Ciao Italia in Tuscany: Traditional Recipes from One of Italy's Most Famous Regions

By Mary Ann Esposito

Book Overview

Famed for its bustling cities rich with art, history, and centuries-old traditions, as well as for its gently rolling landscapes filled with vineyards, cypress trees, and olive groves, Tuscany is one of the most popular regions in Italy. Mary Ann Esposito, host of the longest-running television cooking show, invites us to experience the tastes, smells, and traditions of this wonderful region, one delectable meal at time. With eighty delicious recipes accompanied by anecdotes, travel essays, and cooking tips and techniques, this collection shares and explores the essence of Tuscan cooking. Cucina povera , country-style cooking, is the backbone of the Tuscan culinary heritage, and you'll see it in practice on an agricultural estate just outside of Siena, at a palazzino in the heart of Florence, at a popular restaurant in an industrial city, in medieval villages, and in the charming cities and towns across the region. Simple, flavorful ingredients are transformed into authentic, mouth-watering dishes such as Scarola e Fagioli (Escarole and Beans), Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato Bread Soup), Patate con Olio e Ramerino (Potatoes with Olive Oil and Rosemary), Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Grilled T-bone Steak), Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa di Pecorino e Panna (Potato Gnocchi with Pecorino Cream Sauce), Panforte , Ricciarelli di Siena (Siena-Style Almond Cookies), and much more. Complete with information on mail-order sources, Web sites, and Tuscan restaurants, this celebration of the region of Tuscany is a tribute to the people practicing and preserving its rich culinary traditions.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312321740
• ISBN13: 9780312321741
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 235 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A variety of recipes

On page 24 is my 'go to' chicken recipe...chicken breasts in white wine. It is easy enough for everyday or a company dish. It uses whole sage leaves which I love. Now that I'm dieting, I cut back a bit on the amount of EVOO and butter, and it doesn't hurt the outcome one bit. Normally chicken breasts can dry out in cooking, but this recipe somehow comes out amazingly moist and flavorful. For this one recipe alone, I am happy to own this book. Of course, you will find soups, desserts, sides, etc., in here too. There won't be a color photo for every recipe, but these recipes are so easy they are almost intuitive and don't require that many.

Marianne suspenda

Full of great Tuscan fare and easy to follow recipes real home cooking (Tuscan that is)

A fairly good book on Tuscan Cuisine

When I opened this book by Mary Ann Esposito to read and review, I was looking for something that would raise it above it's face value of a companion volume to an average PBS cooking show series. When I embark on a review with this objective, I almost always find something. In this case, I did not.This doesn't mean this is a bad book, only that it may not have that much to offer to someone who is already steeped in Italian culinary lore. It is inferior to, for example, David Downie's book on Roman cooking as a snapshot of an Italian regional cuisine. It is less genuine on a personal level than Mario Batali's `Simple Italian Food'. It is less of a cookbook than Lydia Bastianich's two books accompanying her PBS series on Italian food and Italian-American food. I will recommend this book as a source of classic Tuscan recipes over books by Pino Luongo, who clearly states that most of his recipes are original with him or his restaurant staff. They are not Tuscan; they are inspired by the Tuscan cuisine.Part of the problem is that, unlike Lydia's books, this one has recipes in chapters which follow the episodes on the TV show rather than recipes organized by course as is typical of most Italian cookbooks. This awkwardness is not offset by a supplementary table of contents listing all recipes by food or by course.Another part of the problem seems to be that unlike Mario's book, the experiences of Tuscan culture are all second hand. Most life experiences are not of the author but of the owner and employees at the Tuscan villa, Spannocchia, at which the PBS crew is housed. Ms. Espositio's experiences feel like a tourist's experiences.One thing that impressed me about the creation of this book is the number of people it takes to put on a cooking show, even on PBS. There must be a dozen principle contributors at least in the Acknowledgments. In comparison, Julia Child started her show at the Boston PBS station with nothing more than her husband, a cameraman, a soundman, a producer, and herself.I really wish I would have seen the PBS series on which the show is based, as I am sure that would have increased the value of the book for me by two or threefold. My experience with books by the `Frugal Gourmet', Jeff Smith show that books like this can be very attractive if you are not familiar with the wider world of cookbooks. Twelve (12) years ago, I thought Jeff Smith was something special. Now I know he was simply a decent communicator with a gimmick. I don't even think he was especially frugal. Since this book does accompany a TV show, I am really surprised at the dull photographs. The sepia coloring even seems to obscure some details in the picture.There is no problem with the recipes in this book. Many classic Tuscan dishes are here and all of the recipes give competent instructions on how to prepare them.I would recommend this book to anyone who plans to travel in Tuscany anytime soon. The book has a strong travelogue flavor about it and its recommendations