<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: From the authors
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: Italian-American cooking at its best!!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Some Interesting Twists on some Old Recipes...
Review: It had some interesting twists on some old recipes for Polenta which is why I purchased the book.
Rating:
Summary: Covers every aspect of fine dining
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recomended
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A great cookbook, but so much more than that!
Review: This is the Italian cookbook I have been looking for. But in addition to the incredible recipes, this book offers a fascinating exploration of Italian-American immigrant culture. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and trying the recipes. This book is perfect for second or third generation Italian-Americans who wish they had paid a little more attention to how their Italian mothers and grandmothers cooked. We all know they didn't use recipes. But the authors have captured the recipes for us, and offer just about every home-style traditonal recipe you can remember. In addition, the book offers some non-traditional but popular recipes, such as tiramasu. No matter what you're looking for in Italian cooking-- whether homestyle or more elegant dining --you will find it here. The quality of the recipes I have tried so far is outstanding. The first thing I made was the classic Italian-American favorite, pasta e fagiole. It was heavenly and delightfully simple to prepare. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Study of Italian-American Cuisine Origins
Review: `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.
<< 1 >>
|
