Mangia, Little Italy: Secrets from a Sicilian Family Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)After so many copies of Italian books that I've thrown out, this one works. It was recommended to me by several professional cooking teachers. I made the Cassata cake, the mother or all Sicilian cakes, and it was fantasik. Romina's 7-Hour Sunday Sauce is the best I've ever made. The family went crazy with the results. I even found pizzas here I have only heard about, such as "Sicilian Christmas Pizzas" stuffed with pork and spinach, and Salted Sardine pizzas. These recipes are impossible to find, and they all worked. I also made her Lemon Cakes which has that homemade taste in the crust topped with cinnamon that I remember Grandma making. This is a book you can read for folktales or cook with. That is rare. I particularly loved the author's tips called "Secrets of Success" on the side of the pages, it helps to make cooking easier. So if you want to make an authentic Lasanga the way it was at the turn of the century or a real Sicilian pizza, the way it's made in Sicily, this is the only book that I've found that is the real thing. Bravo Francesca Romina!

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La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio: Gangivecchio's Sicilian Kitchen Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you like to cook and you want authentic Southern Italian cooking (compared to the Tuscany inspired cooking that has been all the rage), then this is absolutely the best cookbook you can buy...with the possible exception of the Tornabene's new cookbook,which I am just about to buy. The recipes are pretty easy to follow, but most require either a fair amount of prep or some time to stir the pot. The pasta dishes are fantastic. My family loves the fava bean recipes (I cooked one as a joke in honor of Silence of the Lambs, but it was a hit, so I've been making them ever since) and the anchovy tomato sauce. I love this cookbook so much that I actually made the trip to the restaurant. It's not a place you get to by accident, you really have to want to go because it is way way out in the middle of Sicily. But the food there is excellent, and I was lucky enough to eat things familiar to me from the cookbook, as well as some new dishes. I'm not sure I'll ever try any of the desserts in this cookbook (too much work) but I've eaten some of them at their restaurant - and I can recommend them highly!
P.S. If you decide to make the trek, I recommend that you stay at their hotel. The grounds of Gangivechio are lovely and worth enjoying on their own.

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