Just when you thought you knew the best of Northern Italy, along comes Lynne RossettoKasper to introduce you to Emilia-Romagna, a fertile wedge between Milan, Venice, and Florence, as gastronomically important as any land in the world. The lush homeland of balsamic vinegar, Prosciutto di Parma, tortellini, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, this is a region venerated by Italy's food cognoscenti. "Ask an Italian where to take only one meal in Italy, and, after recommending his mother's house, he will more than likely send you to EmiliaRomagna,"writes Kasper.A cuisine at once voluptuous and refined, the dishes of Emilia-Romagna's kitchen are literally irresistible. just listen to the names"Little" Spring Soup from the 17th Century, His Eminence's Baked Penne, Modena Crumbling Cake. Then imagine sitting down to a dish of Hot Caramelized Pears with Prosciutto, a Risotto of Red Wine with Fresh Rosemary or a Pie of Polenta and Country RagÚThe first American book to present the food of this singular northern region, The Splendid Table is an Italian cookbook for the nineties. It will take you from Parma, Bologna, Modena, Ravenna, and Ferrara to tiny villages in the foothills of the Apennines, from Renaissance banquet halls to the simplest of farmhouses, offering history, folklore, and substantive cooking tips along the way.Among the things you will find are:A 56-recipe pasta chapter including many never before seen in America. From fast and easy dishes such as Linguine with Braised Garlic and Balsamic Vinegar to a lasagne of chicken, pine nuts, and currants. A veal Parmigiano like no other-Pan-Fried Veal Chops with Tomato Marsala Sauce, the whole finished with curls of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. An array of meatless or almost meatless recipes. Grilled vegetables with maccheroni; a country dish of braised lentils with ribbons of pappardelle and crisp nubbins of pancetta; Tortellini of Artichokes and Mascarpone; or Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style. Straight out of the Renaissance but perfect for today, a sumptuous tortellini pie, ideal for important dinners and holidays. A salad of tart greens, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Prosciutto di Parma with a warm garlic and balsamic dressing and many other antipasto dishes. Over thirty dessert recipes including Chestnut Ricotta Cheesecake and Torta Barozzi, a mysterious chocolate cake made at only one pastry shop in the entire region. "A Guide to Ingredients" that shares the secrets of how to select, use, and store the very best balsamic vinegars, olive oils, porcini mushrooms, Prosciutto di Parma, mortadella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, coppa, fresh herbs, and much more. Encounters with Lucrezia Borgia, Gioachino Rossini, Napoleon's Empress Marie Louise, Giuseppe Verdi, Arturo Toscanini, Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, and Luciano Pavarotti, all characters in the epic of Emilia-Romagna. The Splendid Table is the Italian cookbook America has been waiting for a book firing our passion for Italian food while responding to our health concerns. It not only reveals Italy's best-kept culinary secret, the great cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, it is at the same time one of the most important teaching books of our era. Know it will become a good friend, well thumbed and lovingly stained over years of good cooking and good reading. 24 pages of finished dishes in full color. 200 recipes with wine and menu suggestions.
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From Publishers Weekly
This collection of recipes, history, food and folklore--surrendered by a tiny yet culinarily fertile region of Italy--was ably amassed by cooking teacher and writer Kasper. Even people "with only a passing interest in food" are likely to "recognize . . . this region's products." Among them are: Balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and prosciutto di Parma. Northern Italy is also where the renowned rich Ragu Bolognese comes from; Kasper includes both a historical and a modern version, as well as a selection of kindred sauces, such as game ragu and an unusual ragu of giblets. She pays homage to recipes ranging from the 16th century (rosewater maccheroni Romanesca) to the 18th (a Cardinal's favorite baked penne), but pays equal and fascinating attention to modern inventions: tagliatelle with carmelized onions and fresh herbs, and a lasagna of wild and fresh mushrooms. Nor does Kasper omit recipes incorporating the most famous native products. Balsamic roast chicken and sweet peas with prosciutto di Parma is an outstanding example. Rounding out various virtues are easy rules of thumb for making fresh pasta and a reliable guide to ingredients. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
From an American food writer and cooking teacher, an informed and enthusiastic culinary tour of the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, famous for its fervently upheld cooking traditions and as the source of tortellini, Bolognese rag—, Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese, and balsamic vinegar. This last ingredient appears here in everything from pesto to rabbit stew, veal scallops, and an enticing pot-roasted lamb with wine and olives; and Kasper, who devotes several pages to the mysteries and hierarchies of balsamic vinegar, passes along a tip for simulating the expensive ``craftsman'' quality with more common versions. It's the kind of cookbook that comes with a bibliography and with copious historical and other background notes on the recipes and the different local traditions within the region. It also comes with descriptions high in swooning superlatives; fortunately, the recipes--many of them local specialties unfamiliar elsewhere--live up to the billing, both in their attention to flavor-enhancing detail and in the certifiably splendid nature of the dishes. Serious culinary explorers, Italian food enthusiasts, and readers of gastronomic travelogues will put this on their list. (Twenty-four pages of color photos--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
My family has lived in Ravenna for over 30 years during the summers. This is our very favorite cook book. During the winter it brings back the glories of Emilia Romagna. Buy it, you will treasure it forever.
By dallas
Format:Hardcover
The Balsamic Roast Chicken is simply splendid. I use free-range chicken parts and rub the garlic-rosemary paste under the skin (I make more of the paste than the recipe calls for). The chicken is delicious even without the balsamic vinegar--moist and tender. I love the recipe for sprucing up canned chicken broth, too--use fat-free broth and you can skip a step or two. The Green Beans Bolognese are absolutely wonderful, as well. I am looking forward to trying more recipes from this book and wowing my dinner guests (again)! YUM!
By Deb Mele
Format:Hardcover
I have had this book since just after it was published, and it remains my authority on northern Italian cuisine. Lynne Rossetto Kasper has compiled an amazing quantity of quality recipes from the Emilia-Romagna region. As the Italian Food Host @ BellaOnline, and a collector of over 100 Italian cookbooks I would highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates northern Italian cuisine. Ms. Rossetto adds a little comentary on each recipe's history that is very interesting and her food photograph's are stunning. My only complaint about this book is that there are not more of these glorious photographs!
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4.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy of your kitchen and your coffee table
No other author has inspired such creativity and emotion in me. Kasper doesn't just tell you the ingredients and procedures, she relates the history of her dishes and the people... Read more
Published on April 28 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Believe the hype!
I own over a dozen Italian cookbooks, and this is by far my favorite. At the minimum, every recipe I have made from this book has been very good. Most are much better. Read more
Published on Mar 10 2000 by Patrick Farley
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Splendid Table
This past fall we spent a week in the Piacenza area and interviewed relatives on old family recipes. Reading The Splendid Table is like being in Piacenza again... Read more
Published on Feb 20 2000 by czanoni@banet.net
5.0 out of 5 stars
A winner from cover to cover!
I first stumbled upon this book in the public library, and after checking it out and trying it out, I knew I had to own it. Read more
Published on Feb 11 2000 by CinCin
5.0 out of 5 stars
A winner from cover to cover!
I first stumbled upon this book in the public library, and after checking it out and trying it out, I knew I had to own it. Read more
Published on Feb 11 2000 by CinCin
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite source for stupendous dinner parties
I've owned this book since it first came out in 1992, and it occupies a special place in my cooking library -- eye-level shelf for easy reach. Read more
Published on Nov 3 1999 by Roni Jordan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun to read and more fun to use
The recipe for soup stock alone has changed my life! I used to use canned stock, but now I make this stock once a month and use it for everything--I even drink steaming mugs of... Read more
Published on Nov 2 1999 by Timothy Himes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great read, but who wants overcomplicated peasant food?
I loved reading this book--the author is clearly passionate about food. I learned a lot from her explanations of various techniques. Read more
Published on Sep 27 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
A favorite cookbook
Every recipe I've tried from this cookbook is a winner. The Christmas pasta with sugar, almonds and orange zest, topped by a capon has become an annual tradition in our family. Read more
Published on Sep 7 1999 by Glenn Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Bolognese recipies.
A beautiful book both to read and to relish. Rare recipies from Emiligia-Romagna not generally found in traditional Italian cookbooks. Read more
Published on July 23 1999
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