Amazon.com Review
Ciao Italia: Bringing Italy Home, the companion guide to
Ciao Italia's 11th season on PBS, is a delightful cookbook that reads like a travel guide and a tribute to Italian cooks and their culture. Mary Ann Esposito has 10 seasons of cooking on public television and 5 cookbooks to her name, and she still manages to offer 130 new recipes presented in a culinary tour so captivating, you'll read this cover to cover.
The chapters are divided by region, and each begins with a mouthwatering tour followed by recipes that begin with stories--sometimes historical, sometimes personal, sometimes just delectable descriptions. From Tuscany you might make White Beans with Fettuccine and Sage because it sounds so delicious; from Sicily you'll make Swordfish with Spaghetti, Tomato Sauce, and Olives because the thought of enjoying it in a Sicilian seaside community near Palermo makes you sigh; and from Emilia Romagna you'll choose Beatrice's Fried Mushrooms because everything Beatrice makes is "exquisite." Packed with information, this is a perfect book for a novice cook who needs plenty of detail, but it's also a gem for the more experienced chef because so many of Esposito's recipes are region-specific, and therefore uncommon. Esposito shares a wealth of information about the Italian people, their culture and their cooking, and the result is that many of her recipes are interesting and unusual, such as Gorgonzola Cheese with Marmalade, Fried Sage Leaves, or Whipped Cod Venetian Style--all easy to master, impressive to serve, and absolutely divine. Esposito knows how to intrigue her television audience, and this luscious volume proves she can do it in print as well. --Leora Y. Bloom
From Publishers Weekly
In her newest cookbook, the host of the PBS series Ciao Italia continues to share the breadth and simplicity of authentic Italian cuisine made from fresh, seasonal ingredients, with a focus this time on regional specialties, highlighting the distinctive foods of Southern, Central and Northern Italy and their origins. (For example, according to Esposito, there are no olive trees in Venice, because the area lacks sunshine; therefore, Venetians substitute butter for olive oil in many of their recipes.) These 130 new recipes, which she is promoting concurrently on her TV show, are, for the most part, rustic and unpretentious: foods eaten by real families as part of their daily lives, such as the Venetian dishes Tortellini di Zucca con Rag (Pumpkin-Stuffed Pasta with Meat Sauce) and Cappone Agrodolce (Capon with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce). Yet, at the same time, the recipes have an elegance and complexity of flavor that belie their origin. Scaloppine al Limone e Capperi (Veal Cutlets with Lemon and Caper Sauce) has flavors that are clean and clear; Tuscan Zuppa di Funghi (Mushroom Soup) is concentrated and rich; and Sicilian Biscottini di Vino (Little Wine Cookies) make an unusual and sumptuous accompaniment to a glass of red wine. Fans of her earlier books (Nella Cucina, etc.) and TV series will welcome Esposito's travel stories, family memories and tips, which infuse the recipes with a warm and personal touch. Similar in many ways to her earlier books, Esposito's new offering should appeal to Italian-Americans in search of the traditional foods and flavors of their ancestors.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.