Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking: 150 Delicious and Simple Recipes Anyone Can Master: A Cookbook

By Alistair MacLean

Book Overview

From one of the most beloved chefs and authors in America, a beautifully illustrated collection of 150 simple, seasonal Italian recipes told with commonsense cooking wisdom--from the cutting board to the kitchen table.

As storyteller and chef, Lidia Bastianich draws on anecdotes to educate and illustrate. Recalling lessons learned from her mother, Erminia, and her grandmother Nonna Rosa, Lidia pays homage to the kitchen sages who inspired her.

Whether it's Citrus Roasted Veal or Rustic Ricotta Tart, each recipe is a tangible feast. We learn to look at ingredients as both geographic and cultural indicators. In Campania, the region where mozzarella is king, we discover it best eaten three hours after preparation. In Genova we are taught that while focaccia had its basil origins in the Ligurain culinary tradition, the herbs and flavorings will change from region to region; as home chefs, we can experiment with rosemary or oregano or olives or onions When it's time for dessert, Lidia draws on the scared customs of nuns in Italian monasteries and convents and reveals the secret to rice pudding with a blessing.

Lidia's Commonsense Guide to Italian Cooking is a masterclass in creating delectable Italian dishes with grace, confidence and love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385349440
• ISBN13: 9780385349444
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 2.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

classica author, less-than-classic book

This is a fun read, but nowhere near the best of Alistair MacLean. Its best feature is an introduction into Andalusian culture, although it just scratches the surface.

Death in Provence

Alistair Maclean's "Caravan to Vacares" opens with the pursuit to the death of a man somehow connected to annual Gypsy caravans to France. The scene then shifts to a restaurant where two young Englishwomen on holiday are seemingly by chance paired with a older French nobleman and gourmand and a younger man named Bowman, who claims no occupation at all. Maclean takes his time filling in the clues that connect these two events and this results in the somewhat unusual pacing of "Caravan." At the heart of the plotline is a smuggling operation by the Gypsies that has attracted international law enforcement attention, but Maclean devotes most of the novel to the adventures of Neil Bowman. Bowman turns out to have both very unique job skills and the unfortunate knack of drawing murderous attempts on his life. His pairing with one of the young Englishwomen provides Maclean with the opportunity for a rather chaste romance and some sharp repartee between the two. The two must overcome various obstacles, including a nearly fatal encounter in a bullring, while stringing together the clues that will solve the case. As with any Maclean novel, very little is as it first seems. Unlike most Maclean novels, the twists and turns of the story are a little harder to follow than usual. This novel is highly recommended to Alistair Maclean fans and to readers looking for an entertaining story.

THIS CARAVAN IS REALLY WORTH GOING ALONG WITH....

Well you have to read this book if u r a fan of suspense and intrigue....... this book has enough twists,turns and suspense. i am sure that anybody who reads any of macleans books will get addicted to him......

So much better than the movie

This book is an excellent, fast paced and reads like it was meant to be a movie script. How unfortunate the movie makers ignored the book. A tale of gypsies, smugglers and foreign scientists, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. Overall an excellent read, I give the full five stars.