Synopses & Reviews
If you dream of Italyand#8212;and who does not?and#8212;be prepared to fall in love with this extraordinary cookbook. Written by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, author of andlt;iandgt;The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Foodandlt;/iandgt; (winner of both the James Beard and Julia Child/IACP Cookbook-of-the-Year Awards), it is every bit the equal of its celebrated predecessor.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Read its exuberant pages, eat its lusty dishes, and you enter a landscape vibrant with rural life. You are one with the terrain. In some sense, you are home. That, of course, is the miracle of Italyand#8212;no matter where we come from, we want to be a part of it. And the miracle of andlt;iandgt;The Italian Country Tableandlt;/iandgt; is its ability to take us there.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And what a journey! You will never be as impatient to get into your kitchen as when you are planning a meal from this book. Two hundred recipes, personally collected from home cooks throughout the length and breadth of Italy, will keep calling you back.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Who could resist the and#8220;Gattoand#8221; di Patate, a mashed-potato and#8220;lasagnaand#8221; from the Neapolitan countryside? Or a Tuscan Mountain Supper of warm beans tossed with an herbed tomato sauce and eaten with tart greens? Or Pasta of the Grape Harvest, a Sicilian dish of grapes, red wine, orange zest, spices, pistachios and linguine? Or Chocolate Polenta Pudding Cake?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Kasper, host of Public Radio's andlt;iandgt;The Splendid Table,andlt;/iandgt; is a master teacher who thinks about cooking in a way that is radically distinctive. Her chapter on tomatoes and tomato sauces, a treasure by itself, will change the way you think about themand#8212;and cook themand#8212;forever. Her guide to buying and saucing pasta contains more useful facts than many books that devote themselves to pasta exclusively.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Kasper, the grandchild of Italian immigrants, describes herself as someone with a love of lingering and#8220;in places where life changes slowly.and#8221; This personal book abounds with stories of artisans, farmers and family. It is a portrait of Italian country life.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Where you read andlt;iandgt;The Italian Country Table,andlt;/iandgt; cook from it or use it to plan a trip (there is an appendix that lists guest farms, country hotels, restaurants and museums), you have only to turn its pages to be transported to a rustic Italy that few of us know, but all of us long for.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;-16 pages of finished dishes in full colorandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;-50 black-and-white photographs of country life
Review
Mario Batali author of andlt;Iandgt;Simple Italian Foodandlt;/Iandgt; and chef-owner of Po and Babbo, New York City Lynne Rossetto Kasper brings Italian food folklore to a new level of clarity in her flavor-driven intellectual pursuit of truth, history, love and tradition in Italian kitchens. I love this book because I love to cook with my hands and my nose, but mostly because I love to learn.
Review
Alice Waters Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California Lynne Rossetto Kasper's love of rustic, inexpensive Italian food, combined with her attention to details and aesthetics, make her writing and recipes irresistible. But, I think it is her insistence on purity and traditions that make her one of the most important food writers I know.
Review
Mario Batali
author of Simple Italian Food and chef-owner of Po and Babbo, New York City
Lynne Rossetto Kasper brings Italian food folklore to a new level of clarity in her flavor-driven intellectual pursuit of truth, history, love and tradition in Italian kitchens. I love this book because I love to cook with my hands and my nose, but mostly because I love to learn.
Review
Mark Bittman author of andlt;Iandgt;How to Cook Everythingandlt;/Iandgt; and the andlt;Iandgt;New York Times'sandlt;/Iandgt; "The Minimalist" I found more great ideas in the first ten minutes I spent with andlt;Iandgt;The Italian Country Tableandlt;/Iandgt; than in all the other cookbooks I've looked at all year.
Review
Nancy Harmon Jenkins author of andlt;Iandgt;Flavors of Pugliaandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Flavors of Tuscanyandlt;/Iandgt; This is deeply rural Italy, unknown to most Americans, but for those like Lynne who have explored it, a truer and more genuine Italy than the country presented in tourist guides and brochures.
Review
Harold McGee author of andlt;Iandgt;On Food and Cookingandlt;/Iandgt; With in-depth explanations of basic techniques and ingredients, this book will inspire fans of Italian food to explore the delicious possibilities that lie just off the familiar path.
Review
Jane and Michael Stern authors of andlt;Iandgt;Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A.andlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Gourmetandlt;/Iandgt; magazine's "Two for the Road" What pure joy it is to read Lynne's ode to tomatoes that burst with flavor, and her rhapsody about the "breads of ingenuity" takes the reader deep into a culture that is wise as well as delicious.
Review
Paul a Wolfert author of andlt;Iandgt;Mediterranean Grains and Greensandlt;/Iandgt; Lynne Kasper's andlt;Iandgt;The Splendid Tableandlt;/Iandgt; was so good, it was destined to be a hard act to follow. Well, Lynne has written a fantastic second book -- enthusiastic narrative, great food and uncomplicated recipes.
Review
Carol Field author of andlt;Iandgt;In Nonna's Kitchen, Celebrating Italyandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;The Italian Bakerandlt;/Iandgt; I challenge anyone who picks up andlt;Iandgt;The Italian Country Tableandlt;/Iandgt; to resist Lynne Rossetto Kasper's lively voice, lusty appreciation and irresistible enthusiasm for all things Italian.
Review
Sally Schneider author of andlt;Iandgt;Food and Wineandlt;/Iandgt; magazine's "Well-Being," column In this marvelous new book, Lynne Rossetto Kasper brings home what I miss most about Italy: a way of life that deeply nurtures connection with family, friends, the seasons, the land itself, through food and cooking. Her recipes are inspired in their simplicity and inventiveness, and are instinctively healthful, utterly delicious.
Review
Fred Plotkin author of andlt;Iandgt;Italy for the Gourmet Travelerandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Recipes from Paradiseandlt;/Iandgt; When Lynne Rossetto Kasper writes a recipe, you can take it to the bank -- and to your heart. Here is cooking at its most assured and most gratifying. The reader will delight in discovering an Italy less traveled and very worth knowing.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [401]-402) and index.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Lynne Rossetto Kasperandlt;/Bandgt; is host of the nationally broadcast radio show andlt;Iandgt;The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper,andlt;/Iandgt; Public Radio's food program and winner of the 1998 James Beard Award For Best National Radio Show on Food Her first book, andlt;Iandgt;The Splendid Table Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food,andlt;/Iandgt; is the only winner of both the James Beard and Julia Child/IACP Cookbook-of-the-Year Awards as well as the Julia Child Best First Book Award.
Table of Contents
andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Prologueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Antipasti / Light Mealsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Pastaandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Pasta Meets the Tomatoandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Rice, Grains and Beansandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Soupandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Poultry, Meats and Fishandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Vegetables and Saladsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Focaccia, Pizza and Breads of Ingenuityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Dessertsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Menusandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Ingredientsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Mail-Order Sourcesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;When in Italyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Partial Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index