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ITALIANISSIMO: Italian Cooking At Its Best by Pellegrino Artusi

ITALIANISSIMO: Italian Cooking At Its Best

By

Pub Date: Nov. 17th, 1975
Publisher: Liveright--dist. by Norton

Italianissimo is the translation of Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene, a standard, along with Ada Boni's Talisman Italian Cook Book, of the Italian household. Mr. Artusi is a charming old-fashioned European gentleman who was born in 1820 and died in Florence at the healthy age of 91. His guide for the novice or dally provider is arranged in twenty sections, from broth, minestra, pasta and antipasto through the stews, fishes and roasts of the main meal, and pastries, preserves and ices. This is not haute cuisine, but it is good family fare. In Mr. Artusi's own words, ""my cooking is inclined to be simple and delicate, avoiding as much as possible overly complicated dishes composed of heterogeneous elements that are bad for the stomach."" Never was there a cook with more solicitude for the digestion than Artusi. You will find nothing here with the overpowering, garlicky, spicy, tomatoey scent one associates with the local pizzeria or trattoria. Complete, nutritious and authentic.