A Fresh Taste of Italy: 250 Authentic Recipes, Undiscovered Dishes, and New Flavors for Every Day [Hardcover]

Michele Scicolone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 1997

Twenty-five years ago, Michele Scicolone went to Italy on her honeymoon and fell in love with all things Italian--the people, the culture, and especially the food and wine.  With this exciting collection of 250 recipes ranging from antipasto to desserts, Michele brings to American tables the true flavors of simple Italian cooking.  

Melon Fritters.  Salmon Carpaccio.  Spaghetti with Rubies.  Sicilian Seafood Couscous.  Chicken with Vinegar and Hot Pepper.  Capri Lemon Tart. Perfect Polenta.  Fresh Tomato Sauce.  Spinach Gnocchi. Traditional family favorites, contemporary dishes, and regional classics are easy for midweek family meals yet elegant enough for dinner parties.  Names and addresses of her favorite restaurants, food festivals, and markets; information-packed sidebars on everything from choosing ingredients to step-by-step instructions for cooking pasta, risotto, and other classic dishes; and 16 pages of glorious color photographs make this the comprehensive Italian cookbook no cook, Italophile, or traveler should be without.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you are looking for the recipe for the sublime spiced eggplant you sampled in Naples or the polenta topped with meltingly tender spare ribs you enjoyed in Rome, Michele Scicolone's A Fresh Taste of Italy may be the place to find it. This book is crammed with recipes you have not seen before, such as Spaghetti with Rubies, a tuna pesto, and Pork Loin Braised with Onions and Grapes. Scicolone collected these recipes during countless trips to Italy over 25 years. In addition, she provides an outstanding guide to ingredients and important advice on how to best duplicate the flavors of Italian food as it tastes in Italy. Steeped in knowledge, Scicolone shares information with the generosity of a natural teacher as she describes all the places where she and her husband have eaten in Italy. There is also good information on Italian wines.

From Publishers Weekly

An extensive collection of recipes plucked from Italy's diverse countrysides, the latest from Scicolone (La Dolce Vita and The Antipasto Table) offers dishes notable for both ease of preparation and inventiveness. Directions are clear and unfussy, while ingredients are frequently original and bracing. The antipasto Spiced Eggplant calls for lemon zest, walnuts and semisweet chocolate. Tempting zuppe extend from Friulian Wild Mushroom Soup to Bean and Escarole Soup cooked with rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Uncommon pastas include Spaghetti with Rubies (the sauce of garlic and chopped roasted beets dyes the pasta a brilliant red) and the enticing and cheeseless, anchovy-laced Linguine with Tuna Pesto. Scicolone demystifies risotto with clear words of guidance and 10 easy recipes. Simplicity and elegance of taste are also the earmarks of Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Sage and Pancetta, Country-Style Roast Chicken with Lemon, Sage and Rosemary and Pork Chops in Red Wine and Juniper. Sweet conclusions vary from Chestnut Tart and Sweet Polenta Cake (good for breakfast, too). Although this cookbook doesn't shout, it offers solid substance and new ideas even for home cooks long-practiced in Italian cuisine. Photos not seen by PW. $50,000 ad-promo; 10-city author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (February 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055306729X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553067293
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MICHELE SCICOLONE

Michele Scicolone is an award winning food writer and the author of 17 cookbooks. Her latest book, THE FRENCH SLOW COOKER was published in January 2012. It is a collection of classic French recipes adapted for use in the electric slow cooker (Crock Pot). Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table wrote, "I'd bet that if French cooks could get their hands on Michele Scicolone's FRENCH SLOW COOKER, which is filled with smart, practical and convenient recipes, they'd never let it go."

Michele's previous book THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER, was published in January 2010 and immediately became a bestseller. She was also one of the editors of the 75th Anniversary edition of the classic, Joy of Cooking, and writes about food, wine, and travel for many publications, including Every Day with Rachael Ray, Prevention, The Washington Post, The Wine Spectator, Gourmet, and Bon Appetit. Previous books include The BLT Cookbook with Chef Laurent Tourondel, The Sopranos Family Cookbook, a #1 New York Times Best Seller that was published in 9 languages and a sequel, Entertaining with the Sopranos, both co-authored with Allen Rucker. She has also written 1000 Italian Recipes, and Pizza--Anyway You Slice It!, co-authored with her husband Charles Scicolone, an Italian wine (and pizza) authority.

Michele's television appearances include Emeril Live, The CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, and Cooking Live with Sara Moulton, as well as many local television and radio programs She teaches cooking at schools around the country including De Gustibus at Macy's, Sur la Table, and the Institute for Culinary Education and is a consultant to many restaurants. Michele has been a spokesperson for the Italian Trade Commission and Williams Sonoma, and lecturer on Italian culture and cuisine at Hofstra and Henderson State Universities, and The Smithsonian Institute. Michele is also a consultant for several restaurants and food companies.

Together with her husband, Michele hosts culinary tours to Italy several times a year. Visit her website at www.MicheleScicolone.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone Who Loves Italian Food Should Have This One!, January 22, 2000

By 

Deb Mele - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fresh Taste of Italy: 250 Authentic Recipes, Undiscovered Dishes, and New Flavors for Every Day (Hardcover)

As a collector of Italian cookbooks, I now count this one as one of my favorites. Michele Scicolone shares 250 wonderful recipes with very easy instructions, and adds a little extra note to each recipe. I hosted an Italian Buffet last year for 50 people, and used this book as my primary reference. The recipe for Frico (cheese wafers) and roasted Olives with Fennel and Lemon are so tasty, I serve them now with drinks everytime I entertain! This book offers a combination of both traditional Italian recipes, and those more contemporary with sometimes surprising ingredients. As the Italian Cooking Host @ Bella Online, and someone with over 150 Italian cookbooks in my collection, I would say this is definately a book to buy! My only regret is that there weren't more pictures as the ones included are so inspiring, it makes you want to run into the kitchen and start cooking.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is a gustatory surprise on every page, January 1, 1999

By 

Richard Piro "Richard Piro" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fresh Taste of Italy: 250 Authentic Recipes, Undiscovered Dishes, and New Flavors for Every Day (Hardcover)

Someone gave me a few cookbooks -- (never do this to an experienced cook!) Every time I reached for this book to bring to a recycle center some new recipe caught my eye. It's deceptive. The sidebars tell the stories you need to hear about the recipes. A tuna pesto? Sounds dull, no? It is a superb dish. A spaghetti sauce with only beets? (The cover photo tells it all.) A lentil and clam stew? Lentils with CLAMS ??? It works. It works brilliantly. This is not a basic book. But it is a wonderful addition to any Italian food library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll want to catch the next plane to Italy., December 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Fresh Taste of Italy: 250 Authentic Recipes, Undiscovered Dishes, and New Flavors for Every Day (Hardcover)

A Fresh Taste of Italy is a marvelous resource for an array of recipes; terminology; history; and sources of ingredients. The author paints a glamourous picture of the great diversity that exists in Italian cuisine. If you purchase only one Italian cookbook...this is the one to get.