Lidia's Italian Table: More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking [Hardcover]

Lidia Bastianich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1998

Lidia's Italian Table

LIDIA MATTICCHIO BASTIANICH

"Let me invite you on a journey with me from my childhood ..." beckons Lidia Bastianich, hostess of the national public television series Lidia's Italian Table. And what an incredible journey it proves to be.

Lidia's Italian Table is overflowing with glorious Italian food, highlighted by Lidia's personal collection of recipes accumulated since her childhood in Istria, located in northern Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Hearty and heartwarming Italian fare is what Lidia understands best, and each chapter of this gorgeous cookbook is infused with Lidia's warm memories of a lifetime of eating and cooking Italian style.

Since good Italian food is based on good ingredients, Lidia includes an eloquent discourse on those products that are the cornerstones of Italian cuisine: olives (and their green-golden oil), Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt, porcini mushrooms, truffles, tomato paste, and hot peppers. She also explains the importance of regional wines and grappa (in flavors from honey to dried fig) in the Italian food experience. Her recipes are filled with these Italian delicacies--Fennel, Olive, and Citrus Salad; Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushroom Sauce; Seared Rabbit Loin over Arugula with Truffle Dressing; Asparagus Gratin with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese-, and Zabaglione with Barolo Wine.

Lidia explores every corner of Italian cuisine: from fresh and dry pasta to gnocchi and risotto to game and shellfish, all of which Lidia transforms into exceptional Italian dishes. But that is only the beginning. There are Italian soups to savor, like hearty minestre, bread-enriched zuppe, and the light and flavorful brodi. Polenta's delicious versatility is revealed through Polenta, Gorgonzola, and Savoy Cabbage Torte and White Creamy Polenta with Fresh Plums.

And Lidia's luscious dolci, or desserts, invite your indulgence with Sweet Crepes with Chocolate Walnut Filling, Blueberry-Apricot Frangipane Tart, and Soft Ice Cream with Hazelnuts.

Lidia attributes her passion and appreciation for Italian food to her family. Lidia's Italian Table is filled with stories of learning to make Easter bread with her Grandma Rosa in the town's communal oven; touching and smelling her way through the food markets of Trieste with her great-aunt Zia Nina; fishing for calamari with her uncle Zio Milio; and collecting briny mussels and sea urchins along the Istrian coastline with her cousins.

This gastronomic adventure is more than just a cookbook: It is an exploration into the heart of Italian cuisine.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lidia Bastianich moved to the United States in 1959 from Trieste in northern Italy. She was 12 years old. Her actual home was over the line, in what became Yugoslavia after World War II. So food, for Bastianich, was both what made her family different from everyone they lived around in their new home in New York State and the anchor that held her family together. Bastianich calls this visceral sense of food "Lidia's Italian Table." It's the name of her PBS series and of this book, which accompanies the series.

In sections that include antipasti, soups, pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta, vegetables, game and chicken, meats, fish and shellfish, and sweets, Lidia sweeps readers up into her arms and hugs them with the likes of Baked Onions with Butternut Squash Filling; Sauerkraut and Bean Soup; Bow Ties with Sausage and Leek Sauce; Shrimp Risotto; Fennel, Olive, and Citrus Salad; Braised Venison with Polenta; Baked Squid and Potatoes; and Zucchini Cake. Notice how most of these dishes have a familiar "Italian" ring, yet stretch beyond whatever that notion typically includes--the soup with sauerkraut, for example. Lidia's table is set in a part of Italy that doesn't get a lot of ready play. It's Italian, but then some. A little extra. If you try it, you may find it difficult to get up from Lidia's table. You may just want to stay. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

Manhattan restaurateur Bastianich (La Cucina di Lidia, 1990) brings an infectious exuberance to this tie-in to a 26-part PBS series starting in September. While not breaking new ground, she presents an enticing selection of favorite dishes combining traditional flavors with simple gusto. Appetizers include Braised Peppers with Anchovies and Buffalo Mozzarella Poached in Tomato-Basil Sauce. The signature dish Frico, a Friulian specialty of Montasio cheese cooked in a skillet until it melts and crispens, that gave the name to FricoBar, the restaurant run by Bastianich's son Joseph, takes a place of honor here, served either alone or with a savory like Potato and Crabmeat Filling. Bread soups, fresh pastas with sauces, dried pastas and their appropriate sauces stir both the appetite and longings for a time when good taste was valued over trendiness. Rice dishes include the classic Creamy Risotto Milanese Style, golden with saffron, and, from the Piedmonte, Risotto with Barolo Wine on a Bed of Carrot Puree. Meats and fish range from Roasted Guinea Hen with Balsamic Glaze to Veal Ossobuco with Barley Risotto and Red Grouper in White Sauce Served with a Side Dish of Pasta. Nestled within dessert recipes for tarts and semifreddoes is Caramelized Tomatoes, an unusual topping for vanilla ice cream. This is a most worthy addition to the crammed Italian cookbook shelf. Editor, Pam Hoenig; agent, Jane Dystel. BOMC/Good Cook selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 390 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (September 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688154107
• ISBN-13: 978-0688154103
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Northern Italian Cuisine from the PBS show, December 5, 2003

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lidia's Italian Table: More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking (Hardcover)

This companion to a PBS series presented by Ms. Bastianich includes over 200 authentically Italian recipes. I believe the value in purchasing this book depends a lot on how many cookbooks of Italian cuisine you already have. There is a fair amount of overlap with Ms. B's first book, `Al Cucina di Lidia'. For example, in the PBS title, there is a recipe for rabbit, `Coniglio al Balsamico' which features balsamic vinegar and sage, while in the earlier book, there is a similar recipe, `Coniglio alla salvia' featuring balsamic vinegar and sage. Both are braises, cooking for about 45 minutes. Both books also include recipes for sauerkraut and pork. The overlap may be less than 10 percent and Ms. B. does cite her book as a reference, along with ten (10) other titles, about half of which are in Italian. It is just important to realize this in weighing the value of the book.

Based on the incidence of recipes for strudel, fresh pasta, polenta, and risotto, I would say the book concentrates on the cuisine of northern Italy, which is totally expected, as Ms. B was born and raised on the Istrian peninsula, east of Trieste. The chapters and number of recipes in each are:

Appetizers: 21, many of bruschetta and including prosciutto
Soups: 22, including an essay on how to make a good minestre.
Fresh Pasta: 16, including an essay on pasta making and several recipes including game meats
Dry Pasta: 14, including essay on tomatoes and sauces
Rice: 11 recipes, almost all for risotto
Gnocchi: 11 recipes, many with game meat
Polenta: 9 recipes, mostly regional specialities
Vegetables: 20, including lessons on prepping artichokes and favas
Game and Chicken: Rabbit and boar and venison, oh my
Meat: 19, including recipes for sauces
Fish and Shellfish: 17, including general tips on handling bivalves and crustaceans
Sweets: 22, including Strudel and Zabaglione.

If you have no Italian cookbooks or only cookbooks covering the hard pasta / tomato ridden Neapolitan cuisine or really need a book for game recipes, you could do no better than this volume. If you absolutely must have every cookbook by a major Italian cookbook author, this will be a worthy addition to your collection. If you have Ms. B's third book on Italian-American cuisine, this will be a very good compliment, as I expect no overlap there. If you really enjoyed the PBS series for which this book is a companion, then I highly recommend it.

But, if you already own a few of the other hundreds of Italian cookbooks, I suggest you at least browse the book before signing up. There may be more overlap than is worth you money. I will still give it the highest rating, because on its own merits, it is a very good book.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tried One Recipe and Could Not Stop..., October 21, 2001

By 

L.N. Lawrence (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lidia's Italian Table: More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking (Hardcover)

I purchased this book about 2 years ago. The first recipe I made was "Pasta With Pancetta, Tomato and Onion". It was such a hit, I just continued on recipe after recipe. It is the most used cookbook in my home (I have at least 100 books). All the dishes are so flavorful and simple. She uses fresh ingredients that are easily attainable, the recipes are clear, concise and though I have been cooking for 30 years, I keep learning from her through her books. Lidia is my food mentor, she embraces food, is a wonderful teacher and the recipes in this book are excellent.

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lidia is a genius,...we all know that., March 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lidia's Italian Table: More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking (Hardcover)

This is a woman who puts her heart as well as her] creative mind into her cooking. She respects the food as well as loving those she serves.

Recipes are either followed to the letter by inexperienced cooks,..or used as precious guides by those of us who've cooked for many years. Potato Gnocchi..a personal favorite, is one of her pastas that my family enjoys, too.

I've seen her cook on the Food Network Chef du Jour spots, and wish they'd give her a regular program in their schedule.

This woman has earned the love and respect of many Italian-Americans and the world at large.