Product Description:

'Italian-American food--what cuisine is it?' asks Lidia Matticchio Bastianich in Lidia's Italian-American Cooking, a cookbook based on her eponymous PBS TV series. The author of two previous works, La Cucina di Lidia and Lidia's Italian Table, and co-owner of three acclaimed Manhattan restaurants, Bastianich is ideally suited to explore all Italian fare. 'Americans fell in love with Italian cooking first,' she says, thus enshrining a cuisine born of immigrant adaptation. In celebration of that affection, the book offers over 150 recipes for a wide range of dishes--traditional favorites like Baked Stuffed Shells and Lobster Fra Diavolo as well as personal adaptations such as Scampi alla Buonavia and canneloni made with roasted pork and mortadella. These easily done dishes benefit from Lidia's subtle polishing; fans of her foolproof palate and her direct yet relaxed approach to Italian cooking will welcome the book.

In chapters that reflect the courses of a traditional Italian meal, from antipasti through soups, pasta and risottos, and dolci, Lidia presents a wealth of good everyday eating. In addition to exemplary renditions of Italian-American favorites, Lidia offers 'new' Italian regional dishes, such as Long Fusilli with Saffron, Mussels, and Zucchini. Soups, a Lidia specialty, are enticingly represented with the likes of Potato, Swiss Chard, and Bread Soup. And of course there are splendid dolci--favorites like Ricotta Cheesecake, but also treats like San Martino Pear and Chocolate Tart. Throughout, Bastianich provides useful sidebars, such as one on scallopine, and fully illustrated technical instruction, detailing, for example, the best way to stuff a veal chop. With color photos of the mouthwatering dishes, tips, and other cooking insights, the book is a valuable guide to an oft-debased fare finally given its due. --Arthur Boehm

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: 4.62 out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A Rare Gem--From Cookbook to Heirloom
Every so often a cookbook comes along with recipes that not only inspire the reader, but also provide such logical yet intuitive preparations that he or she can envision the final product. As an Italian American who has taken up the heritage of reproducing my grandmother's great dishes, this book not only has recipes that I remember from my childhood, but many that I still make today. Sunday Pasta Dinner with pork in the gravy? It's there. Bracciole and meatballs--the best I've ever made. I just finished a bowl of Pasta e Fagiole-- my grandmother's recipe--and it's in this book.
To sum up: forget writing out all those family recipes to pass on to your children. Buy them the book and annotate it personally. You can't do better than this.

Rating:

- Better Than My Nonna's Legendary Meatballs!
What a cookbook! Finally a cookbook packed with the best and most delicious Italian-American recipes you could find anywhere. I was asked to cater a birthday party for a 79-year old Italian woman so I decided to use Lidia's recipes. Every single dish came out absolutely tasty and beautiful...even better than what you usually order at a neighborhood Italian-American restaurant in the Northeast. The meatballs were better than my Sicilian grandmother's legendary meatballs! Everyone raved about the meat raviolis which I served in a grated parmigiano-butter sauce. Numerous raviolis broke apart in the boiling water so I'm not sure what I did was wrong. Maybe I should roll out the pasta dough a bit thicker the next time. I was never a fan of caponata (eggplant appetizer) until I tried Lidia's recipe. ... Read More

Rating:

- Just Like an Italian Restaurant
This is one of my favorite cookbooks. When I got this book, my knowledge of cooking Italian food was pretty much limited to: boil the pasta, then pour some sauce out of a bottle. No longer! Lidia's recipes are easy to make and taste excellent.

I've made several scallopini dishes and loved them all. Also, I was induced to try her recipe for Eggplant Parmesan even though I've never liked eggplant, and it's now one of my favorites.

Most of the dishes are easily scaled down when cooking for one or two people. For instance, I halved the Eggplant Parmesan recipe and cooked it in a 9" square pan instead of a 9"X13" one, and it came out great.

The only things that seem disappointing are the vegetable side dishes - but maybe that's because I haven't tried any. None of them ... Read More

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