La Cucina Di Lidia: Distinctive Regional Cuisine from the North of Italy ANNOTATION
Lidia Bastianich describes cooking of her native Istria as 50 percent Italisn, 35 percent Yugoslavian, and the rest mixed German and Hungarian. She introduced this unnique cuisine to New York in her acclaimed restaurant, Felidia, and now she makes it available to everyone in a cookbook that is as warm and inviting as the country that inspired it. 25 black-and-white and 16 pages of full-color photograph.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Now in paperback–the debut cookbook from the beloved Italian cook, restaurateur, and public television personality.
Lidia Bastianich is famous for her Italian-American cooking, but this cookbook–her first–captures the distinctive cuisine of her native Istria, located on Italy’s northeastern Adriatic coast near the border of the former Yugoslavia. This book is also her most personal; in addition to the recipes, she has included numerous personal stories, memories, and photographs from her childhood.
With La Cucina di Lidia, you can savor antipasti such as Polenta with Fontina and Mushrooms or Shrimp and Mixed Bean Salad. Rice and pastas include Plum Gnocchi, Risotto with Squash Blossoms, and Zucchini and Tagliatelle with Leek Sauce. Entrées feature fish (Swordfish in Sweet and Sour Sauce), fowl (Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Orange), meat (Stuffed Breast of Veal), and game (Duck Roasted with Sauerkraut). Desserts range from Chocolate Zabaglione Cake to Apple-Custard Tart.
Here is an Italian cuisine infused with the flavors of Eastern Europe, the early repertoire of one of America’s favorite chefs. Discover Lidia’s history and memories as well as the dishes from her homeland. The stories and tastes are unforgettable.
Author Biography: LIDIA BASTIANICH hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. JAY JACOB'S journalism has appeared in many national magazines.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Bastianich is a co-owner (with her husband) and chef of New York's Felidia Ristorante, Jacobs a food journalist and restaurant reviewer; together they have written a remarkable book. Part memoir, part cookbook, it showcases Bastianich's unique cuisine, which is at heart Italian but influenced by Yugoslavian, German, and Hungarian cooking. The text is both intensely personal, with evocative reminiscences of growing up in Istria or of the origins of the various dishes, and knowledgeable and wide-ranging, with discussions of ingredients and difficult techniques and informed wine suggestions. Highly recommended.
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