Customer Reviews

Bottega: Bold Italian Flavors from the Heart of California's Wine Country

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I dined at Bottega last month and had the most incredible meal of my life. I had the best version of four dishes that I have ever had: caprese salad with balsamic caviar, short ribs, duck confit, and pork belly. They were all mind-blowing. All but the pork belly are in this cookbook. He more than makes up for it though with a spectacular roasted suckling pig recipe which the book calls the "7 O'clock pig" because they run out by that time every time they run it on special. This may not be a cookbook for the beginner, but it isn't that difficult for a foodie home cook, besides it is coffee-table quality. The directions are precise and he adds anecdotes throughout. The pages are glossy and colorful.I have about 200 cookbooks, most on technique or celebrity chefs and this one is already in my top 5. It is that good. Chiarello's passion for food comes out on every page. I am very thankful that he is sharing his secrets for the food that I know first hand is incredible. If you enjoy cooking all afternoon and wowing your friends at a dinner party, you will love this book.

edit: You can now "Look Inside" this book. Check out his Introduction then peruse the Index. This should get your juices flowing.

If you are considering the purchase of this book it is usually because you are a cook yourself and you already own several cook books, and maybe more than that. I have perused hundreds of cook books, and own several dozen. Like yourself, I enjoy cooking, and I enjoy knowing how to cook. It helps to ground me as a human being. We probably separate our cook books into different classes. There are those books that are written by celebrity chefs, others by acknowledged culinary masters who are not as famous, but this one in my opinion is in a league all its own.


Very simply - this book is EXTRAORDINARY


Master chef Michael Chiarello has chosen to take us on a journey through the creation of Napa Valley's exquisite restaurant BOTTEGA. He has thought through the experience of the cook book as no other chef has taken the time to. What he has done is unique and very much worthy of both admiration and emulation. I sensed it the moment I read a small print dedication to his mother where he promises to work less, and that he misses her, and that she lives in the fabric of his spirit, and everything he touches. These are not just words from his mind, but an outpouring of affection from his heart and soul. It was apparent immediately that the rest of the book would follow suit, and so it does.


There are ten chapters to the book, and they include:


* Make your own

* Tantalizing Snacks

* Before the Meal

* Soups and Salads

* Pastas and Risottos

* Fish and Shell Fish

* Meats and Poultry

* Side dishes

* Desserts

* Libations


A VISUAL Delight Awaits You


I don't know your needs in a cookbook, but for me, there must be pictures, fantastic pictures, and I would not think of owning a cookbook and using one, that did not show me beautiful pictures of the presentation that I am trying to create. There is simply no way to do this except through exquisite and magnificent pictures. This book is second to none when it comes to presentation of the finished product through a visual presentation. There are more than just pictures of foods in this wonderful book. There are also pictures of the experiences that the author is trying to create within his now world renowned Bottega restaurant. People at beautiful tables, and the staff interacting, how the mood is set and then evolved, Chiarello truly understands that dining out can be theatre, and elegant.


You Too Can Cook Like a MASTER


This point is made over and over again throughout the book. The author believes that you can learn to master these recipes. Does he believe that you will completely duplicate what his fellow master chefs have done for the last 20 years at Bottega - maybe not? At the same time, 90% isn't bad, and certainly you can learn to achieve that. He tells you how. He wants you to try a recipe 3 dozen times without deviating from the recipe itself. Just do what he does, no more and no less. Once you have it down pat, he wants you to duplicate the recipe without looking at the book. You should be able to do it from memory. Once that is achieved, start changing it if you wish, but first master the Bottega way of doing it.


He also tells us and I would never have realized it that most of us only know about a dozen recipes and we cook them over and over again about 75% of the time. He would feel honored if you would just adopt about five of the more than 100 recipes that are presented in this extraordinary book. Let's look at it this way, for about $25 you can own this book and make it your own. It's tough to get any kind of decent meal in a restaurant for that kind of money. Here are just a few of the recipes with the page numbers that I found spectacular when I sampled them in my kitchen. I am sure you will have your own selection but this will give you feel for what's in the book.


* Grilled Rib-Eye Tagliata (141)

* Grilled Swordfish (120)

* Over Roasted Cornish Hens (162)

* Angry Prawns with White Bean Passatina (136)

* Solo Shrimp Pasta (108)

* Grilled Fennel Spiced Lamb Chops (142)

* Braised Lamb Shanks (144)



CONCLUSION:


As Chef Michael Chiarello likes to say, it's not about the fancy tools or the training. It's about PRACTICE, PASSION, and PATIENCE. You too can learn to cook, but to learn from a master, ah that's something, and that is what you will do with this book. I promise you that you will love every minute of it, and every page you read, for this book is a treasure to keep and to learn from in the years ahead, and I thank you for reading this review, and of course Bon Appetit.


Richard C. Stoyeck

I'm a great fan of Michael Chiarello, and have all of his cookbooks going back to his first ones. This is a great read and sounds exactly like him for those who watched Top Chef Masters. However, don't plan on cooking many things at home as it is restaurant fare...but beautifully done.

I bought this cookbook for my husband, and he loves it. He wants to perfect the polenta. It is a challenging cookbook, and takes practice to recreate the dishes at the "Bottega level." However, it is worth it if you appreciate complex full-flavored meals. After you eat at Bottega, you will want this cookbook.

A little wine can go a long way in making something exquisite. "Michael Chiarello's Bottega: Bold Italian Flavors from the Heart of California's Wine Country" is a collection of recipes from Michael Chiarello, presenting his blend on Italian cuisine taking from the best of California and his own ideas. Presenting his principles for a good meal as well as plenty of easy instructions and full color photos, dishes that are presented range from Chicken Wings Agrodolce, Calabrian Wedding Soup, Grilled Swordfish, and much more. He also presents the history that made his Bottega restaurant so famous. "Michael Chiarello's Bottega" is a fine read with a lot to inspire the everyday chef to make something truly magnificent for their next meal.

First of all, let me say that I am a huge fan of Michael Chiarello's restaurants and his cookbooks, I have all of them and have had great success cooking with them. We recently ate at Bottega and had a wonderful meal. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the cookbook. Secondly, I have a very large collection of cookbooks and am a very good home cook, have had some training at the CIA and am not afraid to tackle difficult recipes and techniques. I have tried several of the recipes and they have fallen flat. I will continue to try some of the recipes because I am a fan and hope that I am more successful.

Love Michael and love Bottega every recipe I have tried has been incredible, some of the recipes are a little bit time consuming but if you love to cook you will enjoy the entire process. I love this restaurant and I love that the same delicious meals I have enjoyed at Bottega I can enjoy at home, until I return to Napa. The brown butter gnocchi ravioli, porchetta, truffle fries and polenta are all divine. I am working my way through the book and have not been disappointed. If you are a foodie then you must try the zuppa di melone!!!

Length:: 4:37 Mins

Save your money and spend it at Michael Chiarello's restaurant instead. Let him do the cooking for you (and the clean-up!).

XOXO-

I have more than 100 cookbooks in my collection. Some are pretty, but the recipes are not really feasible. I do cook the recipes in Michael Chiarello's books though. I haven't cooked a recipe from Bottega yet, but I will. Most the recipes look ib, but do-able with ingredients available in grocery stores. The photographs include food shots and pictures from the restaurant in Yountville. Side notes include Michael's thoughts on Yelp comments, his philosophies on service, and the history of some of the recipes.

My boyfriend and I ate lunch at Bottega a year ago. He had a vegetarian mushroom pasta dish that he described as, "one of the best dishes I've had EVER." I was hoping the book would include the recipe, but it isn't there. I guess we'll just have to go back to the restaurant.