David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen: Family Recipes from the Old Country [Hardcover]

David Ruggerio (Author), Maura McEvoy (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

As he did so lovingly in Little Italy Cookbook, his joyful evocation of Italian-American neighborhoods and cooking, David Ruggerio, multistarred chef, restaurateur, and television personality, invites you into the kitchen--this time to the family kitchens of the old country, Naples and Sicily.

The son of a Neapolitan mother and a Sicilian father, Ruggerio is 100 percent Italian: Neapolitan in emotion--passionate and fun-loving--and Sicilian in character--deep and soulful. From these contrasting strains comes David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen, a family album filled with more than 150 recipes: lamb roasted with the Mediterranean's finest olives, chicken baked in clay, fish roasted in a paper bag, Aunt Philomena's pasta with sardines, the famous Sunday gravy, Easter sweet rolls. Stunning photographs of food, family, and countryside, along with charming stories of old country traditions, make David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen the heart and soul of old country family cooking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Classically French-trained chef (formerly of Le Chantilly in New York City) and former Food Network host Ruggerio returns to his southern Italian roots (via Naples, Sicily and Brooklyn) with irrepressible enthusiasm. Ruggerio draws a distinction between the cooking of Naples (from his mother's side), which is "colorful and accessible, using mostly basic ingredients," and that of Sicily (his father's homeland), which he describes as "complex and subtle, calling for some 'exotic' ingredients." More than 150 recipes from both regions are folded into the book's seven chapters: antipasti, soups, pasta, fish and shellfish, meat and fowl, vegetables and desserts. Unlike many Italian cookbook chefs, Ruggerio sincerely attempts to enlighten readers about the country's regional differences. In short essays, he differentiates, for example, between the Neapolitan and Sicilian dialects and the "Fisherman in the Bay of Naples" and "La Tonnara," the Sicilian tuna fishing tradition, often with tongue-in-cheek humor. The straightforward recipes aim for authentic, traditional preparations, such as Silken Scallion Soup with Squid, She-Crabs Marinara, Saut?ed Sweet-and-Sour Tuna Steaks, Tripe Parmesan, Chicken Baked in Clay and Neapolitan Cauliflower Salad. Instructive sidebars introduce readers to Italian fundamentals, such as cooking pasta, filleting fish and roasting peppers. Alternating between entertainer and teacher, Ruggerio regales readers with countless amusing anecdotes, from yarns about his overprotective, meddling Sicilian aunt Josie (who insisted her daughter spend her honeymoon at home) to his hypochondriac friend Joey Baccala. Melding a bent for tall tales with alluring preparations, Ruggerio inspires readers to explore southern Italy with a smile and an adventurous palate. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

David Ruggerio, a native of Brooklyn, mastered the fundamentals of French cuisine as an apprentice to leading chefs in France. As executive chef at La Caravelle and Maxim's and later as chef-proprietor of Le Chantilly, all in New York City, Ruggerio earned three stars at each establishment from The New York Times. He is currently executive chef at Steak au Poivre in New York.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Artisan; First edition. edition (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579651151
• ISBN-13: 978-1579651152
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book To Read As Well As Use, October 3, 2000

By 

Deb Mele - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen: Family Recipes from the Old Country (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading this book almost as much as I enjoyed the recipes I prepared from it. As the Italian Food Host @ BellaOnline, I keep primarily an Italian kitchen, and have over 130 Italian cookbooks in my collection. This book has great photos, interesting little articles throughout and VERY good recipes. I am partial to southern Italian cooking anyway, so this book with it's Sicilan and Napolitano influences was particularly appealing. I have made quite a few recipes from this book already and apart from the odd one or two, would repeat them all. If you like southern Italian cooking with it's bold flavors, you won't be disappointed with this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Italian Essential!, May 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen: Family Recipes from the Old Country (Hardcover)

This book is a great reference for traditional Italian recipes. Together with Little Italy, it's all you need to cook delicious dishes just like Grandma used to make. I would heartily recommend it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Format & Interesting Stories, January 22, 2002

By 

Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: David Ruggerio's Italian Kitchen: Family Recipes from the Old Country (Hardcover)

This book would make a wonderful gift for an Italian American with either a Sicilian or Neapolitan descent. Intersperced in each of the usual Italian cookbook sections--antipasti, zuppe, pasta, frutti di mare, carne e pollame, verdure and dolci---are stories about Sicilians and Neapolitans that whet not only your culinary interest in these amazing people but also your interest in their culture and traditions. The book is punctuated with beautiful full page color photos of both the food, the places and the personalities. Ruggiero offers an amusing lexicon of Sicilian and Neapolitan phrases--that although I am not Sicilian or Neapolitan myself, I could relate to them with a broad smile as they seem to be indigenous to the Southern Italian dialect and can be easily recognized if not by spelling at least by sound by any Italian American. This book is a fun way to look into your heritage and at the same time prepare and eat good food.