Italian Wines or Pass the Polenta

Italian Wines: A Guide to the World of Italian Wine for Experts and Wine Lovers

Author: Gambero Rosso

The tenth edition of Italian Wines , published by Gambero Rosso and Slow Food Editore, a translation of the twentieth edition of the Italian version, is the world's most complete guide to quality Italian wines. Richer and more complete than ever, its 960 pages assess over 2,200 wine producers and their labels. Over 16,000 wines are reviewed, selected by a team of more than 120 tasters under the direction of GR and SFE. Italian Wines 2007 , besides evaluating wines according to the classic categories of one, two or three glasses, also includes a useful series of appendixes about award-winning wines in the past and the best producers. The guide also pays special attention to wineries that are sensitive to the environment and to achieving naturalness in their products.

See also: Joy of Oysters or Grapefruit and Apple Cider Vinegar Combo Diet Book

Pass the Polenta: And Other Writings from the Kitchen

Author: Teresa Lust

Pass the Polenta offers up kitchen secrets, tricks of the trade, and lessons in life learned at the stoves of the many seasoned cooks in Lust's world: an Italian immigrant grandmother who plucked chickens in the backyard; an introverted mushroom-forager who accompanied her to the woods to collect chanterelles; a German auntie who learned to knead bread dough in a wooden bucket. These mentors are ordinary folk, all of them, going about their daily business of baking bread and pouring hearty wine. Their stories eloquently demonstrate that cooking is an expression of art and of love, of family and self, of soil and the seasons.

Publishers Weekly

These essays on the pleasures of simple food are uniformly charming, but it is that very uniformity that sabotages the collection. Over and over again, Lust, a former restaurant chef, uses folksy character sketches to prove that old ways and peasant food outdo fussy techniques and nouvelle cuisine. In "Easy as Pie" it's Lust's grandmother who instructs her on making a pie crust that beats out the pate brisee of French-trained pastry chefs. In "The Same Old Stuffing," she berates food magazine editors who promote "the smoked quail, the spicy black bean stuffing, and the sun-dried tomato and arugula gratin" for Thanksgiving and waxes nostalgic about the two types of stuffing (one with sage and onion and another with sausage, spinach, raisins, and nuts) served on her family's holiday table. "Daily Grind" compares the coffee that emerges from the ancient stovetop coffeemaker of Lust's Italian aunt to the sad brews sold under Italian jargon in American coffee bars. While these observations are undoubtedly true, they are repetitious and often verge on cliche. Recipes for homey dishes (sauerkraut, scones) are explained in their essays, and then written out more formally at the end of the book. Like the essays, these dishes are familiar yet satisfying. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Lust, a professional chef, thought about writing a cookbook but instead came up with a collection of culinary essays after discovering that each of her favorite dishes had its own story to tell. The topics covered in this charming book range from the secrets of a good pie dough to musings on forgotten varieties of apples. In one chapter Lust manages to work in a short culinary history of leeks and potatoes while relating how she cooked up a batch of potato-leek soup for a restaurant she was working in. Written with wit and grace, seasoned with a pinch of her own family's history, and flavored with snippets of culinary lore, each essay is an absolute delight to read. As a special treat, she includes recipes for some of the dishes that play starring roles in the book. The perfect choice for readers who enjoy culinary writings by authors such as Laurie Colwin or Elizabeth David; highly recommended!--John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ

Table of Contents:

Introduction	ix
Pass the Polenta	1
Easy as Pie	13
A Good Roast Chicken	27
Of Cabbages and Kings	39
The Same Old Stuffing	51
When Fathers Cook	65
Yesterday's Bread	79
At Ease with Strangers	91
Wine by Numbers	107
On Tossing a Caesar	121
No Ordinary Soup	135
A Secret Well Kept	151
Enough Room for Strawberry Shortcake	165
Forgotten Apples	179
Fueling the Passions	193
Daily Grind	213
Afterword	227
Recipes	235
For Further Reading	267
Acknowledgements	271
Index ofRecipes	273