Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen [Hardcover]

As anyone who has spent any time watching Mario Batali on TV knows, Italian American food is different from Italian cuisine. Since there is a rather large industry of culinary journalists and chefs describing the true Italian regional cuisines, it's only fair that the Italian American derivatives be celebrated on their own merits.

Ms. Bastianich will not, however, be limiting herself strictly to Italian American hybrids. Some dishes are her own creations and some are purely Italian which never acquired an 'American accent'.

The chapter headings in the book are:
Antipasti

Soups
Pasta & Risotto
Pizza
Entrees
Contorni (Side Dishes)
Desserts and Coffee

I am happy to see there is no space dedicated to the extensive subject of Italian breads except for the brief chapter on Pizza, as this is a subject requiring a great attention to detail which would detract from the primary object of the book. I am also happy that no space or expense was devoted to wine pairings. While this is a worthy subject, I would rather know that all my money is going for quality recipes.

As Ms. Bastianich came from northern Italy (actually Istria, ceded to Yugoslavia at the end of World War II) and the great majority of immigrants from Italy to America came from southern Italy, the book ends up with a fairly balanced reflection of Italian cuisine as a whole.

One of the signal features of Italian American cooking is the mixing of meat with southern Italian tomato pasta dishes, as in Sugo di Carne and Spaghetti and meatballs. Of course, meat sauces are not unknown in Italy. Northern Italy has the Sugo alla Bolognese. In fact, Italian appears to have a special work, 'sugo' for meat sauces to distinguish them from meatless sauces such as 'salsa marinara' and 'salsa di pomodoro'.

Another signal feature of Italian American cooking is the apotheosis of garlic, which is used with even greater abandon than in the Italian south. Where Italians typically slice raw garlic, so you can easily skirt around it if you wish to keep a sweet breath, Americans are known to crush the daylights out of the cloves, making it's taste stronger and harder to avoid.

The book includes two very nicely done color photograph sections. Photos of food are free of the annoying out of focus closeups found elsewhere. There are good black and white photos demonstrating selected techniques, clearly being performed by the author herself. Photographs of family are endearing, clear, and well captioned.

I have cooked several recipes in this book and find them all delicious. Not all are easy and some may require some practice, but then, try to construct a mortise and tendon joint entirely from the directions in a book on carpentry.

This is true comfort food. Highly recommended.

The recipes are authentic because they turn out perfectly and they taste like I remember them. Best of all is their utter simplicity. Lidia's talent comes from combining a few very fresh ingredients using proper technique into a mouth watering dish.

Anyone who has seen the show knows the passion that Lidia has for food. Just watching her enjoy the dish she has prepared can make you hungry. Well, this passion spills over to the book in every recipe and in every description or cooks note in the book.

If you love Italian American food and want to get as close to authentic as you can get, then buy this book.