By design, this book is a companion to Libation. Deirdre Heekin is joined this time by her Chef and husband, Caleb Barber. Son of the Prophet Ezekiel, Caleb was his scout into a new land. His new Canaan is Woodstock Vermont. They started with a bakery, now expanded to an osteria and some new sidelines. In Late Winter is the kind of cookbook to take with you even when you will not be in a kitchen for days, so much supplemental reading is included. Even the recipes have ample background in addition to much better than average instructions. Not a bad book to read before going to Italy, either. My guess is you will be happier with both volumes. You get a talented writer and a working chef, both passionate and genuine.
This is a cookbook fit for a beginner to use. Most recipes are basic enough to jump right into, given you read the whole entry, preferably twice. The format is quattro stagioni ( four seasons) with entries for each course within. Do not be surprised if only a few are at all familiar to you. This book teaches you to cook using Italian technique and to develop an appreciation of the Italian mentality as you proceed. There are not a dozen pasta dishes, but plenty of variety. If you are an experienced with Northern Italian cookery, you will still appreciate the commentary.
The scholarship is appreciable, without being dominant. The listed sources are good for the curious reader. In particular, Ms. Heekin introduces us to Maestro Martino, a pre-Columbian chef published an important early collection of recipes. Thankfully, she ignores the common modern English edition of his book, a barbarous butchered product of the California Studies in Food and Culture series that never fails to disappoint. I reviewed their feeble volume on herbs; this one is worse. They ripped out the recipes, of all things, and pasted in place only superficially related ones. Our dedicated duo instead responsibly went to the library in Milano to work with his manuscript of "Libro de Arte Coquinaria". You can now get the CD-ROM version of both the manuscript and the English translation here on Amazon. She also cites the Medieval Kitchen published by the formidable University of Chicago, also available here. Next is the great Pellegrino Artusi's seminal "The Art of Eating Well" which was finally reissued when the used copies hit $200.00. Finally, always a nice touch of poetry from the Dover dual language edition of their Introduction to Italian Poetry.
OK, so you hit a recipe calling for fresh sardines, which is not at your local fish market, let alone supermarket. You cannot substitute tinned ones. Move on to the fresh trout instead. They list all the recipes separately from the table of contents, which is handy. Risotto is tricky, but you can come close enough, and get better with practice. The only section that falls a bit short is the one on bread. I understand the desire to include it because of their roots in their original bakery, but there are better dedicated volumes that are more painstaking and complete. But I can use it to make a biga and get good enough results. I have only thirty or so volumes on Italian cookery, so this is a happy addition which I will go back to to exercise in the kitchen, and relax with in the easy chair or airline seat.