Italian

In our house, we think Jamie Oliver walks on water.  Every recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italy rocks.  And all you have to do is follow the directions.  The variation on spaghetti carbonara with chicken instead of ham is genius.  The Prawn and Parsley frittata is totally great (and I don’t even like frittatas and neither does Jamie Oliver). 

And it’s just so simple to use!  And it’s kind of like having a friend in the kitchen.  The grilled swordfish with salsa di giovanna is an exercise in simple bliss.  And the whole fish baked in salt is something you didn’t think you could try at home.... 

Buy Jamie's Italy

Conventional wisdom says a good cookbook is one that allows you to reproduce a given recipe with consistently successful results. Another opinion is that the recipes should be really special, not run-of-the-mill or the best versions of classics. I may be in the minority, but I most appreciate a cookbook that inspires me, gives me good ideas, and points the way. This is such a cookbook.

I've cooked Spaghetti with Walnuts and Anchovies twice and tweaked it just a bit. The combination of ingredients is most important, after that, as with all recipes, find the balance that works for you. Just a few other recipes from the book that I find intriguing include Campari Cocktails with Salami and Figs, Pasta and Bean Salad with Celery Pesto, Leek and Sausage Orzotto, Risotto with Almonds and Broccoli and Baked Cherry Tomatoes.

As recommended by Amy Sherman

Buy Adventures of an Italian Food Lover

In the beginning of the new cookbook, Seafood Alla Siciliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition, author Toni Lydecker quotes Goethe:"To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything". And you'll certainly feel this way after reading this beautiful book. When the publisher contacted me and sent me a copy, I couldn't wait to read it   after all, this is where my mother was from. This is not just a collection of recipes but an in depth look at Sicily itself   its history, its food, its wine, its culture.

Lydecker is a noted food writer, specializing in Italian cooking. When she finally goes to Sicily to learn the regional seafood cooking there, she immerses herself, learning dishes from home cooks to restaurant chefs. She visited winemakers and toured food processing plants. She toured the Agostino Recca anchovy plant, the makers of my beloved anchovies. Her stories and notes about these visits are well worth reading and really add to this book.

Venezia: Food & Dreams is a love letter to Venice. Reading it and cooking from it is a bit like looking at a Caravaggio painting. The dreamlike colors of the photos, the lovely setting of Venice, the simple yet forthright recipes. This book is written, photographed and designed in a dreamlike fashion; one that is so often associated with Venice. Tessa Kiros knows her subject well.

In addition to the wonderful recipes, Kiros sprinkles in her thoughts, and comments; her experiences in the city in the form of poetic moments. Many of the photos are of the city itself and its citizens, or of the colorful buildings, or of Carnival; not only of food and recipes. This book is one of the most beautiful cookbooks I have come across in a long time. And the food and recipes, as I came to find out, are as delicious as the book is beautiful.

Kiros divides the book into sections that mirror an Italian menu: Antipasti, Zuppa/Pasta/Gnocchi, Risotto, Secondi, Contorni, and Dolci — with additional sections on Essential Recipes and Cicchetti, small bites unique to Venice.