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!

A Happy Easter Guest Post! Lidia Matticchio Bastianich shares Quick & Heallthy Springtime Dishes!

Happy Easter Everyone! The Easter Bunny is making a stop at my home today leaving some wonderful treats, and today at Chick with Books I'm leaving a special treat- a guest post from a wonderful cook, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich! She shares some of her delicious recipes too! I've got her newest cookbook, Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy, to review and these recipes are a small sampling of the 175 regional recipes you'll find in it.

Enjoy your Holiday! Enjoy Lidia's guest post! Next week we'll be back with more Books with Buzz!

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Quick, Healthy, Springtime Dishes -- Featuring Herbs!

By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich,

Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

The use of fresh herbs has exploded in the American kitchen today. I recall that as a young apprentice in Italy -- at my great-aunt's apron strings -- for every herb we had in the garden, there seemed to be a pot on the stove to match.

Some herbs were better to cook with while others were better added at the end to a finished dish. For example, rosemary, bay leaves and thyme are mostly used for long cooking where their oils are extracted slowly out of their leaves. Sage, oregano and marjoram need very little cooking time, and herbs such as basil, parsley and mint are great to toss in raw at the end -- just enough to release their refreshing aromas.

If you have small children a wonderful way to introduce them to the enticing aromas of herbs is to gently crush the herbs in your hands and let them smell. I did this with my grandchildren when they were very small and it's a great way to get them excited about the world of herbs and food at an early age.

In fact, once you get your small children excited about herbs, introduce them to your own dishes. Here I'm sharing some of the quickest, and most child-friendly. Enjoy!

HERB PESTO

Makes 1 ½ cups

• 1 cup packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

• ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves

• ½ cup packed mixed fresh sage, thyme, and marjoram leaves

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

• Salt

Wash the herb leaves in cool water and dry them thoroughly, preferably in a salad spinner. Combine the herbs and garlic in a blender and blend on low speed, slowly adding the oil while the machine is running, until the pesto is smooth and all the oil is incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Keep in a sealed jar in the refrigerator and use as needed. Pesto will keep refrigerated for up to 4 weeks or it may be frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure there is a thin film of oil over the pesto to keep its flavor and color bright.

HERB FRITTATA

Serves 2 as an appetizer, 1 as a lunch dish

From "Lidia's Family Table" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004)

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons milk

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

• 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 teaspoon butter

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and fresh herbs until just blended together.

Heat the butter and oil in the small frying pan until it just starts to sizzle, then pour in the eggs and turn the heat down very low. Cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes. The eggs will start to puff up and sizzle at the edges. Lift a corner of the frittata with a spatula, and check to see if the bottom has browned in splotches. When it has, flip the frittata over by giving the pan a firm, quick shake up and over toward you so that the egg mass dislodges and flips over in one piece. Or, if that unnerves you, turn the frittata over with a spatula. Cook the second side for 1 ½ to 2 minutes, again checking to see if the bottom has browned to your liking. Serve right away, or let cool to room temperature and cut the frittata in wedges.

BAKED FISH WITH SAVORY BREAD CRUMBS

Serves 6

Landlocked Umbria does not have a seafood cuisine. But its mountain lakes, rivers, and streams abound in freshwater fish, like the tasty tench. This simple preparation is one I found in Umbria, and it is excellent for fillets of our sweet-water varieties, such as carp or whitefish, or even light ocean-fish fillets like sole.

• 2 pounds whitefish fillets

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Juice of a large lemon (about 3 tablespoons)

• ½ cup white wine

• 6 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

• ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

• Zest of a large lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• ¼ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste, chopped fine

• Fresh lemon slices, for serving

Recommended equipment: A 4-quart shallow rectangular baking dish; a heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan, 12-inch diameter or larger, with a cover.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly salt the fish on both sides, using about ¼ teaspoon salt in all. Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, white wine, and another ¼ teaspoon salt into the baking dish, and whisk together well. Drop in the garlic cloves, and stir with the dressing. Lay the fillets in the dish, turn and swish them in the dressing so both sides are thoroughly moistened, and arrange them, skin side down, in one layer.

Toss the bread crumbs in a bowl with the lemon zest, parsley, oregano, chopped peperoncino, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, and toss the crumbs well until evenly moistened with oil.

Spoon the seasoned bread crumbs on top of the fillets in a light, even layer. Bake, uncovered, until the crumbs are crisp and golden and the fish is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Lift the fish out with a spatula, and set on a warm platter to serve family-style, or on individual plates. Spoon over it the juices left in the baking dish, and serve right away, with lemon slices on the side.

© 2010 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, authors of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

Author Bio

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.LidiasItaly.com.