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The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food
By Lynne Rossetto Kasper ( William Morrow Cookbooks )
Release Date: 1992-09-21
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List Price: $39.95
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Product Description
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 RagÚ

The 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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    Product Reviews:
      A treasure chest of recipes 
    Although the recipes take time and concentration the effort is rewarded with supurb eating. Entertaining with this cookbook is enjoyable not only for the guests but also the cook. This has a permanent spot in the cookbook library. It is interesting to see how many of my friends also keep The Splendid Table in the front of their libraries. {Often stained with sauce}.
      One of the Best Italian Cookbooks Ever! ( rickr32153 )
    Before there was a food show available every minute of the day on TV, passionate American cooks learned how to cook at their local cooking school. For many years, before her popular NPR radio show (also called The Splendid Table) went on the air, Lynne Rosetto Kasper was one of the most beloved teachers on the circuit. I saw her teach many times, and I still use her tips and recipes. (For example, soak raw onion slices in a little vinegar or water to remove their sharpness in salads.) This book was published in 1992, so it didn't benefit from online bookstore sales, and the fact that few people have reviewed it shows how it got lost in the shuffle. If you are a fan of Giada and Mario, make room in your bookshelf for Lynne, who really raised the bar for Italian cooking in this country. These are not fast-and-easy recipes, only incredible dishes with depth of flavor that you rarely see anymore in cookbooks. I have fond memories of the Jam Tart, the vinaigrette with sauteed shallots and garlic, and the long-simmered ragu. It is one of the very few books that has won both IACP and James Beard awards for Cookbook of the Year (akin to winning the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Picture). Three words: Buy This Book.
      Try the Tortellini Recipe ( elioquerze )
    This book is the real deal! Truly authentic. Just like my Nonis cooking. Try the tortellini recpie and cookem in Chicken broth, en brodo! You will die and go to food heaven!
      One of THE best cookbooks 
    I'm surpised no one has reviewed this book yet. A winner of prestigous book awards, I say without question that this is my favorite cookbook. (Julia Child's The Way to Cook comes in a close second)..I was working in a high-end Italian restaurant in San Franciso that also sold fresh food, Italian wines, and great cookbooks. The author was there to prepare dishes from this book, so I got to meet her, taste her food, and got a signed copy. Not only was she nice, she really knows how to cook. The food is from Reggio-Emilia, in the center of Italy, and the true home of Prosciutto, Bologna, Pamigiano Reggiano, Balsamic vinegar (the REAL balsamic vinegar) among other fantastic food. The recipes are comprehensive, very well written, and authentic. She gives background and hints, and the book is very educational and interesting just to read. She even tells you step by step how to make real pasta, and find ingredients. I've made many recipes and they are all so good. This is a book where I would make something for a dinner party without testing it beforehand; that is how much I trust it. Worth every penny!
      Totally pleasurable! ( operabuff100 )
    I love cookbooks, and I love to cook. I have an extensive library of cookbooks, and this one is absolutely one of the best. The instructions are clear, the food is exquisite, and, above all, this book is a pleasure to read. I love learning the history of the recipes, the anecdotes add to the enjoyment. This is by no means a basic cookbook, it is definitely for the cook who goes beyond the basics, and many of the recipes require a long list of ingredients and lots of time. The results, however, are well worth the effort, and, for those who enjoy cooking, this book is a must.