Fantastico: Little Italian Plates and Antipasti from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen [Hardcover]

Rick Tramonto (Author), Mary Goodbody (Author), Belinda Chang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2007

Rick Tramonto, one of America’s most renowned and award-winning chefs and author of Amuse-Bouche, among other titles, now has written a cookbook showcasing the best of Italian cuisine, the food he grew up eating and has explored in depth on his extensive travels throughout the country. The little plates in Fantastico! are all tempting, tasty dishes that can be mixed and matched for relaxed cooking and dining in true Italian style..

Italians have traditionally enjoyed this small-plate way of eating and now Americans have caught on. Increasingly, restaurants specializing in this kind of experience have been opening across the country. With Fantastico! fans of Italian food have the opportunity to reproduce at home the irresistible dishes served at enotecas, osterias, trattorias, pizzerias, and ristorantes throughout Italy, for quick weeknight meals or innovative entertaining.

Fantastico! is the ideal source for a stunning array of antipasti, assaggios, salumis, and cheeses, the perfect accompaniments to a variety of wines and surprising additions to everyday and formal meals. Tramonto’s terrific recipes, accompanied by wine recommendations and his tips on buying the best ingredients, provide readers with the inspiration and the know-how they need to make a big impression by thinking small. The selection includes such festive recipes as Tramonto’s Razor Clams Casino and Roasted Medjool Dates with Gorgonzola, Bacon, and Toasted Walnuts; innovative ideas for grilled breads with robust toppings (bruschetta) and little toasts with refined toppings (crostini); an extraordinary variety of panini, along with wonderful Venetian-style, open-faced mini-sandwiches (cicchetti); and a delightful assortment of simple-to-prepare dishes—including a spectacular canned tuna salad with a caper and herb vinaigrette—Tuna Conserva Cicchetti—that will enliven traditional antipasti platters and serve as the centerpiece of a light meal for family and friends.

With more than 100 simple recipes and beautiful full-color photographs, Fantastico! will inspire anyone who loves the casual charm of Italian cooking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tramonto, four-star chef, partner in five Chicago-based restaurants, including the highly acclaimed Tru, and author of Amuse Bouche, presents a tasty look at the Italian version of tapas—small bites and little plates that serve as appetizers and entire meals. Easy-to-prepare dishes with mouth-watering photographs whet the appetite and are perfect for entertaining. Tramonto covers all the bases with chapters on crudo, bruschetta, crostini, panini, antipasti and more. Recipes such as Grilled Shrimp Wrapped in Pancetta with Lemon Aioli offer a classic preparation as well as a shortcut using prepared mayonnaise. Mini Veal Meatballs with Caramelized Onions and Crostini with Chopped Egg and Asparagus provide a new twist to some old favorites. Tramonto also highlights traditional Italian dishes such as Creamy Soft Polenta with Meat Ragu and Rick's Basic Bruschetta. The chapter on cheese offers tantalizing alternatives to dessert, such as Gorgonzola Dolce with Roasted Pears and Spiced Walnuts. Full-color photos. (Nov.)
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Review

“FANTASTICO!, the new book by Rick Tramonto, is truly delightful. With simple recipes for small bites and little plates, Rick unfurls some of the best and tastiest of Italian recipes. This is a book that will have you salivating before you start cooking.”
— Lidia Bastianich, chef and author of Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

“Small plates is how I love to eat—after all, I grew up eating Chinese dim sum. Rick’s recipes remind me of dim sum, with their focus on flavors and comfort. Dim sum means “to touch the heart” and this cookbook, filled with great recipes and stories, will do just that.”
Ming Tsai, chef and owner of Blue Ginger, host of Simply Ming

“Rick is one of my favorite chefs, and when I need a great Italian fix and can’t make it to Italy, his osteria in Chicago is a favorite stop. There, I enjoy the crudo, crostini, his pastas, and antipasti. Sitting at a table crowded with small plates of beautiful food and wine with friends is such a perfect way to spend an evening. Rick’s dishes are simple but all possess brilliant flavors and a striking authenticity. How wonderful that he now has a whole book filled with these recipes!”

— Barbara Lynch, chef and owner of No. 9 Park, B&G Oysters, The Butcher Shop

“Rick Tramonto’s ability to reinterpret the classic Italian table in the American vernacular is nothing short of Olympian! The integrity of these small plates evokes the true soul of Italy and inspires me to cook them at home for my family. FANTASTICO! is truly magnifico!”
— Mario Batali

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767923812
• ISBN-13: 978-0767923811
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Assertive, flavorful Italian tapas, March 6, 2008

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fantastico: Little Italian Plates and Antipasti from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen (Hardcover)

"The only hard-and-fast rule for these small taste treats is that the ingredients be the best you can find." Award-winning Chicago chef Tramonto ("Amuse-Bouche") celebrates small doses of assertive, fresh Italian flavor in which a mouthful or two is enough. Dishes are arranged within chapters so they move forward from spring to winter using seasonal ingredients; the photos are gorgeous and wine advice accompanies each recipe.

He begins with assagio (a morsel), intense little dishes like Marinated White Anchovy and Dandelion Salad or the Italian pickled vegetables Giardiniera, then moves on to crudo (raw, salted and marinated) - Oysters with Red Wine Vinaigrette; Crusted Ahi Tuna with Pomegranate Vinaigrette - and bocconcini (small simple plates) like Baby Artichokes with Lemon-Garlic Bread Crumbs.

There are chapters for bruschetta with "robust" toppings like Fennel and Green Olives and crostini with "refined" toppings like pureed Chicken Livers and Balsamic. Then comes panini - Truffled Scrambled Egg and Bacon - and cicchetti (mini Venetian-style sandwiches) - Fresh Ricotta and Sun-Dried Tomato.

And finally the antipasti (little plates before the pasta) - Creamy Soft Polenta with Meat Ragu; Abruzzi Swordfish Roll-Ups - and the cheese course - Scamorza with Arugula and Oranges.

What all the dishes have in common is a mouthwatering attention to detail, by which I mean the finest ingredients and no shortcuts. The Taleggio (cheese) with Quince Paste and Marcona Almonds, for instance, requires you to make the quince paste. If you have ever tried this, you will know what I mean by laborious, if you have not, well, the directions are clear and brazen.

Many dishes, however, are quite simple, though never slapdash and often requiring several steps. This is a book for those who like to cook, not just get food on the table.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love this Book, August 21, 2010

By 

Ruby Skye - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fantastico: Little Italian Plates and Antipasti from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen (Hardcover)

I will definitely make most of the recipes in this book. I ordered coordinating an Italian themed wedding menu and I'm really glad I did!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Rick's Piccolini Rocks!, February 10, 2012

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fantastico: Little Italian Plates and Antipasti from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen (Hardcover)

Tramonto is certainly a well-known chef and cookbook author of repute. Having several of his cookbooks already, this one tantalized its purchase and delivered wonderful small plates of Italian fare, piccolini!

He explains that this flowed naturally out of his Italian heritage, where also grew his love to cook for others from family and friends cooking and sharing with each other. Further his travel to Italy inspired even more of this cuisine in small bites, and those who have this work benefit from all this flowing on to us and our eating and sharing experience.

The offering is nice and bright in its layout and design, with full color photos on some dishes (only thing could possibly critique for improvement, and that is not all the dishes have an accompanying photo, but those here are outstanding). Also, there is accompanying wine suggestions on dishes from his sommelier Belinda which are excellent. Organization is by category, i.e. bruschetta, panini, antipasti, etc. rather than by ingredient, which in this case makes lots of sense and practicality to this user. He also has a nice sources resource at the end.

This is an excellent resource for those who enjoy providing either piccolini as appetizer or whole small plate, tapas style meal. It also would make the excellent gift for the foodie in your life!

So far, have attempted with rave reviews the following: Marinated Swordfish with mint and preserved meyer lemon; Avocado carpaccio with pears and ricotta salad; Bruschetta with roasted minted zucchini fontian val d'aosta; Fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and pistachio pesto panini; Cauliflower with golden raisins and lemon-garlic bread crumbs; Tuscan panzanella; Mini veal meatballs with carmelized onions.