New Italian Cookbooks 2011

I'm not sure any other cuisine can top Italian, when it comes to comfort food. While Italian cookbooks are a dime a dozen, three really stood out for me this year and are nice enough variations to warrant adding to your collection if you're an Italian food fiend like me or give them as gifts.


Cucina Povera
was sure to strike a chord with me, because I lived in Florence for 6 months. It is written by ex-pat Pamela Sheldon Johns and it shares a way of life, of not wasting anything and eating frugally. In the book you'll meet all kinds of people from Italy who cook and garden and make things from scratch. The recipes are for some things you may already know about like Ribollita and Pappa al Pomodoro (and if you don't, then by all means you need this book) but also more obscure recipes that you are unlikely to encounter in a restaurant.

Recipes you'll want to try include Tuscan Cornmeal, Kale and Bean Soup, Stewed Peppery Beef Cheeks, Farmyard Crostini (finally a use for giblets!) Plum Jam Tart and Ricotta Cake.







The family I lived with in Italy ate very formal meals, I don't remember a single one course meal. But they do exist and that is what Piatto Unico
is all about. The book shares hearty, comforting dishes many that are particularly perfect as we head into Winter. Recipes are divided into chapters like Prime-Time Pastas, Minestrone and Other Big, Bountiful Soups and Braises and Stews.

Recipes you'll want to try include: Asparagus Spinach Crepes with Taleggio, Thick Chickpea and Porcini Soup, Escarole, Anchovy and Cheese Salad.












Another noteworthy book is Rustic Italian Food. This is satisfying and lusty food, not fussy food although many of the recipes do take effort and are not just weeknight jobs. It's filled with homemade breads, pastas, salumi, pickles and preserves. They all demand the use of top quality ingredients. It's written by a restaurant chef, but designed for home cooks.

Recipes you'll want to try include: Spaghetti in Parchment with Clams and Scallions, Eggplant Lasagnette Alla Parmigiana, Veal Breast "al Latte" with Fried Sage, Cold Farro Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Chocolate Almond Bark

Yay, we are now firmly in my favorite days of the year – the holiday baking season!  At no other time of the year is it perfectly acceptable to bake dozens of various combinations of sugar, flour, and butter into heaping piles of cookies, cakes, and muffins, etc.  In addition to the baking, I love to make chocolate candy.  Dipping various things into melted chocolate is both easy and fun, like having your very own chocolate fondue party!  This year we made chocolate-covered pretzels, Ritz crackers dipped in a combination of chocolate and peppermint extract, and this chocolate-almond bark.  It is a bit unconventional, but I like the subtle savoriness produced by roasting the almonds in a little Worcestershire sauce, smoked sea salt, and cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

½ cup chopped raw almonds

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon Worcestshire sauce

pinch cayenne pepper

8 ounces candy making chocolate (I used Ghirardelli’s Candy Making & Dipping Bar, Double Chocolate Flavor and really liked the results)

Instructions

Heat oven to 160 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix ½ cup chopped almonds with the Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and sea salt.  Place on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.  Let the almonds cool.  Melt the chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave (be sure to use low heat) and mix the almonds into the chocolate. Spread into wax-paper lined 8 x 8 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle a pinch more of the sea salt on the top and let cool.  Break into bite-size pieces.