At My Italian Table: Family Recipes from My Cucina to Yours by Laura Vitale

    • Categories: Cooking ahead; Italian; Vegan
    • Ingredients: vanilla beans; 80-proof vodka
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Notes about this book

  • historianinthekitchen on April 27, 2024

    If you’re interested in Italian cooking, or Neapolitan cooking specifically, it’s an approachable and fun entry into the subject. It’s also like a fun little Italian beach vacation for your brain when you read it. It’s not really a weeknight book, in my opinion, nor is it a book for anyone who doesn’t like seeking out special ingredients. It would be great for anyone with a thriving summer garden—there are lots of tomato, eggplant, and zucchini recipes—or anyone who likes to cook seafood. It is pasta heavy, too, if that is something you’re looking for. My full thoughts on the book here: https://historianinthekitchen.substack.com/p/a-weekend-in-naples-by-way-of-new?r=78in

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Pasta alla Nerano-ish

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      We used chickpea pasta which I believe helped in making this light, yet flavorful and filling.

  • Cheat tiramisu (Crema di caffè)

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      Very rich as to be expected with copious heavy cream. Kids and adults enjoyed it.

  • Herby roasted tomatoes

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      simple yet flavorful. hiiro tomatoes are excellent for this.

  • Zuppa di latte

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      more of a nostalgic recipe than something necessarily for the pages of a cookbook, but I tried it so here we are.

  • Grilled pollo al mattone

    • julesamomof2 on July 23, 2024

      First recipe from this book and it was time consuming (and also slightly dangerous) for the end result. I have long wanted to try pollo al mattone, but the thought of procuring bricks just for this purpose deterred me. I finally tried with this recipe and used a large cast iron skillet wrapped in foil to top the chicken on the grill. Sadly my chicken skin tore when I tried to flip it, but when intact it looked just like the picture in the book. Overall, the technique did deliver nicely crisp chicken skin and tender meat. Not sure if I will attempt this again.

  • Tortellini in brodo di verdura

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      This might be the Strega Nona of soups. It makes an inordinate quantity to the degree that I left out 750mL of water or my largest pan would be at the brim. While it's mainly vegetables and I realize it's the end of Winter and the vegetables aren't at their peak, but it really needs some direction in terms of seasoning. Mentioning kosher salt isn't sufficient when it needs a measurable quantity. Be prepared to doctor this up and also feed a church basement worth of people.

  • Fresh pasta with pesto Genovese

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      My kids love fresh pasta (especially helping to make it) and pesto so this was a crowd pleaser. Simplicity at its finest.

  • Broccoli rabe

    • EmilyR on February 27, 2024

      A standard spruced up broccoli of sorts. I used broccolini as it's what was available and it felt a bit over cooked. I should have trusted myself rather than the recipe, but I was busy tending to the strega nona soup.

  • Wine-roasted potatoes

    • julesamomof2 on July 23, 2024

      These potatoes were delightful and different and will definitely be made again. We devoured them.

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  • ISBN 10 0593579860
  • ISBN 13 9780593579862
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Feb 27 2024
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 256
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Clarkson Potter

Publishers Text

Bring the joy of Italian cooking to your kitchen with 100 classic and incredibly delicious Italian family favorites, from the star of Laura in the Kitchen.

When Laura Vitale moved to the United States from her native Italy as a teenager, she was homesick—not just for her family, but for her beloved nonna’s cooking. The slow-cooked Sunday sauces loaded with pork ribs and tender braised beef (and plenty of red wine), the quick pan-fried breaded chicken cutlets destined to be Parmesan’d, the frittata de maccheroni that she’d tuck in a knapsack for beachside picnics . . . and so began a quest to re-create Nonna’s delicious legacy in Laura’s New Jersey kitchen.

Ever since, Laura has spent countless hours on the phone with Nonna to learn her secrets for the crispiest fried Cacio e Pepe Aranini, Zia Mimma’s Focaccia Barese (mashed potatoes are the key to its fluffy texture), decadent four-cheese baked ziti, a Sunday supper go-to of Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Herby Lemon Salsa, and a semolina cake to end all yellow cakes, topped with heaps of limoncello-soaked strawberries. Decades of Sunday suppers, holiday meals, and get-it-done-fast weeknight dinners have perfected the flavors and techniques that represent the essence of Laura’s Italy.

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