From Biba’s Italy: Favorite Recipes from the Splendid Cities (Artisan, 2006) The Tuscan way of preparing delicious home-cooked meals is straightforward and uncomplicated, and proves that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen. This typical family fare can be made with rabbit, pheasant, or chicken, and is a staple of Florence’s trattorie, where the rabbit…
From Biba’s Italy: Favorite Recipes from the Splendid Cities (Artisan, 2006) Umberto, the owner of the quaint Osteria del Caffè Italiano, is a man with a mission: he wants his customers to enjoy his food and to have a good time. The night my daughter Paola and I were there, he took over the duties of the…
From Jamie’s Italy (Hyperion, 2006) Just about everyone I know is a fan of meatballs, so I thought I’d give you a recipe for these, as they are something a little different. I’ve seen them made in Sicily in the same way, using a mixture of swordfish and tuna ? not canned tuna though. These have…
From Jamie’s Italy (Hyperion, 2006) Pork chops are a pretty regular occurrence in Italy. They can be cooked in many, many way: but this recipe is one of my favorites. When I first saw it being made in a trattoria in Florence on my first-ever trip to Italy, the young lady who was making it inserted a…
From Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family (Rodale Books, 2005)This is one of our favorite dishes, and we eat it frequently during the winter. You can substitute any large, whitefish, like striped bass, for the cod. You can also substitute chunks of fish, like monkfish. Serves 4 2…
From Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family (Rodale Books, 2005) We serve this pasta every Christmas Eve, as part of the Cena della Vigilia feast. The recipe comes from Edward’s godfather, Tomasso, an Italian fellow who worked in the Pennsylvania coal mines. He never spoke English, and sent…
From The Da Fiore Cookbook: Recipes from Venice’s Best Restaurant by Damiano Martin (Harper Collins, 2003)When Mara and Maurizio return from Alba with the first white truffles of autumn, it means that these pillowy, bite-size bundles of pumpkin gnocchi will be on da Fiore’s menu. Slicked with sage butter and topped with just a few truffle slivers,…
From Marcella Says…: Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher’s Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes by Marcella Hazan (Harper Collins, 2004) At the hour that some of my neighbors in Florida are already halfway into their night’s sleep, many Italians are beginning to feel a gnawing emptiness that needs to be filled with…
From Prosciutto, Pancetta, Salame by Pamela Sheldon Johns (Ten Speed Press, 2005)Here is an elegant but simple dish that can accompany roasted or grilled meats. A sformato is a dish that is cooked in a mold, then unmolded to serve. Serves 4 8 slices prosciutto di Parma 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup diced onion 3/4…
From Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes from Italy’s Most Vibrant City (Interlink Books, 2008) Possibly one of Naples’ best-known traditional dishes, and taken all over the world by the waves of migrants seeking a new life after World War II, parmigiana di melanzane is as tasty as it is familiar. Salting the eggplants before cooking is the key…
