cover image Italian Favorites

Italian Favorites

undefined. Knapp Press, $12.95 (119pp) ISBN 978-0-89535-184-5

Acknowledging that ""flexibility is the key here,'' Bon Appetit editors incorporate some 150 of the magazine's recipes into a quirky collection of Italian favorites. Recipes include genuine crostini, focaccia, semolina gnocchi, crisp-fried salt cod and osso buco as well as less-than-authentic Italian dishes: country pork and veal pate, fusilli with vodka, Italian-style shrimp with Pernod and chicken galantine sausage. Recipes are lucid and straightforward and, for the most part, easily accomplished by the home cook. Some of the more ambitious dishes (scallop-filled pasta flowers, candy-shaped-pasta pie) have been broken down into manageable tasks earmarked for advance preparation; they require not only a steely determination on the part of the home cook but also an assortment of special equipment. Especially satisfying are the salad and dessert sections, which serve up refreshing variations on familiar recipes (romaine and grapefruit salad with toasted pine nuts, lemon-raisin tart). Tempting color photos illustrate this eclectic offering. (July)