Notes about Recipes in this book

• Hearty minestra base with cranberry beans, potatoes, and pork

  • hshubin on November 09, 2011

    Vegetarian version: pesto for the pestata. Garlic/rosemary/olive oil. Or meatier, w/extra meat in the soup.

• Passatelli

  • hshubin on November 09, 2011

    Soup garnish

• Butter and fresh sage sauce

  • hshubin on November 09, 2011

    Or basil or rosemary. See variations

• Roasted winter squash

  • hshubin on November 09, 2011

    With orange sauce, following page.

• My mother's chicken and potatoes (with my special touches)

  • hshubin on November 09, 2011

    I like this, but the chicken cooked a long time without finishing!

  • laurenlangston on July 09, 2016

    This is glorious. Greater than the sum of its parts. I can understand why Lidia wrote that her family asks for this seemingly-humble dish on special occasions!

• Ziti with sausage, onions, and fennel

  • Breadcrumbs on February 18, 2012

    p. 95 - This is the first dish I've made from this book and, the first dish I made w my new induction cooktop. I decided on this recipe because Lidia is very specific about her cooking times and method so I thought it would be a good way to acclimatize myself to cooking w induction. Well, let's just say that didn't work out all that well. I found Lidia's method of pushing things aside in the pan to be annoying, tedious and, unnecessary. I don't believe the dish benefited in any way for the effort. We did love the familiar flavour combinations in this dish but have prepared comparable if not better sauces w much less effort and frustration. I won't make this again.

  • Running_with_Wools on May 09, 2024

    I've been making this recipe for years and we love it. Lidia makes the recipe in one of her PBS cooking shows and that is how my attention was drawn to it. It is really full of flavor and the sauce coats the ziti perfectly. Very savory with the parmesan and sausage.

• Skillet Brussels sprouts

  • vickster on March 18, 2013

    Really like the optional lemon sauce. It could be used with many vegetables, chicken or fish.

  • twoyolks on February 24, 2018

    These were tasty if a bit involved. It took awhile to separate the Brussels sprout leaves.

• Whole wheat pasta

  • cespitler on November 02, 2012

    This is my standard go to recipe for homemade pasta. Lidia has a simple how-to set of instructions, with photos, for making pasta from scratch with or without a food processor and with or without a pasta machine for rolling. Today it'll be served with Heidi's Winter Pasta recipe. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/winter-pasta-recipe.html

• Crostata invertita with rhubarb

  • cespitler on November 02, 2012

    This is a great use for rhubarb (one of my favorites at this time of year in the Midwest). It makes a beautiful presentation. If you are so inclined, serve it with a homemade rhubarb ice cream.

• Torta al vino with grapes or berries

  • franniepie on February 20, 2020

    Excellent flavor & texture. I added a drop of anise to complement the grapes. Grapes are great to bake with. Would be lovely with pears, too. So good an Italian chef asked me for the recipe for his restaurant.

  • AmyR on May 21, 2011

    Love this cake with strawberries, great for breakfast the day after.

• Sauce of marinated artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes

  • mfto on June 10, 2011

    p 116 This really is a 10 minute pasta sauce and really delicious. I always have the ingredients in my pantry ready for a last-minute simple meal. I recommend L'Esprit DE Campagne dried-tomatoes in oil which I find at Whole Foods.

• Twenty-minute marinara sauce with fresh basil

  • mfto on August 28, 2011

    p 130 - I made this exactly as written using Cento San Marzano canned tomatoes. The can says it is a product of Italy but it does not have the code for San Marzano. Still the sauce turned out great as far as our non-Italian taste buds are concerned. Our basil is close to shutting down for the winter so I wanted to try the chef's instructions to put whole branches in the cooking sauce and then remove them and add fresh slivered leaves before serving. Because of my husband's health wishes, I do not serve with parmesan but with feta cheese. It's heresy but I love the tang that feta adds to the finished dish.

• Shrimp and scallops gratinate

  • mfto on November 28, 2011

    p 18 http://www.winrip.com/lidiasitaly/recipes/recipemonth/recipe45.html

• Soup base of garlicky white beans and broth

  • mfto on February 08, 2011

    p 55 This is a very good base to add to for other soups. I used half and added leftover ham, carrots, onions. I froze the other half for future use.

• Spaghetti with asparagus frittata

  • meowingmyrtle on June 10, 2011

    Wow, this really comes together. At first, I wasn't sure if I would like the texture of the eggs with the pasta, but it turns out creamy and flavorful. I could have used less olive oil and been just as satisfied with the result, I think. It was just a bit oily. You could substitute other vegetables for the asparagus. It's a pretty easy recipe, and you're likely to have all of the ingredients in the cupboard already. I will make it again.

• Slow-cooked summer tomato sauce

  • twoyolks on April 07, 2015

    This is a great tomato sauce. It has a lot of flavor and is easy to make.

• Sauce of green olives and roasted red peppers

  • hirsheys on February 22, 2021

    The theory of this is solid, but the method Lidia uses has some problems. There’s far too much oil in the recipe for my taste (3/4 c for 1 lb of pasta!) and the pasta water (3 c) at the end made the whole dish kind of soupy. It’s possible that the texture is supposed to emulsify more if the olive paste is more paste-like than mine was, but mine really was more like a tapenade than like a spread, no matter how long I processed it. Regardless, this dish is perfectly fine and I think it will make a perfectly fine lunch. I can even imagine making some version of these ingredients together in the future - there’s just very little chance that I will use this method or these proportions.

• Sauce of sun-dried tomatoes and cannellini beans

  • Bloominanglophile on July 22, 2013

    This is a great weeknight pantry meal! I used the Delallo Sun-Dried Tomato Bruschetta product, as I didn't enjoy it as a bruschetta topping and didn't care to waste it. Worked out nicely.

  • Clambake7 on April 02, 2024

    Page 113 Delicious and easy

• Egg-battered zucchini roll-ups

  • Bloominanglophile on July 17, 2013

    I enjoy these as part of the zucchini sandwich that she talks about at the end of the recipe. If you have this cookbook, do read this section--a cute story about trying to feed her kids. I love the sandwich bread spread with Deborah Madison's Marjoram Pesto with Capers and Olives (Local Flavors) cut with mayo. I have also used these zucchini wrapped around a big caper and secured onto a slice of baguette spread with the above pesto as an appetizer for a party. My friends said it put them in the mood for a martini!

• Simple basil paste

  • sscholl on October 21, 2018

    Frozen in ice cube trays, this is a great way to preserve basil at the end of summer.

• Simple grilled cod steaks

  • Ezair92 on August 10, 2021

    Very simple. Loved the garlic oil and I used the salsa verde.

• Skillet gratinate of zucchini and chicken

  • Running_with_Wools on September 22, 2022

    This was pretty good. I had chicken, zucchini, a jar of Rao’s, and some good parmesan. The butter mellowed the sauce quite a bit. Next time I might add some capers and olives just to liven things up a little bit. I love one pan dishes, and this was a great, summery version of a casserole.

• Middle-class not-quite-golden pasta

  • kkmatti on August 02, 2023

    Made some lovely linguine from this. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. The dough seemed a bit dry so I would add a little more water next time.

• Zucchini and scallions with vinegar and mint

  • ljmanners on September 19, 2022

    Nice and quick treatment of Zucchini as a side or part of a bow.