The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual [Hardcover]

Frank^Castronovo, Frank^Meehan, Peter Falcinelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2010

From Brooklyn's sizzling restaurant scene, the hottest cookbook of the season...

From urban singles to families with kids, local residents to the Hollywood set, everyone flocks to Frankies Spuntino—a tin-ceilinged, brick-walled restaurant in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens—for food that is "completely satisfying" (wrote Frank Bruni in The New York Times). The two Franks, both veterans of gourmet kitchens, created a menu filled with new classics: Italian American comfort food re-imagined with great ingredients and greenmarket sides. This witty cookbook, with its gilded edges and embossed cover, may look old-fashioned, but the recipes are just we want to eat now. The entire Frankies menu is adapted here for the home cook—from small bites including Cremini Mushroom and Truffle Oil Crostini, to such salads as Escarole with Sliced Onion & Walnuts, to hearty main dishes including homemade Cavatelli with Hot Sausage & Browned Butter. With shortcuts and insider tricks gleaned from years in gourmet kitchens, easy tutorials on making fresh pasta or tying braciola, and an amusing discourse on Brooklyn-style Sunday "sauce" (ragu), The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Kitchen Manual will seduce both experienced home cooks and a younger audience that is newer to the kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This time-capsule-worthy cookbook is destined to become a lifestyle mantra for the cooking community and the rest of the country." --Mario Batali
(Mario Batali)

About the Author

Frank Castronovo trained with such culinary superstars as Jacques Pépin and France's Paul Bocuse. In 2003, he opened Frankies 457 Spuntino with childhood friend Frank Falcinelli. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.




Frank Falcinelli has worked in Michelin two-star restaurants in France, with chefs Charlie Palmer and David Burke in New York, and was a partner and chef in the New York hot spot Moomba. He lives in Brooklyn with his French bulldog, Frankies mascot Merlin.


Peter Meehan is a food writer and former New York Times restaurant columnist. His most recent book is Momofuku, co-authored with the chef David Chang.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Artisan; 1st Ed. edition (June 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579654150
• ISBN-13: 978-1579654153
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Italian

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cookbook June 3, 2010

By Nora Dupree

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I visited this restaurant a couple of weeks ago, and had some of the best food I had ever tasted. Pure and simple, excellent quality, I couldn't wait to get the book and start cooking! This book is everything you could hope for in a cookbook. The recipes are clearly explained, the ingredients are easy to get ( you probably have most of them), and the resulting dishes are absolutely delicious. I tried three recipes over the last holiday weekend, and my family and guests were delighted. The Sunday Sauce and Meatballs are wonderful! A bonus is the excellent narrative that accompanies the recipes; funny, practical and smart; you won't be able to resist trying this food. I collect cookbooks,and this one is going to spend alot of time in the kitchen with me, not so much time on the shelf.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Kitchen Companion July 12, 2010

By Jeff

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great book - most cookbooks, you look up a recipe, go to the page, and maybe read any relevant content for a page or two before just going off the recipe. This book is actually readable, from cover to cover. A quick background on the guys, tips on gear/gadgets and how best to stock your kitchen, then on to the food. One of my big complaints with cookbooks is being told "this is how it's done" or "you only do it this way", without being told why. I'm left wondering "if I don't do it this way, will it suck, will it just be more watery, will it be a total disaster?" Here, they tell you what they do, and why they do it. Good stuff

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Cookbook -- A Keeper September 11, 2010

By M. Hill TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Here are some specific details about the construction of the book. It is organized into the follow sections: Preface, Introduction, About These Recipes and This Cooking, Equipment & Pantry, Antipasto, Sandwiches & Soups, Salads, Pasta, Meats & Other Main Courses, Sunday Sauce, Desserts, Appendices, Acknowledgements, Index and the Frankies Crest.

There is a twenty five page section of photographs in the center of the book. Rather than focusing on the prepared dishes, the pictures depict people and surroundings with just a few shots of actual food. In a normal cookbook, where the pictures are often needed as a blueprint for the final product, sufficient information is provided within the text of the recipes so that the cook never feels lost - even to the number of turns of the peppermill.

The authors discuss the food and it is written so conversationally you'd swear they were speaking directly to you, explaining why something is done the way it is, how they used to do it and what personal touches the reader might want to try. It is a very special cookbook, although as the title states, more of a kitchen companion and cooking manual than standard cookbook. Yes, there are recipes, but to call them simply that seems somehow inadequate.

I prepared the Watercress with Fresh Figs and Gorgonzola salad (although,as suggested within the recipe, I used fresh peaches in place of the figs,) Ricotta Cheesecake and Eggplant Marinara. All three dishes were delicious and I encountered no problems with the recipes.

When reviewing cookbooks, if appropriate, I usually complain about the lack of photographs and the book's inability to lay flat open on a countertop, but although this book doesn't do either, I don't care. It provides significant information as is, and the authors personalities come through loud and clear. It would be wrong to try to fit their concept into a cookie cutter cookbook mold, but bear this in mind, it is not one of those lushly illustrated cookbooks designed to be almost more of a coffee table book than useful kitchen tool. The Frankies book is styled to look like a fine piece of literature -- something that will survive the ages -- with its black bound cover with gold engraved print and gilt edged pages. The book, in appearance and content is as distinctive as its authors and is worthy of space on any cookbook shelf. It would make an excellent gift for a novice or experienced cook.