Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Ciao Italia in Tuscany: Traditional Recipes from One of Italy's Most Famous Regions by Mary Ann Esposito ISBN: 0-312-32174-0 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)
Rating: 4
Summary: A fairly good book on Tuscan Cuisine
Comment: 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 about where to eat in Tuscany are not doing anyone any good unless you go there. The price of the book rescues it from a below average rating. As I stated at the outset, the book provides what is expected and nothing more. My only regret is that unlike many other regions of Italy, I have yet to find a good cookbook that effectively explores this cuisine.
 |
Title: Ciao Italia in Umbria: Recipes and Reflections from the Heart of Italy by Mary Ann Esposito ISBN: 0312303297 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: Ciao Italia--Bringing Italy Home by Mary Ann Esposito ISBN: 0312280580 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 04 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
 |
Title: Ciao Italia by Mary A. Esposito ISBN: 0688103170 Publisher: Morrow Cookbooks Pub. Date: 23 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
 |
Title: Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich ISBN: 037541150X Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 23 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
 |
Title: What You Knead by Mary A. Esposito ISBN: 0688150101 Publisher: Morrow Cookbooks Pub. Date: 03 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
