Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita [Flexibound]

Hamilton & Hirsheimer (Author), Melissa Hamilton (Author), Christopher Hirsheimer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 17, 2012 | Series: Canal House Cooking (Book 7)

"Great visual writing. And the pictures! Christopher Hirsheimer has long been the gold standard of food photography, but in this book she goes beyond what I thought possible--these pictures aren't food porn, they're art... You don't need an addiction to real Italian cooking to lose yourself in these pages. You can read it as a travel book. As an adventure story. As a sensual experience that yields deep pleasure for the authors--and the reader." --Jesse Kornbluth, Head Butler

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7, La Dolce Vita is a collection of some of our favorite recipes, the ones we cook for ourselves, our friends, and our families during the fall and right through the holiday season. These are recipes that will make you want to restock your pantry and refrigerator and start cooking.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melissa Hamilton is a renowned food stylist and cofounder of Canal House. She previously worked at Saveur, which she joined in 1998, as the test kitchen director, and was its food editor for many years. Hamilton also worked in the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living and Cook's Illustrated, and she was the cofounder and first executive chef of Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville, New Jersey. She has developed and tested recipes and styled food for both magazines and cookbooks, including those by acclaimed chefs John Besh, Michael Psilakis, Roberto Santibanez, and David Tanis. She works with Christopher Hirsheimer on Canal House Cooking, for which the two do all of the writing, recipes, photography, design, and production.

Christopher Hirsheimer is an award-winning photographer and cofounder of Canal House. Her experience includes establishing a publishing venture, running a culinary and design studio, and publishing an annual series of three seasonal cookbooks titled Canal House Cooking. Prior to starting Canal House in 2007, in Lambertville, New Jersey, Hirsheimer was the executive editor of Saveur, which she cofounded in 1994, and the food and design editor of Metropolitan Home. She cowrote the award-winning Saveur Cooks series and The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook. Her photographs have appeared in more than 50 cookbooks for such notables as Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters, and in numerous magazines, including Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, InStyle, and Town&Country. She works with Melissa Hamilton on Canal House Cooking, for which the two do all of the writing, recipes, photography, design, and production.

Melissa Hamilton is a renowned food stylist and cofounder of Canal House. She previously worked at Saveur, which she joined in 1998, as the test kitchen director, and was its food editor for many years. Hamilton also worked in the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living and Cook's Illustrated, and she was the cofounder and first executive chef of Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville, New Jersey. She has developed and tested recipes and styled food for both magazines and cookbooks, including those by acclaimed chefs John Besh, Michael Psilakis, Roberto Santibanez, and David Tanis. She works with Christopher Hirsheimer on Canal House Cooking, for which the two do all of the writing, recipes, photography, design, and production.

Christopher Hirsheimer is an award-winning photographer and cofounder of Canal House. Her experience includes establishing a publishing venture, running a culinary and design studio, and publishing an annual series of three seasonal cookbooks titled Canal House Cooking. Prior to starting Canal House in 2007, in Lambertville, New Jersey, Hirsheimer was the executive editor of Saveur, which she cofounded in 1994, and the food and design editor of Metropolitan Home. She cowrote the award-winning Saveur Cooks series and The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook. Her photographs have appeared in more than 50 cookbooks for such notables as Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters, and in numerous magazines, including Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, InStyle, and Town&Country. She works with Melissa Hamilton on Canal House Cooking, for which the two do all of the writing, recipes, photography, design, and production.

Product Details

• Flexibound: 128 pages
• Publisher: Canal House; Original edition (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982739443
• ISBN-13: 978-0982739440
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A knockout of a book: exciting, smart and -- oh --- great recipes January 18, 2012

By Jesse Kornbluth TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Flexibound

I'm often asked, "What's the best book you've read recently?"

Right now, the answer is: "Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita."

This causes confusion. A cookbook has no plot, no real writing. No thrills, no romance. No memorable takeaway.

Well, this one does.

Indeed, "Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita" is to cookbooks what James Salter's "A Sport and a Pastime" is to novels set in French villages.

You can tell from the very first paragraph that Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, who have created six Canal House cookbooks from their charming studio in Lambertville, New Jersey, had the kind of experience in Italy that imprints and inspires. Here's how the book starts:

"We rented a farmhouse in Tuscany --- a remote, rustic old stucco and stone house at the end of a gravel road, deep in the folds of vine-covered hills. It had a stone terrace with a long table for dinners outside, a grape arbor, and apple and fig trees loaded with fruit in the garden. There was no phone, TV or Internet service, just a record player and shelves and shelves of books. It had a spare, simple kitchen with a classic waist-high fireplace with a grill. It was all we had hoped for. It was our Casa Canale for a month."

And how's this for...yes, poetry?

"Warm a half cup of extra-virgin olive oil and 2-3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat until fragrant. Add 1 pound thickly sliced, cleaned, fresh porcini. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and stew the mushrooms until they are tender, 10-20 minutes. Add a handful of chopped fresh parsley. Serve over thick slices of warm crusty toast. Serves 4."

Not a word wasted in the recipe or the prose.... Great visual writing. And the pictures! Christopher Hirsheimer has long been the gold standard of food photography, but in this book she goes beyond what I thought possible --- these pictures aren't food porn, they're art. And not in a gratuitous way. The purpose of their books, Hirsheimer and Hamilton like to say, is to "make you hungry."

Not every recipe rings the bell for me. I'm impressed by the simple elegance of prosciutto and figs, a soup built around escarole, a hearty minestrone, osso buco, Bolognese sauce with prosciutto, chicken livers, ground chuck and ground pork, and cheesecake from the Jewish quarter of Rome. I love recipes with ricotta and am astonished to find how easy it is to make. Authenticity has its limits for me --- I am less fond of anything with truffles, homemade pasta, stewed eel and rabbit.

But the thing is, you don't need an addiction to real Italian cooking to lose yourself in these pages. You can read it as a travel book. As an adventure story. As a sensual experience that yields deep pleasure for the authors --- and the reader. I inhaled the book for the first time late at night and under the influence, but even in the unforgiving morning after, I still swoon over passages like this:

"Every day we had small adventures. Driving through the countryside, we'd stop at markets, dairies, and wineries to check everything out. Along the way, we'd gather what looked good to cook for our dinner. We preferred to eat out for lunch; it was more fun, and then we didn't have to brave the narrow, winding roads after dark. We'd peek inside the kitchens of the restaurants where we ate. More often than not, it was women in white cooks' smocks who were manning the stoves, tending big pots of ragù and cutting and filling anolini from smooth sheets of fresh pasta."

"The big, rich flavors of fall were coming through the markets and farms and into our kitchen. We cooked with chestnuts, rabbit, porcini, pumpkin, cabbage, peppers, radicchio, apples, and pears. Like the Italians, we developed flavors as we cooked. We fried battuto --- onions, carrots, and celery --- into fragrant soffrito; toasted tomato paste to add color and richness to sauces; deglazed pans with red wine, allowing it to reduce to its very essence; and we balanced sweet and sour in agrodolce."

"We know that cooking is not only about ingredients and techniques. Recipes have a spirit, they are born of a place and a culture, and to cook well you have to be sensitive to and honor that spirit. Italians are refined traditionalists; they want their ragù bolognese served with parmiagano-reggiano and never pecorino romano. It just wouldn't taste right otherwise. They are generous, too: It's evident in the way they cook. They pour olive oil liberally, shave white truffles with abandon, toss their pasta in the sauce, dress salads by feel ---and they have a word for it: abbondanza."

Wow. Just that: wow. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Dream Travel than Cookbook February 11, 2012

By Glenajo

Format:Flexibound

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita is not a cookbook, it is dream travel. Elissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirshemeyer describe their trip to Italy in search of the Italian food made in home kitchens. While there, they lived in a small town in a small home and traveled the area eating the foods of the small cafes and inns or picking up fesh food in the markets. They would take food home and preparing it in a similar manner. In this way, they learn the daily diet of the Italian people, enjoying the Italian culture, and soaking up knowledge of home food preparation. I realize that they were working, but they make it seem so wonderful and describe it so beautifully, that from my armchair, I visualize myself on their trip. For me, this is the ultimate in armchair travel. The cookbook itself is very interesting, and their companion website describes palces to find difficult items. Unfortunately for me, this type of cooking is not possible because of time and scheduling, but the book is a joy to read. Maybe this summer, I can utilize some of their recipes. This book is for serious cooks and those who dream of being serious.

Received Galley from NetGalley.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful cookbook! May 13, 2013

By Ken Vaughan

Format:Flexibound|Amazon Verified Purchase

Go on a Tuscan adventure with the photography and narrative.
The recipes are incredible. I was inspired to jump in and make
pasta for the first time. Fantastic.

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretentious and yet I love them. March 10, 2013

By Nikki Douglas

Format:Flexibound|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have everything they have written and photographed and while they tend to over-truffle and have lives that are too fabulous for mere mortals, I cannot resist. This is a worthy entry into their canon.