From Publishers Weekly
Barr, who cooked alongside Julia Child and authored We Called It Macaroni, shares her nonna's wisdom in a book organized by traditional Italian courses. Adjusting for Americans, Barr portions pasta and soup as whole meals. She provides extensive information on everything from shopping and tools to terminology to how to make scaloppine. The strength is in her unique approach to the recipes: instead of a rigid prescription, ingredients are categorized yet flexible. For example, ingredients for Spicy Bay Scallops with Capers and Lemon are under headings for the fish, the aromatic, the deglazing liquid, and the finish. There are four variations on this recipe alone. Cooks get license-and the tools-to experiment. The soup section is especially strong, with a table on how to create your own and examples such as Fennel Soup with Ham and Soup with Porcini and Cornmeal. Chapters begin with a "primary recipe," such as Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza, and advance, for example, to Potato Pizza. The only drawback to this approach is the cross-referencing necessary. Barr provides just enough guidance, writing, for Nonna's Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary: "Don't be alarmed by the large amount of garlic" because it will sweeten. Recipes are traditional Southern (her family is from Ischia) with some surprises (e.g., Roasted Monkfish with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Sweet-and-Sour Lamb Stew from Apulia). The salad chapter ("the stomach's toothbrush") is straightforward-the way it should be. The dessert section emphasizes puddings (Lemon "Cooked Cream" with Berries) and mix-and-match sauces (Chocolate-Espresso Sauce and Dried Tart-Cherry Sauce for puddings or ice creams). This book is worth having for anyone who loves Italian food.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Barr (We Called It Macaroni) learned to cook from her Italian grandmother, who learned from her mother and her grandmother. With her latest book, Barr hopes to impart that familial knowledge and kitchen instinct to other cooks. She refers to her book as a primer and urges readers to draw on her techniques to improvise their own dishes that taste of Italy. To that end, she provides what she calls "Primary Recipes," detailed recipes that cover all the basics, and related recipes that build on them, along with charts on "Creating Your Own"-guidelines and proportions for putting together variations on these themes. Barr writes in a reassuring, "hands-on" style, describing the why and how for each recipe step and offering many useful tips along the way. Her opening chapter, "Flavors That Say `Italian,'" is an illustrated buying guide to ingredients, and each chapter begins with a thorough introduction; numerous boxes on all sorts of culinary topics add even more. Filled with delicious recipes and important information, Make It Italian is an essential purchase.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
