Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year [Hardcover]

Mary Ann Esposito (Author), Tomie dePaola (Illustrator), Bill Truslow (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995

Celebrate Italian style with Mary Ann Esposito's new collection of recipes. Mary Ann, best-selling author and host of public television's popular cooking show Ciao Italia, shares recipes and menus for every occasion. From a pasta buffet for a crowd to an informal Christmas Eve family dinner, her easy-to prepare dishes are presented in her trademark style -- with reminiscences of growing up in an Italian-American household.Celebrations Italian Style includes charming folktales, written by Mary Ann and illustrated by acclaimed artist Tomie dePaola, and glorious color photographs of Mary Ann's recipes.

Mary Ann offers a unique blend of recipes and menus culled from her family archives and from today's Italian kitchen. Start Thanksgiving Dinner by adding an American classic to an Italian standard in Pumpkin Risotto. Savor Mary Ann's fondly remembered rehearsal dinner escarole-and-meatball Wedding Soup, or Nonna Galasso's Cheese Rind Soup, flavored with leftover ends of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Two chapters are entirely devoted to breads; one for the special breads of Christmas, Easter, and saints' days, such as Gubana, Easter Dove Bread, and the Eyes of Saint Lucy, and the other for everyday breads such as semolina, whole wheat, and dinner rolls. Easy-to-preparemain courses include Little Pork Purses filled with Fontina cheese, prosciutto and leeks, a dramatically packaged Chicken in Paper, and Spicy Cold Beef Rolls with artichoke hearts, bell peppers, and capers.

There are Italian desserts for every occasion cookies, cakes, tarts, and puddings -- Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti, raisin-and-nut Little Christmas Cakes, and simple fruit desserts such as Cantaloupe and Bananas with Ricotta.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Host of PBS's Ciao, Italia, author of the companion cookbook and Nella Cucina, the enthusiastic, irresistible Esposito could put even the most curmudgeonly of readers in a holiday mood. Covering all courses and many holidays, she offers recipes and menus for traditional holiday fare, e.g., the meatless, fish-centered Christmas Eve meal, including recipes for Stewed Cod and Fried Eel. There are a variety of Christmas cakes (Panettone, Pandoro, Panforte di Siena) and for Easter, Columba, a yeast bread in the shape of a dove carrying an egg. For Thanksgiving Esposito suggests a pumpkin risotto; for a birthday, gnocchi; for a picnic, a rustic Sicilian spinach pie. A towering Cookie Wedding Cake is a particularly tempting variation on the expected. Recipes are best suited to cooks with some experience; chapters are arranged according to courses, e.g., "Antipasti" and "Frutte e Dolci." A final chapter covers simple, unusual gifts such as Prosciutto and Rosemary Breadsticks. Menu suggestions (Vegetarian Summer Buffet; Christmas Eve Dinner) are offered in sidebars; Tomie de Paola illustrates accompanying holiday folktales. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Esposito, host of the long-running PBS series Ciao Italia and author of two popular collections of her own homestyle cooking, Ciao Italia (Hearst, 1991) and Nella Cucina (LJ 5/15/93), now offers recipes and menus for special occasions and seasons of the year. This larger-format book presents festive but mostly easy traditional dishes for weddings, holidays, and other celebrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: Hearst Books; 1st edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688130380
• ISBN-13: 978-0688130381
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Ann Esposito is the creator and host of public television's Ciao italia, a cooking show devoted to Italian food and culture. The show has been on the air for 20 years giving it the distinction of being the longest running cooking show ever. Ciao Italia is seen in all major markets across the U.S.

Mary Ann has written 11 cookbooks. Learn more about her at www.ciaoitalia.com and sample the more than 1000 recipes on her site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful way to recapture fond Italian memories, June 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year (Hardcover)

When I received "Celebrations, Italian Style", I was so very overwhelmed with fond and wonderful memories of my mother. The explanations of the special holidays/celebrations were exactly as I remembered them as a child growing up. These recipes produce the same mouth-watering aromas that used to fill the whole house. You knew the minute you approached the house that Mama was cooking up something special. Each time I prepare one of these recipes, I feel my mother is right there beside me. When I read this book I am completely absorbed by the foods, the smells and the traditions that I hope to pass on to my own children. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to be taken back to recapture their favorite Italian memories. Enjoy!!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember Grandma's cooking?, November 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year (Hardcover)

Mary Ann Esposito has dotted her collection of Italian-American recipes with stories from her childhood, reminding me of my own family's history. These recipes are practical, requiring easily found ingredients, written in an explanatory style. There are many little "hints" to turning out the dish in fine style, serving suggestions, new ways to incorporate Italian cooking methods into everyday meals. The Torta Nuziale (Wedding Cake) is a masterpiece! Buttermilk, almond oil, hazelnuts, coconut combine to create a dense cake that will become a family favorite. The cream cheese icing is easy and tasty. Sra. Esposito has given us a handbook of Italian-American cooking, spiced with her personal stories. It is a combination that makes for good reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrations, Italian Style, January 11, 2007

By 

nrh "nrh" (ny usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year (Hardcover)

The best cookbook ever! My favorite cookbook by far and each recipe in here is delicious, (i've tried just about all of them!). highly reccommend it, and now purchase this book for everyone I know who enjoys Italian food and cooking!