook for a long time and have used its wonderful recipes for that special occasion. Forget your calories and cholesterol levels when cooking this magnificent fare: Tagliarini with Four Cheeses uses, among other ingredients, 1/2 pound of butter, 3/4 pound of cheese, 1 cup of parmesian, and 1 cup heavy cream. It's great!

This is "restaurant" food you can serve at home, and Viazzi uses ingredients easily found.

Find this out of print book somewhere. You'll treasure it and use it year after year. ... Read more

Product Description
A guided tour of the cuisine, culture, and rich culinary history of the Campania region of Italy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Features numerous family and restaurant-quality recipes
Cooking with Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania is more than an Italian cookbook- it's a coffee table amalgam of southern Italy's culinary cultural history, peppered with delightful anecdotes as well as delectable recipes. Full-color photographs illustrate the delights one can create, such as "Spaghetti Vesuviana", "Codfish Salad", "Ricotta Pie", "Cardilli and Beans", and much more. Most recipes include estimated preparation time An excellent choice for cookbook collections, Cooking with Chef Silvio features numerous family and restaurant-quality recipes. Highly recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
This book is a compilation of gluten free recipes Most of them are dishes influenced by our Italian heritage.My inspiration to write this recipe book comes from my son, Corey. He was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at 29 years old. We come from a large Italian family on my mother’s side, and so many of our wonderful Italian meals consisted of “gluten” products. My grandmother, my parents, aunts and uncles handed some of these recipes down and some are reconstructed from recipes I have used over the years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Mama Mia
I have tried many of the recipes so far and this has been well worth the money! I really enjoy the authentic tastes of Italian cooking that this book captures and can't wait to try more recipes from this book.Well done!

Delicious
This book is a must have!With it's delicious gluten free recipes you will be able to cook for everyone, friends and family with or without gluten free diets.Everyone, children to adults, will enjoy the great tasting recipes and will be happy and healthy :) ... Read more

Product Description
Americans have fallen in love with Italian regional food, from the casual fare of Tuscan trattorias to the more refined creations of high-end Piedmontese restaurants, from Sicily’s wonderful desserts to Emilia-Romagna’s superb cheeses and cured meats. Rustico is the first American book to explore the remarkable breadth of these richlyvaried cuisines, devoting equal attention to each of Italy’s twenty regions. This includes thorough treatment of such places as Val d’Aosta, high in the Alps, whose fare is an intriguing mix of northern Italian, French, and Swiss influences: truffled fondue or grappa-spiked venison stew will
transport you to the slopes of Monte Bianco.Or Trentino–Alto Adige, with the southernmost German-speaking towns in Europe, for goulasch and spaetzle. Or the scorched southern regions like Basilicata, known for their spicy dishes; the Veneto, with the aromatic foods that are a legacy of Venice’s reign as the spice capital; or Sardinia, with its Spanish-inflected cuisine.

For each of the twenty regions, Micol Negrin provides ten authentic, truly representative recipes, with a special focus on original, rustic dishes, encompassing the entire meal—antipasti to dolci. Each chapter is introduced by an overview of the region, its culinary influences, food staples, and important recipes; each includes information on specialty products like cheeses and wines; and each explores the traditions, preparations, and life of the region, not only through recipes but through anecdote, history, and captivating photos. Each chapter, in fact, is a book unto itself; and the sum total is the last Italian cookbook you’ll ever need.Amazon.com Review
Italy, a country half the size of Texas, is composed of 20 regions, each with its own distinctly marvelous food. In Rustico, author Micol Negrin offers 10 recipes from each region--from the Alpine Val d'Aosta to the southernmost islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Other cookbooks serve up Italian regional dishes, but few American ones, if any, provide such a sweeping tour of authentic fare. Readers will be captivated instantly by dishes such as Lombardy's Butternut Squash Gnocchi in Rosemary Butter; Emilia-Romagna's Veal Roast Stuffed with Spinach, Pancetta, and Frittata; and Latium's Pike in Velvety Egg-Lemon Sauce, among many others--appetite-whetting food that cries out to be made. The key to Negrin's success is that she has chosen her recipes beautifully, and has presented them accessibly, illuminating relevant techniques and ingredients throughout (Negrin encourages cooks to find the real stuff, but also offers sage substitution advice). She also provides fascinating cultural illustration (for example, cheese production and meat curing throughout Italy are complementary activities, as the former means excess whey which, combined with bran and corn, becomes perfect porcine nourishment).

The rustic dishes range from antipasti to dolce, and include more familiar "specialties" such as Tuscany's Summer Bread and Tomato Salad and Milan's Saffron Risotto, and the excitingly unexplored, such as Molise's Hand-Cut Pasta Squares in Asparagus Cream and Apulia's Orecchiette with Wilted Arugula and Tomatoes. Baked goods are particularly irresistible and include Basilicata's Smoked Bread with Sweet Onion, Tomato and Basil, and herb-showered Griddle Bread from Romagna. Sweet lovers will delight in the likes of Calabria's Chocolate Covered Roasted Figs and Mint-and-Lemon-Laced Cheese Pillows in Warm Chestnut Honey from Sardinia, among other simple desserts. With a section of basic recipes, a fine ingredient glossary, and photos throughout, the book is a true tour de force. --Arthur Boehm ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Rustico
I would love to review it; however, I never received it.Yes, I have written you and got no response.In other words, you have both my money and my book!

Full of unique recipes
This is one of my new favorite Italian cookbooks.It's full of interesting dishes that you normally don't see.Her descriptions and photos are incredibly enjoyable as well.I look forward to more of her work. Brava!

Good introduction to Italian Regional Food. Great Read.
`Rustico' by Italian food journalist Micol Negrin is a better than average book of regional Italian recipes in a world filled with good books on regional Italian recipes. The book's subtitle specifies that the book concentrates on `Country' cooking. And, although the book is very nicely done by region, it has no pretensions to being a scholarly work such as Waverley Root's `The Foods of Italy' or even a journalistic coverage of the subject as in Claudia Roden's very worthy `The Food of Italy'. In fact, the absence of pretension adds to the pleasant satisfaction one gets in reading the book, as it is not without merit as an introduction to the culinary world of Italy.

In my mind, the book is immediately superior to Susan Herrmann Loomis' very good book `Italian Farmhouse Cookbook' in that it does deal with recipes by region with an introduction that explains the geographical, historical, and climactic reasons for the prevailing cuisine in each region. Rome (Latium), for example, is all about sheep (as the city was founded by a tribe of nomadic sheepherders) and pigs (since from the time of the Roman Empire, the city of Rome was the center of hog butchering for the region. Similarly, Genoa and its region, Liguria, is shown to have a cuisine which is very similar to southern Italy due to the role of Genoa as a major medieval port and source of imported foods.

In addition to recipes and culinary history, the book gives an excellent overview of the wines and cheeses of each region. The coverage of cheeses is especially interesting to someone who knows a lot more about cheeses and the differences between cows and sheep than he does about grapes. The book makes clear, for example, why a cheese like Fontina is a distinctive product of the alpine region of Val d'Aosta, tucked in the seam between France and German speaking Switzerland. Good Italian Fontina is a great cross between the semihard Swiss Gruyeres and Emmentalers and the soft French bries. The book also gives some sidebar coverage to the types of breads native to the regions. These comments are a bit frustrating, as it seems it would have been almost as easy to give us the recipe for Grissini (Piedmontese breadsticks) as to tell us the historical origin of these little lovelies. But, bread is a very big subject and Carol Field's superb `The Italian Baker' has five pages devoted to Grissini recipes.

All of Negrin's other virtues would still leave us with a rather thin book if she had chosen to give us recipes for the well-known specialities of each region. Another book with spaghetti Carbonara, artichokes ala Judica, saltimbocca, and potato gnocchi in the chapter on Latium would have been very dull indeed, as these four recipes show up in every book I have seen on the cooking of Rome, and there are many of these books already available. Some well-known regional classics are here, such as Campania's (Naples) Pizza Margherita and Venice's Risi e Bisi (rice and peas), but many of the dishes are not only unfamiliar, but break some rules I learned at Mario Batali's knee, such as the fact that cooks in Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia have no qualms about combining fish and cheese, although the excellent recipe to which this observation is a headnote combines a very mild cheese, Mozzarella, with a very strong tasting fish, salted anchovies. In any case, this recipe is a great variation on the quick Spaghetti Puttanesca style of dish.

The selection of dishes in the book as a whole is a very nice mix of pasta, breads, soups, braises, salads, roasts and frys. As the book is organized by geography rather than by course or type of dish, a supplementary table of contents organizing all dishes by type of dish would have been a very nice addition. This is not a book from which you will want to learn how to make bread or pasta. For those, I suggest you go to Carol Field and Marcella Hazan respectively, but the bread and pizza recipes in this book are pretty good. It's just that if things don't work out, you have no guidance on how to correct your mistakes.

The recipes end with an excellent little chapter on basic Italian recipes for broths, sauces and doughs. The veggies in the chicken broth are cooked a bit too long for my taste. I am pretty sure you have sucked all the goodness out of your carrots, celery, and onions in three hours, so why go stew them for six. The book ends with a very nice list of American sources, most of which are located in New York City.

The introduction to each region includes the addresses of restaurants, shops, and culinary schools in that region. If you are a foodie and are planning a trip to Italy, this information can be invaluable. Even if you simply want to access these establishments over the phone and can trust your Italian, this is useful, as telephone numbers for each establishment are given. No web sites, unfortunately.

I notice that almost all acknowledgments are to Italian sources. This inspires a lot of confidence in me, as does the facing bibliography which lists many Italian language sources plus many English language sources, all of which I recognize as important culinary authorities such as Clifford Wright, Alan Davidson, Fred Plotkin, and my favorite Claudia Roden.

My knowledge of Italian is not up to the task of knowing whether this is correct, but I am puzzled by the fact that every other writer I know refers to the modern region around Rome as Lazio, while Ms. Negrin uses Latium, which sounds very archaic.

I strongly recommend this as a first book on Italian regional cuisine, to be read before taking on Roden's or Root's classic works.

Rustic Transportation ... transcendent
Okay, my title may be a LITTLE over the top, but I'm not even a foodie and I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into this tome.Yet another of the five cookbooks I bought as Christmas presents, this one looks to be the winner.

It's a trip through Italy by each region's food.The color photography is stunning.But I feel as if I can LEARN all manner of fascinating details reading this book (thank goodness I bought it for my husband so I don't have to give it away).And, most thoughtfully, after making us salivate to sample each region's fare, the author gives us lists of "Favorite Restaurants, Shops and Places" for each locale.

Italy's travel industry should be sponsoring Micol Negrin.What a find!

Rustic Transportation ... transcendent
Okay, my title may be a LITTLE over the top, but I'm not even a foodie and I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into this tome.Yet another of the five cookbooks I bought as Christmas presents, this one looks to be the winner.

It's a trip through Italy by each region's food.The color photography is stunning.But I feel as if I can LEARN all manner of fascinating details reading this book (thank goodness I bought it for my husband so I don't have to give it away).And, most thoughtfully, after making us salivate to sample each region's fare, the author gives us lists of "Favorite Restaurants, Shops and Places" for each locale.

Italy's travel industry should be sponsoring Micol Negrin.What a find! ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Embark on a culinary tour of Italy without ever leaving home. All you need is this fabulous collection of recipes, many from favorite brand names such as Contadina®, Ragú®and Sargento®. Many color photographs accompany featured recipes, while photos of beautiful Italian vistas accent this delightful cookbook. This easy-to-use binder lies flat when open. ... Read more

Product Description
Make it Italian . . . But how to achieve the genuine Italian flavor that we Americans love so much?

According to Nancy Verde Barr, author of the incomparable We Called It Macaroni, the secret lies in knowing one’s ingredients and how to cook with them; it is a birthright that is passed down through generations of Italian families. She learned by watching her grandmother, Nonna, and now, in this wonderfully instructive and warmhearted book, she translates that hands-on experience into a primer of techniques and tastes that will become our Nonna in the kitchen.

First she introduces us to the Italian cupboard -- essential ingredients that give Italian dishes their distinctive flavors. Then, for each category of food, she gives us a Primary Recipe, detailing the right cooking techniques, timing, seasoning, and finishing touches to achieve the perfect balance of taste and texture. Countless variations follow, enabling us to put into practice all we have learned.

For example, once we have mastered Penne and Marinara Sauce, we can confidently whip up Linguine with Tuna and Pea Sauce or Rigatoni with Eggplant Sauce or Ziti with Sausage and Peppers.

The perfect formula for making Veal Scaloppine with Lemon and Parsley invites us to use pork, chicken, or turkey, or to try rolled, stuffed, and breaded versions.

Fresh fish and seafoods are roasted, sautéed, steamed, or braised according to what is the best for each species. The detailed instructions for Roasted Whole Red Snapper can be applied to small stuffed sardines; the formula for Sautéed Tuna Steaks with Prosciutto and Tomatoes works beautifully for Sautéed Monkfish Medallions with Pancetta and Cream.

The same principle applies to vegetables, the glory of the Italian table. The right cooking techniques bring out the best in each seasonal offering, from Roasted Green Beans to Smothered Broccoli Rabe.

The desserts she gives us are her own favorites, homey and simple to make -- light Semolina Pudding, “cooked creams” like the classic Panna Cotta, tender sponge cake (and its reincarnation in her version of Tiramisù), some fruit delights, and the formula for crisp biscotti.

There are charts throughout to guide us in creating our own recipes out of the lessons we have learned.
For Nancy Verde Barr, Italian cooking is musical and diverse, and recipes should be inspirations, not inflexible instructions. Now, with the tools she has given us, we can confidently reproduce that genuine Italian flavor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

"Make it Italian" is my Nonna in the Kitchen!
Want me to get to the nitty gritty?

Cons: It lacks photos of the dishes and techniques. I wish they would reprint this book with that input and it would be a six star on a five star scale.

Pros: I have read so many Italian cookbooks over the last few years and this is the one I always return to for accurate help. Nancy goes through the flavors that say Italian in chapter one. This is an essential chapter for anybody who was not born and raised in Italy. She explains all the types of cooking fats and how to use them. Then she teaches you about the aromatics. And on she goes through the list teaching you about key ingredients and the techniques to make them speak Italian! :)

In recipes, Nancy teaches us the main themes and then gives us variations. She encourages one to develop their own alterations of her recipes to make them their very own. She teaches one about flexibility, when one plans to make something and is missing an ingredient...her Nonna and mine never gave up, they found a substitute ingredient. Maybe it was because my Grandmas/Nonnas lived through the Great Depression that they understand how to make do with what you have on hand. It is a skill to desire and acquire.

I have went from following Italian recipes to creating my own and sharing them on my Italiano Connection blog, in great part thanks to this book. Her warmth spills through on every page and I feel like Nancy is with me in the kitchen, guiding me through my Italian amateur chef endeavors. I owe more to this Italian cookbook than all others combined. :)

The very best!
This is an incredible cookbook.I have been using it for the past 3 years and have yet to make anything out of it that wasn't fantastic.If you study this book, you will be able to make your own meals like an Italian chef. This book is just not a collection of recipes, but teaches you how to become a great cook.Nancy Barr is an awesome teacher and has written the only Italian cookbook you will need.

Mama Mia!
More than a cookbook, no chef should be without it!A thorough exploration of Italian cooking.Highly readable format makes this cookbook a must.

Clear our your shelves because this is THE book!
This book is just fantastic - from start to finish!It takes you through the building of a recipe from buying the ingredients to the techniques involved to prepare.Each section, Soup, Pasta, Meat, etc. gives you recipes that build on each other and then ends with suggestions on how to swing out on your own.When reading the book you feel as though Nancy is standing in your kitchen - her voice is clear and eloquent.

A few weeks ago, my father asked me how to make Bolognese sauce.I gave him Nancy's book and told him to read her recipe (that is wildly easy and delicious).I explained the arrangement of the book and he went to work reading the chapter on pasta.After that he was hooked!He made a shopping list to stock his pantry and couldn't wait to get started.He said it was as though he'd been to an Italian cooking class.

Make It Italian has become my standard wedding shower, birthday - anything present.

Not to be forgotten is Nancy's "We Called It Macaroni."I have used it a thousand times.Her sundried tomatoes and mascarpone appetizer is requested by dinner guests and when it's my turn to bring an hors d'oeuvre.

THE Book to Have for Italian Cooking
Why is it THE book to have?The important aspects of Italian cooking -- which can be applied to all cooking -- are explained here, in conciseness and clarity.Why you should purchase certain items; how you should cook them and why; when to use one ingredient over another and why.Why should you cook the soffrito for pasta & bean soup slowly, over medium-low heat, for 20 minutes?Why should you remove tomato seeds from your whole tomatoes if you're cooking them for more than 30 minutes?Why should you try to find genuine Italian import stores that stock the "good" stuff?The answers are in there.

I prefer to bake more than cook (my sweet tooth in action), but I like -- and can do -- both.I'm just slow in the kitchen; my husband's a better sous chef than I am.But, having an Italian grandmother and living in an area with pronounced Italian-American heritage, when I saw this book I had to get it.And after making a batch of the marinara sauce with generic crushed tomatoes, I knew I had a winner!Now I'm dying to try it out with a can of San Marzano tomatoes!

As the other reviews have stated, she explains what you need, and why you need it.Even if you doubt or don't understand either, have faith!It will work out well.I can't emphasize enough the value of quality ingredients when you cook simply, as she does in this book!Throw out your grated-cheese-in-a-can and get some *real* parmesan and a grater!

The pasta & bean soup in the "soups" section is a little lighter than some of you may be used to, but you can always add the fresh cheese of your choice.And definitely take the time to make your own stock for recipes.She may say she'll used canned stock, but after making and using my own, I'll be less likely to use canned ever again.

So far, the cooking has been simple, however, there is preparation to be done (such as making stock beforehand, or soaking & cooking beans for the soup above).But if you plan ahead, it becomes so much easier.

I am by no means an accomplished cook in the kitchen, but this book -- and the results I've got from it so far -- have given me courage to keep trying!

Did I mention the biscotti at the very end of the book?Yum yum yum - I had to make the chocolate almond variation on the anise biscotti.Incredibly enough, I got (as she said) exactly 60 biscotti from the recipe.:-) ... Read more

Product Description
Embark on this cooking course and learn to cook authentic Italian recipes that are easy to follow with aerial-shot photos for every step. 
This cookbook includes recipes, organized into themed chapters, on how to make pasta and all the most popular pasta dishes, including, a complete chapter on pesto and tomato sauces, making risotto, the antipasti, pizza, soups and minestrone, and typical dishes such as osso-bucco as well as renowned Italian desserts tiramisu, panacotta, semi freddo, panetonne) etc. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book!
This is a good book because the aerial view of all the recipes are step-by-step so you know as you go along how the food should be looking. I am a very visual type person so this was a great buy for me! ... Read more

Product Description
Here's a gourmet's collection of nealy 200 robust, satisfying dishes from southern Italy and Sicily. Antipasti, soups, pasta and grain dishes, meat and fish courses, beans, vegetables, salads, desserts and pastries are all presented here, along with menus, ingredients, information on wines, and conversion tables. Now available in trade paper. 32 full-color photos. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1982 with 50,000 copies in print, this Italian cookbook is unmatched in its scope and authenticity. More than 1,000 black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Gushing amateur
I started cooking at uni, hating sandwiches on retuning home late. And avolved with time. I picked up this book on a trip through Texas.

"Techniques" has recipes but also cultural framework and an amazing array of illustrated food preparation techniques. Well beyond a cookbook. To be recommended to anyone who wishes to travel beyond spaghetti and veal.

Wow your friends and family !
If you want to amaze everyone with your supurb culinary prowess, my advice is buy this book and make the tiramisu. I've tasted the tiramisu in every Italian restaurant in which I've ever eaten in a quest to find one as good as the one I make from his recipe, and no other even comes close.

13 1/2 tsp of Yeast?
I finally got around to trying this book from my collection. Evidently there seems to be a problem with some of the baking recipes. His Panettone recipe calls for 3 oz or 6 packages of active dry yeast. At 2 1/4 tsp per package this would equal 13 1/2 tsp of yeast, which is enough to make about20+ loaves of bread. I checked four other recipes and they show the sameproblem, way too much yeast. Also the directions are confusing. You soakraisins in one cup of milk and then drain them. The recipe doesn't say tokeep the drained milk or not. It turn out that you do need some of it. Theampunt remaining would depend on how dry and/or how large the raisins are.Also, the egg wash should have a little water in it and not be straight eggyolk. PS, The whole mess ended up in the trash.

Teaches cooking not justing learning how to follow a recipe!
Mr. Bugiallli writes the clearest, most authentic and historically researched recipes.This book does the same with the "how to" by giving only one or two recipes to demonstrate the technique beingdiscussed.There are numerous photographs which some many of thetechniques from beginning to end.This is a "must have" for anyserious Italian cuisine cook or any cook for that matter. ... Read more

Product Description
There are some places worth traveling to just for the food: Rome, Venice . . . and now, Birmingham, Italy.

In this companion to his first, best-selling cookbook, the beloved Southern chef Frank Stitt travels to Italy and brings the best of Mediterranean cuisine back home. To Stitt's mind, the two regions—Italy and the American South—share commonalities. Both native cuisines have a tradition of turning humble ingredients—ground corn, bitter greens, cured pork, the daily catch—into poetry on the plate. And as the chef points out in his lively introduction to the book, this is elemental cooking based on the purity and simplicity of the freshest and finest ingredients.

Yet leave it to Stitt to make Italian cuisine his own. "There's no Pompano in Venice, but ours, fresh from Apalachicola, fits into the cartoccio (Italian fish stew) perfectly; our Chilton County white peaches are squeezed by hand for a bellini; our wild Gulf shrimp, oysters, crab, and fish are easily a match for their Mediterranean equivalents," Stitt writes. This appealing new cookbook includes the best of the Southern-influenced Italian recipes he has served at his Birmingham, Alabama, restaurant Bottega Restaurant and Café, for the last two decades—the Tomato Chutney and Roasted Sweet Pepper Pizza, Lamb Shanks with Sweet Peas and Mint, and fabulous desserts including Zabaglione Meringue Cake. Accompanied by sweet recollections of his journeys to Italy, this inspiring and accessible cookbook proves once again why the novelist Pat Conroy calls Stitt "the best chef in America." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

delicioso italiano!
This book is great! Delicious and impressive recipes that always wow your friends. Frank Stitt is ranked nationally among chefs and I can see why!

Celebrating Italian cuisine with rustic Italian dishes
BOTTEGA FAVORITA: A SOUTHERN CHEF'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALIAN FOOD offers connections between Italian cuisine and the American South, celebrating Italian cuisine with rustic Italian dishes ranging from Summer Minestrone to Spring Vegetable Lasagne and Ravioli with Pumpkin and Sage Butter. Bright color photos by Christopher Hirsheimer lend to a fine presentation.

Another knockout
Once again Frank Stitt shows why he is one of the best chef's in America, perfect follow-up to "The Southern Table."

Great Cookbook!
This is just another of Frank Stitt's masterpieces.It is a beautiful and functional cookbook, and it would be a welcome addition to anyone's kitchen.He is a phenomenal chef, his restaurants are world famous, and now so are his cookbooks.Birmingham, Alabama, and the South should be proud of what he as done to promote them.This book is highly recommended for anyone anywhere.

Best Chefs in the South
This is an amazing cookbook. Beautiful illustrations and easy to follow instructions. The food is amazing. Kudos to Frank Stitt and his chef John Rolen for creating this culinary bible. ... Read more