Ciao Italia Slow and Easy: Casseroles, Braises, Lasagne, and Stews from an Italian Kitchen - Hardcover

Esposito, Mary Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312362927 ISBN 13: 9780312362928

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2007

Synopsis

What could be welcoming in your kitchen than a big warm pan full of lasagna, a pot of braised short ribs or a casserole dish holding fragrant mussels, tomatoes and herbs? When you think of comfort food, the first cuisines that comes to mind is Italian.and nobody knows that better than Mary Ann Esposito, host of the longest-running television cooking show in the U.S., Ciao Italia. In Ciao Italia Slow and Easy, Mary Ann tells us how to slow down, take it easy and fill the kitchen with Italian slow-cooked goodness. By braising, baking, roasting and simmering, she gives readers a treasure trove of wonderful dishes like

-stove top lasagna with artichokes
-prosciutto-wrapped chicken baked in parchment
-tomato braised short ribs with rigatoni
-pasta shells stuffed with a ragu of pork and cream
-one-skillet chicken supper with tomatoes and green beans
-layered polenta pie with mushrooms and sausage
-mussel, potato and tomato casserole

Ciao Italia Slow and Easy is filled with Mary Ann's sensible advice, knowledgeable asides about the history of Italian cuisine and, most of all, a sure sense of what tastes good.

About this title

About the Author

MARY ANN ESPOSITO is the host of the long-running PBS series "Ciao Italia." She is the author of nine successful cookbooks, including Ciao Italia Pronto! and Ciao Italia in Umbria. She lives in Durham, New Hampshire.

Reviews

Esposito (Ciao Italia Pronto!), public TV's reassuring face of Italian cooking, is an ideal guide to the appealing world of Italian comfort foods. This slim volume provides main-dish recipes that can be fixed in an unhurried afternoon. Each chapter takes a primary ingredient (fish, meat, pasta, vegetables or fruit) as the base for a stew or casserole, usually adding liberal amounts of eggs, butter and cheese. Without Esposito's confident voice and knack for careful visual demonstration, the written instructions may occasionally seem vague, but other than a few surprises, such as lamb and dandelion casserole, most of the dishes are familiar entries from the Italian canon: Lasagne con Carciofi e Ricotta, Chicken Tetrazzini, Pepperoni Rossi alla Napoletano (stuffed red bell peppers). Some, like chicken pot pie or ham and broccoli casserole, seem positively Middle America. The hearty selection is nourishing if not exciting and will be welcomed by Esposito's fans as well as busy cooks who appreciate the fix it-and-forget it model. Color photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312362927
• ISBN 13: 9780312362928
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160