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

by John Mariani and Galina Mariani

Book Overview

Italian-American dishes are what we crave and what we make, what we order and what we wax rhapsodic about. The last century has seen hundreds of inspired new dishes take their place at the table... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558321667
• ISBN13: 9781558321663
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

WOW - what a great italian-american cookbook

Best Italian/American cookbook ever! Great American/Italian recipes (which is what we are mostly exposed to/enjoy most in America), great narrative/pictures on how the recipes came to be. Awesome organization: - Ingredients - Italian Wines - Antipasti - Soups - Salads - Pasta - Risotto & Polenta - Seafood - Meats - Poultry - Vegetables - Breads/Pizzas/Snacks/Sandwiches - Desserts & Confections - Drinks

Very Good Study of Italian-American Cuisine Origins

`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

Highly Recomended

This book is wonderfull! It contains a recipie for every classic Italian dish you can think of and is very straight forward with all of the ingrediants being easy to find. I have tried about 20 recipies from it and every one worked incredibly well. Especially try the Chicken Parmisean which is so much better than the soggy overcooked mess you get at Olive Garden.

Covers every aspect of fine dining

The Italian American Cookbook showcases 250 recipes celebrating an Italian-American culinary heritage. From Clams Casino, Polenta with Mushroom Sauce, and Shrimp Scampi, to Spaghetti with Potatoes and Garlic, Chicken Parmigiana, and Panini with Roast Beef, Peppers, and Onions, The Italian American Cookbook covers every aspect of fine dining and even includes a special section on sampling Italian wines.

From the authors

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