Synopsis
From the PBS show Ciao Italia, here is an all-new book of recipes and menus for Italian-style celebrations for every occasion imaginable, along with recollections of the celebrations of the author's childhood and folktales.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1995-10-01 | | Illustrator: | Tomie Depaola |
| Size | | Length: | 342 pages | | Height: | 10.3 in | | Width: | 8.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 37.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Celebrate Italian style with Mary Ann Esposito's new collection of recipes. Mary Ann, best-selling author and host of public television's popular cooking show Ciao Italia, shares recipes and menus for every occasion. From a pasta buffet for a crowd to an informal Christmas Eve family dinner, her easy-to prepare dishes are presented in her trademark style -- with reminiscences of growing up in an Italian-American household.Celebrations Italian Style includes charming folktales, written by Mary Ann and illustrated by acclaimed artist Tomie dePaola, and glorious color photographs of Mary Ann's recipes. Mary Ann offers a unique blend of recipes and menus culled from her family archives and from today's Italian kitchen. Start Thanksgiving Dinner by adding an American classic to an Italian standard in Pumpkin Risotto. Savor Mary Ann's fondly remembered rehearsal dinner escarole-and-meatball Wedding Soup, or Nonna Galasso's Cheese Rind Soup, flavored with leftover ends of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Two chapters are entirely devoted to breads; one for the special breads of Christmas, Easter, and saints' days, such as Gubana, Easter Dove Bread, and the Eyes of Saint Lucy, and the other for everyday breads such as semolina, whole wheat, and dinner rolls. Easy-to-preparemain courses include Little Pork Purses filled with Fontina cheese, prosciutto and leeks, a dramatically packaged Chicken in Paper, and Spicy Cold Beef Rolls with artichoke hearts, bell peppers, and capers. There are Italian desserts for every occasion cookies, cakes, tarts, and puddings -- Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti, raisin-and-nut Little Christmas Cakes, and simple fruit desserts such as Cantaloupe and Bananas with Ricotta.
From the host of Ciao Italia comes a book of recipes and menus for Italian-style celebrations, including a Traditional Sicilian Buffet, a Do-Ahead Engagement Supper, and A Winter Meal in a Pot. Mary Ann shares dishes in trademark style with recollections of the special celebrations of her childhood. 12-page color insert.
Industry Reviews
Esposito, host of the long-running PBS series Ciao Italia and author of two popular collections of her own homestyle cooking, Ciao Italia (Hearst, 1991) and Nella Cucina (LJ 5/15/93), now offers recipes and menus for special occasions and seasons of the year. This larger-format book presents festive but mostly easy traditional dishes for weddings, holidays, and other celebrations.
Breitman
Host of PBS's Ciao, Italia, author of the companion cookbook and Nella Cucina, the enthusiastic, irresistible Esposito could put even the most curmudgeonly of readers in a holiday mood. Covering all courses and many holidays, she offers recipes and menus for traditional holiday fare, e.g., the meatless, fish-centered Christmas Eve meal, including recipes for Stewed Cod and Fried Eel. There are a variety of Christmas cakes (Panettone, Pandoro, Panforte di Siena) and for Easter, Columba, a yeast bread in the shape of a dove carrying an egg. For Thanksgiving Esposito suggests a pumpkin risotto; for a birthday, gnocchi; for a picnic, a rustic Sicilian spinach pie. A towering Cookie Wedding Cake is a particularly tempting variation on the expected. Recipes are best suited to cooks with some experience; chapters are arranged according to courses, e.g., ``Antipasti'' and ``Frutte e Dolci.'' A final chapter covers simple, unusual gifts such as Prosciutto and Rosemary Breadsticks. Menu suggestions (Vegetarian Summer Buffet; Christmas Eve Dinner) are offered in sidebars; Tomie de Paola illustrates accompanying holiday folktales. Author tour. (Dec.)
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