Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen
When two great chefs—buddies and business partners for twenty-odd years—decide to write a cookbook about the simple Italian food they love, you get decades of experience, sage advice, and wonderful recipes. And you also get a few great arguments thrown in along the way, as Pino and Mark debate the right way to make everything from meatballs to pot roast to eggplant parmigiana.\ \ Of course, the issue is not whose recipes are better—Pino and Mark would be first to praise each other's food. And...
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When two great chefs—buddies and business partners for twenty-odd years—decide to write a cookbook about the simple Italian food they love, you get decades of experience, sage advice, and wonderful recipes. And you also get a few great arguments thrown in along the way, as Pino and Mark debate the right way to make everything from meatballs to pot roast to eggplant parmigiana.Of course, the issue is not whose recipes are better—Pino and Mark would be first to praise each other's food. And it's not about a right or wrong way. It's about preferences in ingredients, technique, and approach.Pino, a native of Tuscany cooking in America, is a purist. His food is grounded in tradition. Mark, a New Yorker, loves the Italian-American cooking he grew up with. Each has his favorite recipes (see back cover) and his own way, but they're bonded by a shared philosophy that the simplest food is the best, and a shared desire to please families, friends, and loyal customers with food that makes them happy.So here are nearly 150 delicious recipes representing the best of Italian and Italian-American cooking from not one master but two, with text that teaches, dialogue that's lively, and photography that's gorgeous. There's no question about who reaps the rewards of their friendly competition—it's the reader, hands down. Whether you make...Pino's Oven-Braised Lamb and Artichokes with Oven-Roasted New Potatoes and Spring Onions or Mark's Braised Holiday Capon with Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Brussels SproutsMark's Chopped Roman Salad or Pino's classic Caesar SaladPino's Mushroom Risotto or Mark's Farro with Button Mushrooms, Cherry Tomatoes,and Goat CheeseMark's Pears in Vin Santo with sweet Polenta or Pino's Neapolitan Cheesecake...the end result is the same—unpretentious food that is timelessly pleasing. This is home cooking at its very best. Publishers Weekly In this delightful book, Luongo and Strausman, friends and restaurateurs in Manhattan, put a personal spin on the divide between cuisine from Italy and the American variety. Each chapter opens with lengthy back-and-forths between the two over the merits of certain ingredients or cooking methods, and their disagreements over these specifics is as edifying as they are amusing to read; the recipes aren't all simple, but with Luongo and Strausman's vocal observations and tips close at hand, those familiar with Italian cooking techniques should have no trouble mastering them. Luongo's loyalties to his native Tuscany show in recipes such as Garfagnana Bean and Apple Soup and Sausage and Cranberry Beans with Polenta, though he also refers to many of Italy's other regions in his focus on authenticity. Strausman defends his Americanized vision of Italian food with dishes both old-fashioned (Chicken Parmigiana) and chicly modern in flavor (Carrot and Ricotta Ravioli). The indispensable chapter of meatballs and meatloaf crystallizes their disagreements, as Luongo defends small, flavor-packed meatballs with unusual ingredients like amaretto cookies, mostly served on their own, and Strausman advocates the plump kind Americans serve atop spaghetti and tomato sauce. Cooks interested in the distinctions between regional Italian specialties yet still fond of the American versions they grew up with will savor almost every recipe in this spirited book. (Oct.)Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Contents Introduction 8 1 â ¢ Stand-Alone Soups 15 2 â ¢ The Great Meatball Debate 35 3 â ¢ Dried Pasta and the Unification of the Two Meatballs 63 4 â ¢ Fresh Pasta Like Mama Used to Make: Essential Techniques and Well-Matched Sauces 87 5 â ¢ Risotto and Farrotto 131 6 â ¢ Two Meatballs Go Fishing 149 7 â ¢ Meat and Poultry: Rustic Oven Cooking 181 8 â ¢ Cucina al Fresco: Grilling Italian-Style 201 9 â ¢ The Twenty-First Region of Italy: Italian-American Cooking 221 10 â ¢ Sunday Means Dinner 243 11 â ¢ The Two Meatballs Go Veggie 263 12 â ¢ Dessert at Last 287 The Pantry 302 Resources 306 Acknowledgments 309 Index 310
\ Publishers WeeklyIn this delightful book, Luongo and Strausman, friends and restaurateurs in Manhattan, put a personal spin on the divide between cuisine from Italy and the American variety. Each chapter opens with lengthy back-and-forths between the two over the merits of certain ingredients or cooking methods, and their disagreements over these specifics is as edifying as they are amusing to read; the recipes aren't all simple, but with Luongo and Strausman's vocal observations and tips close at hand, those familiar with Italian cooking techniques should have no trouble mastering them. Luongo's loyalties to his native Tuscany show in recipes such as Garfagnana Bean and Apple Soup and Sausage and Cranberry Beans with Polenta, though he also refers to many of Italy's other regions in his focus on authenticity. Strausman defends his Americanized vision of Italian food with dishes both old-fashioned (Chicken Parmigiana) and chicly modern in flavor (Carrot and Ricotta Ravioli). The indispensable chapter of meatballs and meatloaf crystallizes their disagreements, as Luongo defends small, flavor-packed meatballs with unusual ingredients like amaretto cookies, mostly served on their own, and Strausman advocates the plump kind Americans serve atop spaghetti and tomato sauce. Cooks interested in the distinctions between regional Italian specialties yet still fond of the American versions they grew up with will savor almost every recipe in this spirited book. (Oct.)\ Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalAn Italian immigrant chef and a Jewish guy from Queens, friends for many years and co-owners of Coco Pazzo in New York, have written a cookbook of 150 Italian and Italian American dishes. Each chapter begins with a repartee on the merits of ingredients. For example, Luongo does not use stock for soups; Strausman recommends College Inn canned organic chicken broth for home chefs lacking the four to six hours to simmer the broth. Recipes by both chefs are interspersed with full-page color photos of the technique, ingredient, or completed dish. There are chapters for both homemade and commercial pasta, risotto and farrotto, meatballs, and grilling. Strausman is a traditionalist using charcoal or wood; Luongo loves gas. The chapter "Sunday Means Dinner" brings back a tradition of many cultures with recipes for the meal-e.g., Strausman's Roast Veal with Gruyere Potatoes and Turnips and Parsnips. With true Italian cooking and its American version ever popular, this well-written book is recommended for all cookery collections.\ —Christine Bulson\ \ \
