Recipes from an Italian Summer Cookbook... A Review & A Great Summer Recipe!

Indulge Your Senses with...

Recipes from an Italian Summer!

"Recipes from an Italian Summer a collection put together by the Editors of Phaidon Press... A Beautiful FAT cookbook with warm weather recipes. The emphasis here is fresh, wonderful ingredients that are abundant in the summer. Fresh produce, fruits and berries, and herbs. 380 recipes for lighter, easy-to-follow summer dishes with big beautiful photographs." That's what I wrote after I had seen this gorgeous cookbook in the bookstore back at the end of June. Now that I have it in my hands and have been cooking from it, I can say it meets all my expectations and more! It's the perfect summer companion!

When you first open up Recipes from an Italian Summer, besides noticing the beautiful artwork, you'll see where the cookbook is going to take you.. Picnics, Salads, Barbecues, Light Lunches and Suppers, Summer Entertaining, Desserts and finally Ice Creams and Drinks. At the beginning of each chapter is a wonderful introduction to what you're about to tempt your taste buds with and it's relevance to summer,

"The huge range of antipasti, appetizers, and salads in the Italian summer repertoire provide a wonderful source of inspiration for picnic food. Dishes such as frittatas, cold risottos, pies and terrines are easy to transport, and work very well at picnics alongside the more traditional filled sandwiches, cold meats, cheeses and salads." ...intro to picnic recipes

The recipes that follow are easy, with easy to find fresh ingredients that should satisfy our summer eating. From making your own mayonnaise, to making a delicious Tomato tartare with basil. Using the fresh apples you have, there's a recipe for Apple strudel, which you can make the day ahead. Or how about Baked ricotta with sun-dried tomato pesto as an appetizer for summer entertaining that's in the oven for only 10 minutes! The range of recipes is amazing, going from simple salads to more exotic dishes such as Swordfish carpaccio with caper sauce. There's a recipe for Summer stuffed peppers that you can serve hot or cold that looks delicious, and a traditional Italian recipe for Sweet and Sour meatballs. And there are plenty of desserts , such as Blueberry tart, or Peaches with summer zabaglione! This is a cookbook that can satisfy that urge you have in the summer to cook a little lighter, refreshing meal with fresh local grown ingredients!

For my own search for fresh ingredients, I decided to choose a recipe where I could use some of the beautiful purple eggplants that have arrived at my market lately. And thanks to the publisher, Phaidon, I have their permission to share this easy, delicious summer recipe with you! Here it is...

Stuffed Eggplants

Melanzane ripiene

*recipe reprinted with permission of Phaidon Press Inc.

Ingredients:

4 Eggplants

6 Tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing and dotting

olive oil, for frying

7 ounces ground beef

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Halve the eggplants lengthwise and scoop out and reserve most of the flesh from each half.

Sprinkle the eggplant skins with salt and turn them upside down to let the excess water drain.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Heat a little oil in a skillet, add the ground beef, and cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes until browned. Set aside.

To make the bechamel sauce, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium pan over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the milk and bring to a boil. Cook and continue to stir until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from the head, stir in the nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, and let cool slightly. Rinse the eggplant shells and pat dry with paper towels.

Chop the reserved eggplant and stir it into the sauce with the egg, meat and cheese, then season with salt and pepper. Fill the eggplant shells with this mixture, put them into the prepared dish, dot with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden. Serve immediately.

This recipe was absolutely delicious! I have always had eggplant in a tomato type sauce, so I didn't know what to expect using the bechamel sauce, which is a cream sauce. And now I know what I've been missing! The cream sauce complimented the flavor of the eggplant instead of drowning it! *A few personal notes about the recipe... This recipe called for 4 Eggplants, which I believe are suppose to be the smaller italian eggplants (In the photo in the cookbook all eight eggplant halves fit in one large baking dish). I used the larger American eggplants and baked them for 60 minutes in 2 baking dishes, just making sure that the top was crisp and golden. Different eggplants have different flavors too, so it's fun to try different kinds. Just make sure that you bake whichever eggplants you choose for the minimum of 30 minutes, and make sure the tops are crisp before serving.

I want to thank the publishers, Phaidon, for sending me this wonderful cookbook to review! And for letting me share a recipe! I'll be cooking quite a bit from this cookbook all summer long and then some! If you enjoy summer cooking, and enjoy using the fresh ingredients that the summer season is known for, Recipes from an Italian Summer would be a great cookbook to add to your cookbook shelf! I hope everyone enjoys this recipe! Let me know what you think if you do!

The Sunday Salon... "Feeding your Soul" with a Great Cookbook!

Happy Father's Day! To all you men out there today, I hope your day is relaxing and the food is good! Grab a cup of joe and relax a bit with me, as we sit around and gab a bit about books!

It's been a while since we've chatted about FOOD, and I just love tooling around in the kitchen & I LOVE cooking, so I thought this week's Sunday Salon would be about feeding our souls with a good cookbook!

I've spotted some great cookbooks this week at my local bookstore, and I even received a cookbook in the mail to review this week, so here are a few books to "feed" the soul...

The Frankies Spuntino: Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Frank Falcinelli, Frank Castronovo and Peter Meehan... What I first noticed when I saw this book was a bright green wrap around what appeared to be a leather bound book with a distinctive message- "100 Recipes", and "Grandma never broke a sweat. Neither should you." It didn't look like a cookbook, and it wasn't in with the cookbooks. I just had to pick it up though and open it up. What I discovered was that "The Frankies" are friends and cooks, owning two restaurants (Frankies in Brooklyn & Manhattan) and that this cookbook is the "manual" for the food served in their very popular, authentic Italian eateries. This book is beautifully illustrated, is really informative ( from equipment,what to have on hand in your pantry to how to's), and the recipes are simple, easy to understand and they look delish! The Frankies share recipes such as Roasted Eggplant to Pork Braciola Marinara. There's a recipe for Sunday sauce, meatballs and even desserts. I've got this sitting on the counter waiting for me decide what to make first. I'll have a full review for this cookbook that doesn't look like a cookbook soon!

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook (Revised & Updated) by Phyllis Pellman Good... I love my Slow Cooker! I go through these phases of using it like a demon to not using it for a while. But it's a cookbook like the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook that reminds me what a great cooking tool my slow cooker (crock pot) is! This cookbook has 700 (yes I typed 7-0-0) Slow Cooker recipes! Recipes range from Dips, Chilli and Salsa to Barbecued Chicken wings and Casseroles! No need to heat up the whole house for a great meal! And Slow Cooker recipes are usually very easy to throw together without a fuss. I'll be cooking up something from this cookbook this week and have a full review of the cookbook too! Thanks to the publisher for sending this one along!

Recipes from an Italian Summer a collection put together by the Editors of Phaidon Press... A Beautiful FAT cookbook with warm weather recipes. The emphasis here is fresh, wonderful ingredients that are abundant in the summer. Fresh produce, fruits and berries, and herbs. 380 recipes for lighter, easy-to-follow summer dishes with big beautiful photographs. The cover caught my eye, and I love big cookbooks that almost seem like a meal in themselves, so this is one my wish list! *Update! Thanks to the publisher, we'll be cooking from this cookbook this next weekend!

What are YOU cooking up this sunday?! What are your favorite cookbooks?! Share them here, I'd love to hear about them! If you missed it, I have a review of Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's cookbook Lydia Cooks From The Heart of Italy, AND with permission of the publisher I have included her recipe for Baked Penne & Mushrooms, which my family devoured and yours should too! Plus here's the Review of I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot and her recipe for Navarrais Chicken, which is an easy chicken recipe in a tomato sauce. Stop by tomorrow for Memoir Monday, because I have a review of a memoir filled with great recipes!

The week in review...

Review of Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory, a great historical romance I just loved. If you haven't all ready, enter the GIVEAWAY for 1 of 5 copies! Giveaway ends June 28th.

Review of the Kid-friendly, Adult enjoyable Alison Dare graphic novels by J. Torres & J. Bone, as part of the Alison Dare Blog Tour hosted by Tundra Books. You can enter to win an Alison Dare prize package by taking Alison on her own adventure! Get all the details on my post, plus take a peek at what adventure I found Alison Dare climbing to!

The Kobo eReader has landed in homes around the US this week! One landed in mine too! This week I'll let you know what I think of this new eReader- the good, the bad & the ugly! So far, I'm liking it! I don't think it's going to "kill the Kindle", (why are industry people always looking for that eReader that will "kill the Kindle"?) But it's seems to be a great "bare bones" eReader at a great price. More on that this week...

And I know it's Father's Day, but don't forget the women today... there's still time to enter the GIVEAWAY for the unabridged audiobook of Put Your Crown On by Queen Latifah. That giveaway ends June 26th.

Hope you've found something to whet your appetite this week! In the meantime... Happy reading!

What's Cooking? I Know How To Cook by Ginette Mathiot, Recipes & Review!

Move Over Julia, there's a New French Cook in Town...

Have you ever read a cookbook? Some cookbooks we buy because of a particular recipe that looks good, or the type of food it's about, but I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot is a literal feast! Not only does it have over 1400 recipes, simple and easy to follow recipes!, but there is so much great cooking information between the pages. And for good reason too- Ginette Mathiot has been teaching French families to cook for over 75 years! I Know How to Cook is to France what The Joy of Cooking has been to the USA! And we are so fortunate that the first English edition has come to America!

" The cuisine of France is among the richest and most diverse in the world, and the techniques and traditions it is built on have had a long-standing influence on chef's everywhere. However, this considerable reputation sometimes overshadows the profound appeal of French home cooking, which is anything but intimidating. It is a style of cooking based on resourcefulness and simplicity... In I Know How To Cook, Ginette Mathiot equips her readers with the building blocks for good cooking, educates them about the ingredients they'll encounter and the skills they'll need."

This cookbook is simply wonderful! From the fundamentals of why we eat, and creating harmony between the foods that we prepare, to how to equip your kitchen. Ginette teaches us all the basic cooking methods from Boiling & Poaching to Roasting and Broiling. I loved looking through this cookbook, it was a like going on a cooking adventure. There's a wonderful section on Flavorings, that leads the cook through garlic, onions and shallots and how to use these in various foods. Plus there are pages of herbs and spices.

The cookbook starts with sauces, moves into hors d'oeuvres (including different kinds of butters to make), milk, eggs & cheese, soups, fish, meats, poultry and game. This is followed by vegetables, salads, legumes, pasta, and rice. Oh and the desserts, cakes & pastries! At 975 pages, it's hard to believe Ginette Mathiot missed including anything! From scrambled eggs to Tarte tatin, I Know How To Cook is a fun easy adventure in French cooking!

Something you'll notice right away is the design of the cookbook. Visually its beautiful. There are colorful graphics through out the pages. Not every recipe has a photograph, but the ones included are large. But the nicest thing about the design of this cookbook is that the recipes are easy to read! The name of the recipe is big enough to see well and it's in bold type. And the recipe ingredients and instuctions are in bold! You will not have to strain to read these recipes! Plus, I like to make notes in the margins if I tweaked anything in a recipe, and there is plenty of room in the margins and below the recipe to add any personal notes.

Ok, speaking of recipes... No matter how intimidating the name of the recipe is, such as Steak A L'Allemande or Chicken Marengo, these recipes are easy. The instructions are clear. With most of the recipes only one paragraph long! AND with permission from the publisher, Phaidon Press, I'm going to share 2 of the recipes I made from I Know How To Cook by Ginette Mathiot!For my first recipe I looked for a recipe that my family would enjoy and that I could also make for my book club members after a long day at work. As I've mentioned before, the person hosting the book club usually cooks, so here's a recipe that will definitely please a crowd! It definitely pleased my family!

Navarrais Chicken

Poulet Navarrais

*recipe reprinted with permission of Phaidon Press Inc.

Ingredients:

1 (2 ¾-pound) chicken

3 ½ tablespoons butter

Generous ¾ cup Madeira

Salt and pepper

6 ½ ounces mushrooms

2/3 cup tomato paste

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves 6

Cut up the chicken (see below). Heat the butter in a heavy pan, add the chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat until browned. Pour in the Madeira and season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and tomato paste, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Put the chicken pieces on a serving dish and coat with the sauce.

Chicken Carving and Cutting:

Legs

Stick a fork in the leg. Apply pressure to lift it, and slide a knife along the carcass to detach the meat. Cut off at the joint.

Wings

Stick a fork under the wing. Find the joint with a knife and cut through it. Press down on the fork to re

move the wing. Use the knife to hold the chicken steady.

Carcass

Cut the chicken down the middle, lengthwise.

To cut the chicken before cooking, cut up the carcass in the same way as for carving a cooked chicken.

*My photo is just a sample of what came out of the pot, but this recipe could easily be doubled to feed more than 6. And let me tell you the sauce was delicious! The prep was easy, and this makes this recipe great after a long day at work... But I didn't stop at this recipe. I decided to make a little something for dessert. How about a sweet treat with just 3 ingredients?? That's what this Almond Macaroon recipe calls for!

Almond Macaroons

Macarons Aux Amandes

*recipe reprinted with permission of Phaidon Press Inc.

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing

2 ¾ cups ground almonds

3 egg whites

2 ½ cups superfine sugar

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 300ºF and line a baking sheet with buttered parchment paper. Put the almonds in a bowl and mix in the egg whites a little at a time. Stir in the sugar and mix well. Form the dough into slightly flattened balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This is a cookbook I will use a lot. I've tried all sorts of recipes already and everything has been delish! Have you got a favorite French cuisine recipe? Would love to know what you've been cooking. And if you have any suggestions! Have you tried I Know How To Cook? Would love to know what you prepared!

I want to thank Kelly from Phaidon Press for sending me this wonderful cookbook to review! Thanks Kelly! I loved every bite! And I'm still absorbing the wisdom of Ginette Mathiot! And I will for many years! This will have a special place on my cookbook shelf! Would you like to take a peek inside I Know How To Cook? You can see inside the book at the Phaidon's Website!

*All recipes are copyrighted and are reprinted by permission of Phaidon Press