Dec 20 2008
Lidias Italian Table More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking
Lidias Italian Table More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking
Lidia’s Italian Table
LIDIA MATTICCHIO BASTIANICH
“Let me invite you on a journey with me from my childhood …” beckons Lidia Bastianich, hostess of the national public television series Lidia’s Italian Table. And what an incredible journey it proves to be.
Lidia’s Italian Table is overflowing with glorious Italian food, highlighted by Lidia’s personal collection of recipes accumulated since her childhood in Istria, located in northern Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Hearty and heartwarming Italian fare is what Lidia understands best, and each chapter of this gorgeous cookbook is infused with Lidia’s warm memories of a lifetime of eating and cooking Italian style.
Since good Italian food is based on good ingredients, Lidia includes an eloquent discourse on those products that are the cornerstones of Italian cuisine: olives (and their green-golden oil), Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt, porcini mushrooms, truffles, tomato paste, and hot peppers. She also explains the importance of regional wines and grappa (in flavors from honey to dried fig) in the Italian food experience. Her recipes are filled with these Italian delicacies–Fennel, Olive, and Citrus Salad; Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushroom Sauce; Seared Rabbit Loin over Arugula with Truffle Dressing; Asparagus Gratin with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese-, and Zabaglione with Barolo Wine.
Lidia explores every corner of Italian cuisine: from fresh and dry pasta to gnocchi and risotto to game and shellfish, all of which Lidia transforms into exceptional Italian dishes. But that is only the beginning. There are Italian soups to savor, like hearty minestre, bread-enriched zuppe, and the light and flavorful brodi. Polenta’s delicious versatility is revealed through Polenta, Gorgonzola, and Savoy Cabbage Torte and White Creamy Polenta with Fresh Plums.
And Lidia’s luscious dolci, or desserts, invite your indulgence with Sweet Crepes with Chocolate Walnut Filling, Blueberry-Apricot Frangipane Tart, and Soft Ice Cream with Hazelnuts.
Lidia attributes her passion and appreciation for Italian food to her family. Lidia’s Italian Table is filled with stories of learning to make Easter bread with her Grandma Rosa in the town’s communal oven; touching and smelling her way through the food markets of Trieste with her great-aunt Zia Nina; fishing for calamari with her uncle Zio Milio; and collecting briny mussels and sea urchins along the Istrian coastline with her cousins.
This gastronomic adventure is more than just a cookbook: It is an exploration into the heart of Italian cuisine.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars I love Lidia but…
this book is a little too “involved”. I come from a big italian family, first generation here. The recipies are incredible, but a little impractical for every day. Try Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen, that book is much better.
5 Stars Lidia’s Italian Table
A great cookbook which my wife uses on a frequent basis. Both my wife an I love italian food and have always enjoyed watching Lidia on PBS. We just had to have her cookbooks and were not disappointed.
5 Stars Excellent set of recipes for people who love to cook!
Cooking is one of my favorite passtimes, but I love recipes that can be easily manipulated and turn out well on the first try. Lidia’s show on public television has had me hooked for several months now and I have been itching to get my hands on her books. I purchased this one for the gnocchi recipe, among others, and I have not been disappointed. Her recipes come with clear directions and great explanations of her choices throughout! I am vegetarian and have been tremendously pleased that most of her recipes have vegetarian directions as a starting base, making it easy for me to enjoy this book for my own family table. I highly reccommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about fabulous Italian cooking!
4 Stars The Original
It’s been a long time since PSE has shown the original series which this is the companion too. It was fun going through the book and remembering watching Lidia prepare them. Very interesting reading also.
5 Stars Authentic Italian cooking
The stories and recipes in this book portray the very soul of Italy. Immensely enjoyable, thoroughly recommendable.
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