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Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
A clear guide to authentic Italian cooking.
I just spent the last two hours reading this cookbook
from cover to
cover.
I would never imagine that one can "read" a cookbook,
but Lidia's
Italian-American Kitchen is so much more than just
recipes. It's a
compilation
of instructions, tips, photographs, and history. I
don't consider myself
a
gourmet cook, a cookbook aficionado, or even a fan of
cooking shows, but
reading this book was like having a private lesson
with Lidia. Now I
know
why my husband loves to watch her show.
I was so inspired and motivated by both the colorful
photographs and
her
equally colorful language that I started a pot of
vegetable broth
(page
76) while I continued reading. What you need to know
about Italian cooking is
included in highlighted areas, such as how to peel and
seed tomatoes,
how
to stuff an artichoke, how to make breadcrumbs, and
more. Each article
and
recipe is written the way Lidia speaks: simple
language sprinkled with
wisdom and passion.
As you read Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, you can
almost see and
smell
the food. Some of the descriptions almost lean on the
side of poetry:
"Soup
is a mellow, gentle food. Through simmering, all the
characters become
equally important--there is no sole protagonist."
Besides the poetic flow of her words, I also enjoyed
the reverence Lydia
associates with cooking and eating a good meal
together as a sign of
love
and family, a tradition perhaps this book can
single-handedly return
to
our culture.
This book is a wonderful gift for a newlywed or those,
like me, who
just
enjoy good food.
Title: Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
Author: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 037541150X
Review written by: Janet Pope
Reviewer's Rating:8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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