Customer Reviews

A Taste of Lucca: Hosting a Northern Italian Dinner Party : Recipes, Menus, Planning, Wines

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a nice idea for a little Italian cookbook. What a marvelous way to get someone interested in Italian cooking. The book starts out with a short history of Lucca and then describes Lucca today and then Ms. Dinelli tells you about Lucca's festivals, holidays and traditions.

And then she gets right into it, telling you how to plan your party, how to invite your guests, plan your menu, gather your ingredients, set the table, cook the meal, entertain your guests, serve the meal and so much more.

And that so much more is the mouthwatering recipes that take up most of the book. From the very simple Prosciutto e Melone/Proscuitto e Fichi (Italian Ham with Sliced Melon or Fresh Figs) on page 20 to the kind of complicated Cacciucco (Fish Stew) on page 111, to the delicious Cenci (Fried Tuscan Pastries) on page 184 you'll find only tasty Italian fare.

You can't go wrong with this book. I just love it and am so glad I stumbled upon it. If you see it, snap it up, then host a Northern Italian Dinner Party. I've done it and Hubby Dub and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

The author of this book is American, with parents from Lucca, Italy. This book is clearly written for Americans but with the authenticity of someone that loves the place of their parents birth.

The book gives a little history of Lucca, which is a beautiful little walled city, if you have not had been fortunate enough to visit. I loved the discussions of the festivals in Lucca. Until I read this book I had realized that I visited there during the festival of the holy cross.

The book outlines menus to emphasis different ingredients, a very Italian concept.

The recipes are grouped as follows:
Antipasti
Primi - soup, rice and pasta
Types of Pasta
Secondi - beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish
Verdure - vegetables
Sughi - sauces
Uova - eggs
Insalate - salad
Dolci - dessert
Formaggio - cheese

Each recipe is rated by a difficulty factor that appears reasonable to me. The author gives variations for some of the recipes.

The author also has a little wine guide in the back. She gives a description of the Italian wines, and then tells you which foods she thinks pair best with those wines. There is also a little glossary of Italian terms included.

This book is a paperback, and does not include glossy pictures. But, the recipes are so spot on that I had to give it 5 stars even without pictures.

Overall, I think the author has done a very nice job of bringing the food of Lucca to America. If you know someone who has roots in Luca, or just someone that loves Italian cooking, this is a nice addition to a cooking library.