Customer Reviews

Cooking of Parma

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Authentic Italian cooking is regional. This cookbook gives you a chance to "taste" Parma. The food of Parma, as presented in this cookbook, is rich and diverse. The recipes are generally easy to follow and use ingredients easily obtained by the USA cook.

I did find lapses in several recipes where a certain step or procedure was assumed (or was it unintentionally omitted?). The recipes I have done have been successful and flavorful.

I love cookbooks that give you more than just recipes: they teach you about cooking, culture, and people. While this is not as good as some of the best regional cookbooks, it is certainly does teach about the cuisine and culture of Parma (and a bit about the USA where the author lives). It is a worthy addition to the regional cookbook genre.

This cookbook has many unique meals of northern Italy nicely written with recollections of "la familigia" and traditional italian meals. The dishes take some extra care and time, but isn't great italian food worth that?

I had an instant flash of recognition when I picked up this book -- these were truly the recipes that I watched my grandmother and aunts make when I was a child . Someone wanted anulin in brodo? It was whipped up in an afternoon. Polenta was a staple, as was risotto, cotechino a treat, torta di patate a favorite snack food (something my children love as well, as I worked by trial and error to recreate it), pegai the food of the gods. I had despaired of ever getting my mother to show me how to make these things and feared many of them would die off with her -- then voila, Richard Sidoli's book with everything in it! These recipes are not necessarily fast or simple to prepare (of course some are, particularly the vegetables), but so marvelously full of flavor and authentic. The list of ingredients is rarely long, but freshness is essential. These dishes bear little resemblance to what most Americans view as Italian food, even northern Italian food, but they reflect an extraodinary elevation of the simple into the sublime.

I'm an Italian and this brought home all the wonderful aroama's & flavors I was brought up on, but never had I known how easy it was to prepare until, after buying this book, I found the reasons why my parents served Italian food almost daily in our household. Thank you Chef Ricci!!!

This book brings to life many of the peasant delicasies that my grandmother used to make.

Published recipes for different varieties of Torta and even Anolini en Brodo! Who knew? There are even gems that I was not familiar with like Braised Fennel (delicious).

The anecdotes were alo very enjoyable to me having grown up in the Bronx near Conti's Bakery mentioned in the Forward.

An excellent reference.

Having lived in Italy for 8 years myself, I learned to fully appreciate the foods of Emilia-Romagna, the region in which Parma sits. This book spolights the foods of Parma, famous for it's Parmigiano and Prosciutto di Parma. The book is well layed out, the recipes simple to prepare, and the food photos particularly inspiring. As the host of my own culinary website Italian Food Forever, I am always interested in learning more about regional Italian cuisine, and found this book pasrticularly enjoyable.

I found the recipes easy to follow. And the serving suggestions made it easy to serve a complete dinner. I also enjoyed the authors memories and decriptions of his family in Italy and Italian life.

As a 1st generation Italian America I can remember sitting in my grandmother's and mymother's kitchen watching them cook the dishes described within. This book captures the essence of the magic that goes beyond food and into a state of mind, relaxing and full of good cheer.

Mr. Sidoli has revealed for us secrets that lay hidden for centuries in the mountains of northern Italy. A taste of just one dish makes the book worthwhile. Better still, he has made our life easy with a list of suggested and classic menus. Plus, with dishes which range from antipasti to meats to fish to vegetables and even desserts, there is something in this book for everyone. Mr. Sidoli, thanks for make the pleasure of such good food available to people's lives

Yes, if you are searching for some legendary and unknown dish from Appennino Emiliano, you need this book. For example you cannot find anywhere the formula for Pegai and even if there were some differences from a family to another, this book has the basic formula you can start from. Pegai were designed in two little town in th Parma state, now there could be up to 50 people that know the formula. Pegai soon will be shrouded in mystery.
Moreover you can remember just some dishes from Emilia Romagna, but there's a world hidden over the Appennino Emiliano, where you can see the sea (mar Ligure, golfo di La Spezia) from the top of the mountains...... from mushrooms to cheese, from culatello to torta gelata...... I'm hungry !!!