Description:
Do we need another Italian regional cookbook? The answer is yes, if it's Bologna Mia, a modest volume that nonetheless captures the spirit and letter of Bolognese cooking and the texture of the Bologna-born author's life. Offering more than 80 authentic recipes for familiar and unexpected fare, the book chronicles author Loretta Paganini's childhood and adolescence spent with two great cooks: her mother, proprietor of a pasticceria, and grandmother, home cook extraordinaire. Each story is illustrated with recipes--savory, easy-to-make fare such as Pasta with Walnut Sauce and Apricot-Stuffed Roast Pork Loin. Those looking for simple, honest recipes from Italy's gastronomic heartland, related in the context of an ordinary-enough life that, to American eyes, has the shape of culinary legend, should welcome the book. In chapters dedicated to "city dishes" and the cooking of her mother and both grandmothers, Paganini limns such events as Christmas at Nonna Luisa's and provides appropriate recipes. The recipes are always clear, and fare such as Chicken Breasts with Porcini Mushroom Sauce should find a happy reception on any table. Given Paganini's mother's profession, sweets are copiously included, and feature such tempting items as Chocolate Sausage Cookies and Pears with Custard Sauce. Paganini, now living in America with her husband, has succeeded in recapturing the past for her readers. They will enjoy sharing it--and its defining food--with the openhearted author. --Arthur Boehm
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