• nomadchowwoman on January 08, 2010

  Like the different twists on Hazan's usual (albeit wonderful) fare. This book was a pleasant surprise.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• The no-butter, no-cheese zucchini and basil frittata (La frittata di zucchine senza burro, senza formaggio)

  • Cheri on January 01, 2011

    Combined this with some sauted chard and diced ham. Also added creme fraiche to eggs & parmesan along with grated fontina. Excellent.

• Impromptu mustard fruit with mascarpone (La mostarda di frutta improvisata e mascarpone)

  • Breadcrumbs on July 21, 2011

    p. 108 - We were very pleased w this unusual condiment. Marcella has quite an interesting story about how this impromptu recipe came to be and essentially all she has you do is combine some superior-quality fruit jam or preserves with Colman’s mustard and voila, you’ve made mostarda! I had some St. Dalfour Thick Apricot Extra preserves in the pantry so that’s what I used along w the Colman’s and I must say, it did produce a tasty condiment, wonderful actually. I served this w Mario Batali's Turkey Sausages from his Italian Grill book. A perfect match.

• Veal pasta sauce with four different varieties of mushrooms (Ragù di vitello con quattro varietà di funghi)

  • Breadcrumbs on November 19, 2012

    p. 164 - Inspired by some lovely wild mushrooms I picked up at the market I selected this recipe which seemed to let the mushrooms shine. Unlike many folks here, I haven’t made many of Marcella’s recipes and I was surprised by the level of specificity and detail in the directions, right down to telling you to use a wooden spoon to turn the sauce. In this dish the mushrooms are cooked separately from the meat and tomato mixture and then both are combined and simmered together to finish the sauce. The tomatoes are fresh and add a surprising and refreshing brightness to the otherwise earthy, rich veal ragu. All flavours are well developed and the sauce smells divine as it simmers away atop the stove. The variety of mushrooms not only layered flavours but also added interested and varying textures. We served over rigatoni and topped w a little freshly grated Parmeasan. This was a lovely dish that we’ll undoubtedly repeat. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/877980#7720443

• Chicken breasts saltimbocca style (Saltimbocca di petti di pollo)

  • Breadcrumbs on April 30, 2011

    p. 234 First use of this recipe and book. Results were great though changes were made. I used prosciutto vs pancetta and, made pockets in the breasts vs cutting in half and making sandwiches. A wonderful example of a dish where a few quality ingredients that come together to produce something remarkable. The sauce was fabulous and the chicken had taken on the flavours of the stuffing. I browned stovetop and finished in a 325 oven. Fantastic. Served this w Giada’s Farfalle w Broccoli.

• Beef and pork meat loaf with mushrooms (Polpettone di manzo e maiale con i funghi)

  • jhappel on May 04, 2014

    I used only cremini mushrooms because that was what I had on hand. Next time I will plan ahead and buy an assortment. This was delicious.

• Peach or nectarine tart (Torta di pesche o di pesche liscie)

  • twoyolks on August 04, 2014

    This is more of a cake then a traditional tart. I needed significantly fewer peaches (2) than called for (4). The cake portion isn't overly sweet which is nice. It went very well with vanilla ice cream.

• White peach gelato with lemon zest (Gelato di pesca bianca profumato al limone)

  • twoyolks on July 21, 2015

    I liked the flavor of this gelato but the peach flavor was barely present. It was closer to a lemon ice gelato.

• Baked fish and potatoes with rosemary and garlic (Pesce arrosto al forno con patate all 'aglio e rosmarino)

  • Bloominanglophile on June 10, 2013

    Got this recipe off Epicurious (see reviews for suggestions). I changed it by adding 1 1/2 red peppers and 1 large onion to the potatoes to fill out the veg for the meal. Minced the rosemary and roughly chopped the garlic. For the fish (I used mahi mahi), I used 6 Tbps breadcrumbs and sautéed them with olive oil and minced garlic to increase the crunch and flavor, let cool, and added minced rosemary and zest from one lemon. 14 minutes may be too long for the fish to cook (I had 3 fillets that were 1" thick or less). Nonetheless, this was a great weeknight meal--easy & quick. Served with bread with olive oil dip and a nice white Grenache/Rousanne wine (Sauvignon Blanc should also do well).

• Avocado and Parmesan crostini (Crostini di avocado e Parmigiano)

  • sturlington on April 22, 2013

    Italian guacamole! A lovely light lunch, very easy to make.

  • Yildiz100 on January 11, 2019

    This crostini had a great flavor, but was too rich for me to eat more than a couple bites.

• Spaghetti "rotolo" with zucchini and bacon (Il rotolo di spaghetti con il sugo di zucchine e pancetta affumicata)

  • Yildiz100 on August 11, 2015

    I was skeptical about this recipe but decided to try it because I had bacon and zucchini to use up. I'm so glad I did! This was a great success, though I did make a lotchanges. I substituted thyme for the rosemary out of necessity. I liked this substitution but will test it with rosemary in the future. I used two slices of turkey bacon instead slab bacon. This was the perfect amount. I also added the parmesan to taste, and probably used less than she called for. The only negative was that it was a bit dry and I wish I had reserved some pasta water. Instead, I had to add more butter. I did use the two or three tablespoons she recommended, but it needed more. One last change-I had twelve ounces of zucchini and I cooked the full pound of pasta. I think that even if I had had the full pound of zucchini, this would not have been enough sauce. In fact, I think about 1/2 a pound pasta to two small/medium zucchini is perfect. With a food processor, this is quick recipe too!

• Sicilian pesto (Pesto alla Siciliana)

  • Yildiz100 on May 08, 2019

    Very nice. I was a little short of mint and I did miss it. Might like a bit more olive oil too.

• Leek and scallion frittata (Frittata di porri e cipolline verdi)

  • Yildiz100 on August 22, 2019

    I used 4 eggs instead of 3 because my eggs were medium, not large. Was still a thin frittata. Pretty tasty, and I like the smaller portion.

• Fennel and orange salad (Insalata di finocchio e arance)

  • Yildiz100 on December 16, 2018

    Simple, no frills, and perfect with very thinly sliced fennel and good, flavorful blood oranges. (I had early season Moro's.)

• Pan-roasted pork ribs with caramelized onions, white wine, and chili pepper (Costicine d maiale in tegame con cipolla e peperoncino)

  • runoutofshelves on August 20, 2021

    This was very unctuous and simple to make, but takes a few hours.

• Pasta sauce with dried porcini, fresh shitake mushrooms, and clams (Sugo di funghi e vongole)

  • stephengk on February 04, 2015

    Great flavour. Used portobello mushrooms and served with black squid ink spaghetti. Nice sea/salty/briny taste

• A mussel soup from Bosa (Zuppa di cozze come la fanno a Bosa)

  • Shelmar on September 04, 2019

    Best mussel dish I've ever had. Easy too.