The Italian-American Cookbook: A Feast of Food from a Great American Cooking Tradition (Paperback)

by John Mariani (Author) "Of course, none of the immigrants had any experience eating in or running a restaurant, nor was there usually any excess money to spend on..." (more)
Key Phrases: cup plain dry breadcrumbs, heaping tablespoon salt, wine suggestion, New York, United States, Pecorino Romano (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
If, as the authors emphasize, one uses only the freshest ingredients (they include a guide to the best sources for Italian foods by state), the resultAwhether a simple salad or an adventurous dessertAwill be a culinary triumph to enjoy. In their overstuffed tribute to one of our country's favorite cuisines, the Marianis (Galina is a food columnist, John is the author of The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink) tackle both the familiar and the rare. Many of their spaghetti dishes are paired with vegetables, such as a Spaghetti with Cauliflower recipe, which also calls for currants, saffron and anchovies. Conversely, fruit is often used to brighten their meat dishes. Roasted Sausages and Grapes are hot and sweet at once, and there's an irresistible Mountain Lamb Scallopine with Figs and Honey made with ginger, fennel and orange juice. Additionally, the authors include a small collection of comforting, childhood favorites, like Johnny Marzetti, an Italian-style Sloppy Joe; Chicken Tetrazzini, with Parmigiano-Reggiano, heavy cream and butter; and even Baked Macaroni and Cheese, perked up with a touch of cayenne. Quite addictive and good for the soul, if not always for the waistline, these 250 recipes will prove handy on nights when there are no reservations to be found at the local ristorante. Agent, Heide Lange. (Dec.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Respected food critic John Mariani cuts directly to the essence of these fused cuisines with The Italian-American Cookbook, surrendering to the fact that America's take on Italian cooking doesn't always replicate the pure product of the motherland. Partnering with his wife, Galina, Mariani offers antipasti and pasta dishes sure to please with the sort of robust flavors found in their Farfalle with sausage, tomato, and porcini^B sauce. They do not hesitate to include recipes for such items popular with Americans as manicotti and St. Louis' "toasted ravioli," which are unrecognizable in Italy. Acknowledging the American penchant for combining as many ethnic traditions as possible, the Marianis include an oxtail stew fragranced with indisputably Asian lemongrass. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558321667
• ISBN-13: 978-1558321663
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,499 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the authors, November 25, 2000

By	John Mariani (tuckahoe, ny United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As authors of The Italian-American Cookbook, we would like the reader to know that in addition to 250 tested recipes for home use, with an emphasis on simplicity and good ingredients, this is the first comprehensive study of the genre of Italian-American cookery, from the time the immigrants arrived at the turn of the last century, through the mom-and-pop groceries, pizzerias, and restaurants, through to today, when balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and Italian wines are almost as American as they are Italian. The book also treats of American entrepreneurs who got onto the Italian bandwagon--from Chef Boyardee to Pizza Hut, gives lists of the best movies with Italian food in them, scores of cooking tips, anecdotes about growing up Italian-American by everyone from Mario Cuomo to Alfred Portale,a thorough discussion of ingredients and Italian wines, and much more. We hope you enjoy it. John and Galina Mariani

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Study of Italian-American Cuisine Origins, November 23, 2004

By	B. Marold (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

`The Italian-American Cookbook' is written by John Mariani and wife Galina Mariani. In the rich and varied world of Italian cookbooks, this offering joins `Lydia's Italian-American Kitchen' in the very select niche of works on how Americans, whether transplanted from Italy or from other sources, cook recipes inspired by one of the cuisines of Italy.

Both of these books stand apart and above volumes such as `Eleanora's Kitchen' by Eleanora Scarpetta, a Bronx housewife and `Rocco's Italian American' by Rocco and Mama of the meatballs made famous on `The Restaurant' miniseries. These latter volumes contain many good recipes, but they are a record of a personal cuisine built on their family's Italian-American recipes. Bastianich and Mariani have a much more scholarly goal of presenting a general picture of Italian-American recipes.

Appropriate to Mariani's vocation as a professional writer, his book has a much more scholarly tone than chef and culinary teacher Bastianish. This emphasis is set by a truly erudite 22 page opening essay on the origins of the Italian American cuisine from the political fragmentation of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Western Roman empire to the flowering of the Italian American restaurant epitomized by Manhattan's famous `Mama Leone's' restaurant. Mariani immediately earned my respect when he pointed out that such classic American dishes as Philly's cheese steak and Kraft's `Mac and Cheese' are both sucker branches from the great Italian stem of cuisines. Very early on, Mariani shows a lot of respect for Italian-American cuisine as a distinct culinary genre which deserves to stand on its own rather than to be belittled as a pale shadow of `true' Italian cooking. As the book progresses; however, Mariani seems to loose his bearings and appears to be presenting purely Italian dishes as the ideal and American takes on these dishes as derivatives, rather than as true evolutions, just as Homo Sapiens is a distinct evolution from Homo Erectus and an improvement over Homo Neanderthalis. The clearest evidence of this is his recitation of Italian wines rather than coverage of American wines that originated with native Italian grapes. He does point out that many of the early California vintners were Italians such as Mondavi and Gallo, but nothing is said of their wines. So, on the issue of scholarship and `keeping on message', I come away just a little disappointed with this otherwise excellent embassy on Italian American cooking to the lay foodies.

So what about the recipes? Starting from my impression stated in the previous paragraph, I feel that the best description of the recipes in this book is that it presents those Italian recipes which are most commonly cooked in American households and in `Italian' restaurants in the United States rather than being a rigorous examination of the transformation of recipes from Italy to America. The first implication of this selection is that it is heavily weighed toward recipes whose origins lie in Southern Italian provinces of Campagnia (Naples), Apulia, Sicily, and Lazio (Rome). One sure symptom of this emphasis is in Mariani's including fourteen (14) recipes for spaghetti, including the Italian classics `alla Carbonara' and `Puttanesca'. A telling comment in the headnote on spaghetti and cauliflower is Mariani's stating that cauliflower is a much more common ingredient on the Italian table than it is in the Italian American restaurant. Why is this cauliflower recipe then in a book about distinctively Italian American recipes? By contrast, Bastianich has only four (4) recipes for spaghetti in her index and the Carbonara and Puttanesca are missing. On the other hand, Mariani has only six (6) recipes with spinach while northerner Bastianich gives us fourteen (14) recipes with spinach. For recipes on veal, especially veal scaloppine, the two books are very close in both the number and selection of recipes. Both include the classic recipes for `Scaloppine alla Marsala', `Saltimbocca alla Romana', and `Scaloppine Piccata' (with lemon-caper sauce).

Since `What is Italian-American cuisine' may be only slightly more interesting than the number of angels jigging on a pinhead, the real value of Mariani's book may simply be the quality of his recipes. On this point, my summary judgment is that his recipes are better than Rocco DiSpirito's traditional family recipes, and they are not quite as good as teacher and chef Lydia Bastianich's recipes in her work on Italian-American cooking. Part of this difference is that Ms. Bastianich simply explains things better. A small example of this is their respective instructions on combining the sage and prosciutto with the scallopine to create the saltimbocca. I have done Bastianich's instructions several times with no problems. Mariani's instructions leave me scratching my head trying to figure out exactly how he meant me to apply the toothpick and fold the results of this marriage of ingredients. Another point in Ms. Bastianich's favor is that her recipes are a bit more respectful of ingredients in the manner so well explained by Marcella Hazan. In Bastianich's recipe for sausage and peppers, the meat and the peppers are sautéed separately before being roasted together to complete the dish. She also does not drown the meat and peppers in canned tomatoes or gild the lily with oregano or dried pepper flakes. Instead, she adds fresh mushrooms and whole cherry peppers. I do not know which recipe is more authentically `Italian-American' but I know I prefer eating Ms. Lydia's dish. On this basis, it is no surprise that Bastianich won an IACP award and Mariani was a runner-up.

The list of suppliers at the back of Mariani's book is just a bit weak and out of date. Balducci's in New York City has gone out of business and his list does not list DePalo's cheese shop, one of the best sources of homemade mozzarella and ricotta in Manhattan.

I recommend Mariani's book especially for his excellent wine and food pairings, but suggest you get both Mariani and Bastianich.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Italian-American cooking at its best!!!, April 3, 2003

By A Customer

I had been interested in obtaining an Italian cookbook for sometime however I could never seem to find one containing recipes I was both familiar with or interested in. If you are interested in "Americanized" Italian cooking then this book is for you. If you are interested in authenic recipes from Italy, you may want to keep looking. While the authors do comment in several places on the differences between a certain recipe's composition in Italy versus the US, the book contains mainly recipes that have evolved under American influences.

This book is great for several reasons. It begins with a chapter describing the ingredients used in the recipes--the section on the different types of cheeses in Italian cooking was particularly helpful. Recipes contain the proper pronouniciation of Italian words (and their definitions) as well as a suggested wine to complement the flavors in each dish. The recipes often contain helpful hints, the origin/history of the dish, and possible variations. Also, there are several inserts describing the history of Italian-Americans in the US (with old photos included)for the history buffs. The lemon chicken and the spaghetti with green tomatoes are excellent recipes--I'm looking forward to trying others.

The one negative thing I can say is there are no pictures of the finished recipes. It is always nice to have something to compare your masterpiece with to make sure you are on the right track.