Lidia's Italy in America

by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich    (Find this book)
After taking us on journeys into her own kitchen and into kitchens across Italy, Lidia Bastianich now invites us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today. Traveling around the United States, Lidia visits Italian American communities that created something new out of the recipes passed down from their ancestors.
As she explores this utterly delectable and distinctive cuisine, Lidia shows us that every kitchen is different, every Italian community distinct, and little clues are buried in each dish: the Sicilian-style semolina bread and briny olives in New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwiches, the Neapolitan crust of New York pizza, and mushrooms (abundant in the United States, but scarce in Italy) stuffed with breadcrumbs, just as peppers or tomatoes are. Lidia shows us how this cuisine is an original American creation that redefines what we know as Italian food while always paying tribute to Italy, and she gives recognition where it is long overdue to the many industrious Italians across the country who have honored the traditions of their homeland in a delicious new style.
And of course, there are Lidia's irresistible recipes, including
- Baltimore Crab Cakes
- Pittsburgh's Primanti's Sandwiches
- Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
- Eggplant Parmigiana from the Bronx
- Gloucester Baked Halibut
- Chicken Trombino from Philadelphia
- authentic Italian American Meatloaf, and Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Prickly Pear Granita from California
- and, of course, a handful of cheesecakes and cookies that you'd recognize in any classic Italian bakery
This is a loving exploration of a fascinating cuisine--as only Lidia could give us. -- Publisher Marketing

The Gingerbread Book: 54 Cookie-Construction Projects for Party Centerpieces and Holiday Decorations, 117 Full-Sized Patterns, Plans for 18

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods

by Sandor Ellix Katz    (Find this book)
Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation.
"Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production."
The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home.
The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentations from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making. With nearly 100 recipes, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fermentation cookbook ever published. -- Publisher Marketing

Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food [With DVD]

by Jacques Pepin    (Find this book)
For the first time ever, the legendary chef collects and updates the best recipes from his six-decade career. With a searchable DVD demonstrating every technique a cook will ever need.
In his more than sixty years as a chef, Jacques Pepin has earned a reputation as a champion of simplicity. His recipes are classics. They find the shortest, surest route to flavor, avoiding complicated techniques.
Now, in a book that celebrates his life in food, the world's most famous cooking teacher winnows his favorite recipes from the thousands he has created, streamlining them even further. They include Onion Soup Lyonnaise-Style, which Jacques enjoyed as a young chef while bar-crawling in Paris; Linguine with Clam Sauce and Vegetables, a frequent dinner chez Jacques; Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Butter, which he makes indoors in winter and outdoors in summer; Five-Peppercorn Steak, his spin on a bistro classic; Meme's Apple Tart, which his mother made every day in her Lyon restaurant; and Warm Chocolate Fondue Souffle, part cake, part pudding, part souffle, and pure bliss.
"Essential P"e"pin" spans the many styles of Jacques's cooking: homey country French, haute cuisine, fast food Jacques-style, and fresh contemporary American dishes. Many of the recipes are globally inspired, from Mexico, across Europe, or the Far East.
In the accompanying searchable DVD, Jacques shines as a teacher, as he demonstrates all the techniques a cook needs to know. This truly is the "essential" Pepin. -- Publisher Marketing

Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make

by Melissa  Clark    (Find this book)
Veteran cookbook author, James Beard recipient, and New York Times food columnist, Clark presents readers with 120 recipes organized by season and month. With a candid opening essay on weekly trips to her local NYC farmers' market in the dead of winter think frosty fingers, and ice-topped milk Clark sets the course for this down-to-earth, realistic guide to cooking throughout the year, finding and highlighting seasonal gems in mains, side dishes, and desserts. Numbered steps guide home cooks through recipes ranging from the simple and quick August's A Perfect Tomato Sandwich, June's Green Peach Salad with Lime and Basil, and March's Spicy Black Beans with Chorizo and Jalapenos to simple and slow cooked September's Braised Pork Ribs with Green Tomato, Orange, and Thyme, and November's Ham Bone, Greens and Been Soup. "What Else?" sections feature bulleted tips at the end of recipes such as how to turn a stew into a soup and substituting canned beans for dry, while "A Dish By Another Name" headers lead readers to easy recipe variations. Even with a multitude of cooking-by-season titles in the marketplace, the author's inspiring use of fresh ingredients and flexible attitude toward cooking make this a solid addition to any kitchen cookbook shelf. (Oct.) Copyright 2011 Reed Business Information.  -- Publishers Weekly

Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets

by Buddy Valastor    (Find this book)
CALL IT THE BUDDY SYSTEM, because "Baking with the Cake Boss "is an education in the art of baking and decorating, from kneading to rolling, fondant to flowers, taught by Buddy Valastro himself, the star of TLC's smash hit "Cake Boss." With more than 100 of his most sought-after recipes, including birthday and holiday cakes and other special theme designs, this book is a master course that culminates in the showstopping cakes for which Carlo's Bake Shop is famous.
Following the arc of Buddy's career from apprentice to master baker, "Baking with the Cake Boss "offers readers the same on-the-job education earned by everyone who comes to work at Carlo's Bake Shop, with some of Buddy's and the family's memories shared along the way. It builds organically from simple cookies and pastries to pies, flower-adorned cupcakes, and basic fondant cakes, to breathtaking cakes for every holiday and special occasion. And, as you progress from basics to bedazzlements--like the safari cake complete with chocolate animals and a waterfall--Buddy shares his inspiring enthusiasm and stories from the shop in his inimitable voice. He also provides the tools for creating your own personal trademark cakes, with a chart that lets you mix and match cake, frosting, and liqueur syrup for cakes the way "you "like them. And there are plenty of photos that illustrate artistic flourishes and decorations you can use to adorn your individual creations. With 650 gorgeous, step-by-step instructional photos that let you follow Buddy as if you were next to him in the bakery, "Baking with the Cake Boss "is an incomparable dessert education that will become an essential reference for aspiring and skilled bakers alike.
Bursting with delicious, tried-and-true recipes, how-to boxes and sidebars, and numerous tricks of the trade, "Baking with the Cake Boss "is a rare treat--a fun, accessible guide to baking, all in a gloriously designed, fully illustrated package worthy of the Cake Boss's artistic vision. -- Publisher Marketing