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Cooking Books -> Pasta
Italy Al Dente : Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi, Polenta, Soup
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by:
Caggiano, Biba
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Publisher:
Morrow Cookbooks
Published: March 1998
ISBN: 0688148778
Format:Hardcover
Pages:416
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Book Description
Amazon.com
"Though good Italian cooking should be rooted in strong regional traditions," Biba Caggiano writes in her introduction to Italy al Dente, "I also believe that one should not follow rules slavishly because ... food adapts itself to new
modes.... Flexibility in the kitchen is essential, the quality of ingredients is everything, and simplicity of execution is a must. Another important prerequisite of the Italian cook is fantasia, or imagination and creativity."
One might view this
book, then, as a guide to Italian fantasia, Biba style. Start with brodo, or broth, and move right along to Bean, Cabbage, and Rice Soup. Or Barley and Porcini Mushroom Soup. Biba Caggiano has been in the Italian food game long enough that she is
determined to come up with special treats for her old fans and new followers alike.
Both elegance and simplicity lace their ways through this cookbook as it addresses Italian foods found most often at the front end of the meal: soups, pasta,
risotto and rice dishes, gnocchi, and polenta. Biba is determined to take the reader right to the heart and soul of Italian cooking. Risotto with Duck Ragu? Case closed. --Schuyler Ingle
From Library Journal
Caggiano, chef/owner of a popular
Sacramento restaurant and author of From Biba's Italian Kitchen (LJ 5/15/95), concentrates on the kind of Italian food most Americans like best: pastas, risottos, gnocchi and polenta dishes, and soups. With her usual knowledgeable enthusiam, she presents
delicious, satisfying recipes, from Sicilian Fresh Fava Bean Soup (oddly enough, she describes soups as "the best-kept secret of Italian cooking," which is hardly the case) to Polenta with Fontina, Butter, and... read more
Book
Description
Pasta, polenta, gnocchi, risotto, soup--these are the heart and soul of Italian cooking. Simple, hearty, and filling, these dishes can satisfy any craving, any time.
Do you like pasta? Biba gives you pasta--three chapters of
pasta, eighty-seven recipes in all. Prefer your pasta stuffed? How about Eggplant-Goat Cheese Tortelli with Fresh Tomatoes and Black Olives or Spinach Cannelloni with Duck and Wild Mushroom Stuffing? Want to try a new spin on lasagne? Lasagne with Walnut
Pesto and Ricotta might be just the thing. If you like to keep it simple, Biba can feed your hunger with inspired but quick-to-the-table recipes like Spaghetti with Hot Anchovy Sauce or Pasta with Spicy Broccoli.
Polenta and gnocchi are the
quintessential Italian comfort foods and Biba's hearty recipes serve up satisfaction and surprising variety--Potato Gnocchi with Osso Buco Sauce; Saffron Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Cream Sauce; Polenta with Fontina, Butter, and
Sage; and Soft Polenta with Pancetta, Garlic, and Hot Pepper, to name only a few.
Risotto and soup--what better choices can one have on a cold, wet evening? Whatever you're in the mood for--or have on hand--there's a risotto to fit the bill. Savor
Risotto of the Fisherman; Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash; Risotto with Three Cheeses; or Risotto with Sausage, Beans, and Red Wine. And soup lovers will delight in what Biba has to offer--from thick vegetable minestre like Tuscan Chick-pea and
Pasta Soup and Artichoke, Leek, and Rice Soup to lighter fare like Angel Hair in Broth.
Italy at Dente keeps the flavors direct and the recipes simple. If you like Italian, this is a cookbook for the kitchen counter.Italy al Dente is Italian food
that is "just right." There singular recipes are perfectly on target -- precisely the food we want to eat every day, day after day: the simply perfect pasta, flavor-filled gnocchi, hearty soups, steaming risottos, and comforting polenta -- the tastes we
crave when we think Italian.
Legions of Biba admirers -- who have brought hundreds of thousands of copies of her cookbooks -- know that no one hits this high note quite as well as she does.Recipe after recipe, each is a peak moment, with dishes
like Simmer Spaghetti with Uncooked Tomato Sauce Squash-Eggplant Tortellini with Butter and Sage, Ricotta Gnocchi with Walnuts and Gorgonzola, B
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