54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
High-end Italian dining in early 21st century, November 2, 2007
This review is from: Made in Italy: Food and Stories (Hardcover)
I bought the UK edition of Locatelli's Made In Italy but the US edition should be identical except the metric measurements are exchanged for American systems of measurements.
Overall speaking, the book is comprehensive and introduces what the author serves at his Locatelli restaurant in London, a little like the UK equivalent of the Babbo's owned by Mario Batali. Loctaelli serves dishes similar to what is served in a typical posh restaurant in early 21st century Milan - arguably Italy's economic centre, and thus if you are in to look for Italian-American fares like meatballs in red sauce or steak pizzaiola, Frank Pellegrino's "Rao's Cookbook" and "Rao's Recipes from the Neighborhood" would be the great alternatives instead.
Based in London now, Locatelli is northern Italian (born in Corgeno near Milan), so his section on risotto is fantastic and more comprehensive than any other "general Italian cookbooks" I have encountered including Antonio Carluccio, Mario Batali, Guy Grossi, or Frank Pellegrino. In addition, Locatelli also spends around 100 pages explaining Italian ingredients, from common ones like tomatoes to delicacies like white truffles. I am impressed with his detailed explanation on making good fresh egg pasta in particular.
A list of typical dishes in the book runs like this:
1. Antipasti: radicchio salad with button mushrooms and Gorgonzola dressing, beef carpaccio, parmesan grissini
2. Zuppa: broccoli soup with ricotta cheese dumplings, fish soup
3. Risotto: asparagus risotto, clam risotto, quail risotto
4. Pasta: linguine with pesto, tagliatelle with marinated sardines, pheasant ravioli, potato dumplings with artichoke and murazzano cheese
5. Pesce (fish): chargrilled tuna, roast brill with green olives and cherry tomatoes
6. Carne (meat): chargrilled lamb with peppers and aubergine (eggplant) puree, veal chop with artichoke and new potatoes, roast piegon, black truffle and garlic puree
7. Dolci (desserts): strawberry and mango lasagne, tiramisu with banana and liquorice ice-cream, amaretto gelato, amaretti and and other biscuits
You will notice as I mentioned above, from this list a lot of the dishes will be restaurant grade, but there are also many simple ones you can try. The only disappointment for me is that seafood dishes are largely absent when compared with other Italy cookbooks. It may be because Corgeno is near the Swiss border and landlocked.
You may find that just like a majority of Italian cooks and foodies, Locatelli belongs to the Slow Food movement, thus some of his comments will be very stridently against the "normal" foods - certainly in my opinion far more outspoken than Batali. Still, compared with some of the extreme voices from the Californian food scene he may not be so resolute as to putting you off.
I highly recommend this book if you are a serious cook and want to finesse your Italian cooking skills. At the least it provides good reading materials for armchair cooks like me. I have known from the online forums a lot of American foodies are interested to source the UK edition even before the American edition was published, so I gather this book should appeal to a lot of US audiences. If you find the book too foreign in tone and expensive at US$60.00, Mario Batali's "The Babbo Cookbook" provides a more American and more cost effective alternative.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rare gem of a cookbook, December 5, 2007
This review is from: Made in Italy: Food and Stories (Hardcover)
I'm a cook who studied and worked in Italy. Therefore, I can tell you it is very difficult to find a cookbook that conveys the emotion, passion and devotion the Italians have for their cuisine(s), even in Italy. Therefore, the arrival of Giorgio Locatelli's book on American shores is an event to be celebrated.
Chef Giorgio does a fantastic job describing ingredients and recipes and includes histories and anecdotes from his own life, making this book more than just a cookbook; it is a rare gem. It is a gift from a celebrated Italian chef who evokes the experiences of Italian food just as his countrymen (and women) see it, taste it, smell it, eat it, live it, and, more importantly, share it.
Although many recipes are restaurant-grade and can seem intimidating to the amateur cook, there are so many more dishes any experienced home cook can make at home. Plus, Chef Giorgio speaks to the reader with enough confidence so as to make the most intricate dishes "do-able" in your own home kitchen.
Made In Italy also reads like a wonderful tale and you will spend lots of time reading it on your couch in between selecting which recipes to make. You will really start to relate to the chef as well as to the ingredients he writes at length about.
By far, this book, along with Gillian Riley's Oxford Companion to Italian Food AND the classic The Silver Spoon are must-haves for any true Italian cook - amateur or professional. If you're new to cooking Italian food or cooking in general, I suggest you get all three books. Start cooking with The Silver Spoon (just like many Italian brides and young Italian professionals have), graduate up to Made In Italy, and always refer to the Oxford Companion!
Remember, Italian cuisine is a style, not a technique!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great, August 28, 2009
This review is from: Made in Italy: Food and Stories (Hardcover)
This books describes Italian Italian food, not American Italian food. So much less focus on cheese, tomatoes, and pasta - but those bases are covered too. The book is quite wordy, but the text is well written so I don't mind actually. We get a little info on different regions, a lot of info on different ingredients, and a good number of recipes. Really a pleasant book that can be read as well as cooked.
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