The Country Cooking of Italy – Book Review

Perhaps you are looking for the perfect gift for the foodie in your family, or maybe you are looking for a way to freshen up your Italian repertoire in the kitchen.  Either way Colman Andrews’ cookbook The Country Cooking of Italy is the ideal choice as it is full of unique Italian dishes that bring the farm to the table to be savored, appreciated and enjoyed.

As the co-founder of Saveur magazine, Andrews is the author of numerous cookbooks, and with The Country Cooking of Ireland he has earned the International Cookbook and Cookbook of the Year awards from the James Beard Foundation.

Filled with nearly 250 recipes, Colman draws upon over 40 years of traveling and eating in Italy as well as cooking and enjoying Italian food back home to fill all 392 pages, along with rustic photographs by Hirscheimer and Hamilton that simplistically, yet beautifully display meals that will have you running to your pantry, to the store or your kitchen if you have the necessary ingredients.

The recipes, like most Italian recipes, are simple and Colman adheres to listing ingredients that can be found in America (and when in the few instances this is not the case, he shares suggestions on substitutions).

From bruschetta and crostinis, directions on how to make your very own fresh pasta, a handful of risotto recipes, espresso and desserts, as well as basic Italian recipes for tomato sauce and pesto, The Country Cooking of Italy cookbook is a resource for any cook who adores their Italian meals.  Not only will these meals have much more flavor, but you will serve each dish knowing that these recipes came from one of the many regions of Italy (Colman scoured every region, from Piedmont to Puglia in search of authentic country Italian recipes).

The Country Cooking of Italy
Author: Colman Andrew
Price: $29.52
Pages: 392
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Copyright: November 9, 2011