Ciao Italia Pronto!


Book Description

What could be better than an authentic Italian dinner like this that takes only thirty minutes to prepare? Little Ciabatta Toasts with Ricotta and Salami Skillet Breaded Pork Chops with Rosemary Cherry Tomatoes with Leeks and Thyme Dried Figs in Red Wine From years of cooking in her Ciao Italia television kitchen, Mary Ann Esposito understands what many people with busy lives, as well as those just beginning to learn their way around the kitchen, want to know: How do I prepare an authentic Italian meal without spending hours in the kitchen? In Ciao Italia, Pronto!, Mary Ann shows everyone how to prepare an authentic Italian meal in thirty minutes with more than eighty mouthwatering recipes from the entire gamut of Italian cuisine. She's gathered together a treasure trove of antipasti, soups, pasta dishes, main courses, vegetable side dishes, pizzas, calzones, and deserts that make easy and delicious meals for family and friends. Besides recipes for dishes like quick chicken cacciatore, macaroni with a rich lamb sauce or Cornish game hens with tomatoes and potatoes, Mary Ann shares her how-tos of cooking Italian quickly and authentically: · how to maximize your time in the grocery store · how to create a Pronto! pantry filled with staples · how to have a cooking plan and multitask as the preparation gets underway · how to get several meals out of a single preparation · how to use seasonal fruits and vegetables to greatest effect. For good measure, Mary Ann adds a dozen Pronto! menus to show readers how to combine the dishes, as well as a select list of mail order and online sources for specialty items. So, instead of bringing home fast food or prepared frozen dishes from the grocery story, involve the whole family, spend thirty minutes with Mary Ann, and bring a little la dolce vita---as Italians would say, "the good life"--- to your kitchen. Without fuss or bother, Mary Ann Esposito shows you how to bring an authentic taste of Italy to the table for your friends and family.




Ciao Italia Slow and Easy


Book Description

What could be welcoming in your kitchen than a big warm pan full of lasagna, a pot of braised short ribs or a casserole dish holding fragrant mussels, tomatoes and herbs? When you think of comfort food, the first cuisines that comes to mind is Italian and nobody knows that better than Mary Ann Esposito, host of the longest-running television cooking show in the U.S., Ciao Italia. In Ciao Italia Slow and Easy, Mary Ann tells us how to slow down, take it easy and fill the kitchen with Italian slow-cooked goodness. By braising, baking, roasting and simmering, she gives readers a treasure trove of wonderful dishes like -stove top lasagna with artichokes -prosciutto-wrapped chicken baked in parchment -tomato braised short ribs with rigatoni -pasta shells stuffed with a ragu of pork and cream -one-skillet chicken supper with tomatoes and green beans -layered polenta pie with mushrooms and sausage -mussel, potato and tomato casserole Ciao Italia Slow and Easy is filled with Mary Ann's sensible advice, knowledgeable asides about the history of Italian cuisine and, most of all, a sure sense of what tastes good.




Ciao Italia


Book Description

Join the popular host of Ciao Italia, seen nationally on public television, for an intimate journey back to her childhood in Buffalo, New York, to a time when her mother and grandmothers ran the household from their kitchens. Food was the connector in our lives; it brought people together. In an Italian family, love is expressed through kisses, kudos, and in the kitchen, writes Mary Ann Esposito. Yet, as a girl, Mary Ann took for granted the endless parade of delicacies emanating from the family hearth. Only when she began studying cooking in Italy did she realize that the techniques and recipes she was learning were so familiar because she'd seen them prepared countless times before! Inspired, Mary Ann spent ten years combing Italy for the secrets of its great regional cooking. Now, in this companion volume to her enormously popular cooking show, she offers two hundred recipes -- some straight from the Mediterranean, others from her family's archives and memories -- plus dozens of anecdotes and tips, to create this intimate loving tribute to her Italian heritage. The hallmark of Italian cuisine is its freshness, and Esposito shows how to make the most of every ingredient. Here's her recipe for quick tomato sauce, ready in just thirty minutes, plus one made with red peppers and another with yellow tomatoes. A chapter on breads covers everything from hearty focaccia to calzoni with a choice of four fillings to sweet, fruit-filled panettone. Many of her soups are meals in themselves, like rich Sardinian Fish Soup or Spinach and Meatball Soup.




Ciao Italia Family Classics


Book Description

A “complete, authoritative and accessible guide to Italian ingredients, cooking and cuisine” from the host of America’s longest-running cooking show (Kirkus Reviews). On Ciao Italia, which has been airing on PBS for more than twenty years, Mary Ann Esposito has taught millions of fans how to cook authentic Italian dishes. Now Mary Ann returns to her family’s humble beginnings to bring us a treasure trove of more than 200 time-honored recipes. They represent traditional, everyday foods that she regards as culinary royalty—always admired, respected, and passed down through generations. Even better, they’re easy to make and guaranteed to please. Try such classics as: - Sicilian Rice Balls - Spaghetti with Tuna, Capers, and Lemon - Risotto with Dried Porcini Mushrooms - Lasagna Verdi Bologna Style - Homemade Italian Sweet Sausage - Veal Cutlet Sorrento Style - Roasted Sea Bass with Fennel, Oranges, and Olives - Almond Cheesecake - Orange-Scented Madeleines With appetizing full-color photographs and homespun essays about Italian cooking and family traditions throughout, Ciao Italia Family Classics will inspire you again and again. “Esposito has been demystifying rustic cooking from her ancestral homeland for decades. In this volume, which compiles favorite recipes passed down from her grandmothers and mother, Esposito argues for a return to the family dinner table, where meals are shared alongside memories and the traditional Italian values of food and togetherness are celebrated.” —Publishers Weekly




Ciao Italia


Book Description

From the Foreword by Jasper White, chef, restauranteur and author; "Fabulous recipes aside, this book is worth possessingjust for the in depth dissertations Mary Ann gives on so manyingredients like olive oil, cheese, rice, lentils, pasta, pasta sauces,tomatoes, bread, artichokes, radicchio, prosciutto, mortadella,balsamic vinegar and other stars of Italian cuisine. She teaches theimportance of each and their connections to particular regions, citiesand villages with a knowledge that can only come from firsthandexperience. Mary Ann tells fun stories of Saints and extraordinarypeople and their connections to particular customs, history, holidays,farming and techniques of food preparation. These delightful tales,like the one of her grandmother preparing elaborate dishes honoringSt. Joseph for granting her wish of saving her husband's life, give usa deeper understanding of how food is so much more than fuel forthe body. It is a celebration of love and of life.Mary Ann Esposito has spent her life cooking, traveling andteaching. The pages that follow are the culmination of her amazingcareer accomplishments, vast experience, intelligence, and most ofall her connection to the food and the people she loves. Grazia, MaryAnn, for sharing your great adventure with us.""In Ciao Italia, her very personal gastronomic journey, Mary Annreveals to us the extraordinary diversity and complexity of Italiancuisine and the importance of traditions, ingredients and regionalcooking. Full of useful information and historical references, her livelystory is told with the right touch of flair and confidence and revealsthe soul of Italy." -Jacques Pépin, chef and author




What You Knead


Book Description

Share the joys and secrets of simple but sophisticated baking with Mary Ann Esposito, bestselling author and host of public television's Ciao Italia. From her Neapolitan grandmother's kitchen in America to the kitchens of Italy, Mary Ann Esposito has watched Italian bakers create all sorts of crusty breads and savory delights of every shape and size and adapted them in her latest book, especially designed for the home baker. She presents three simple, versatile doughs that offer endless possibilities for baked goods. There are recipies for every meal, for every course, for every part of the day -- a small, savory snack, a light brunch, a hearty supper, a breakfast coffee cake, or a dazzling dessert. Whether it is stuffed, filled, baked, or rolled, you will find it in What You Knead. Working with yeast dough is a pleasure, not a mystery. Mary Ann's easy-to-follow techniques give you confidence and ensure success with every baking endeavor. Using just the foundation ingredients of water, yeast, and flour, you'll be surprised by the wide range of possibilities: Make delicious and eye-catching pizzas; snack on fragrant, crusty foccacia; enjoy savory and hearty pot-pies...and that is just the beginning. Come and learn the secrets of becoming an accomplished home baker with Mary Ann Esposito. Fashion her basic Straight Dough into a homey loaf of country bread; use it as a container for Italian Country Chicken Pie; make it the envelope for double-crusted rosemary and sweet pepper foccacia or the base for Spring Spinach, Prosciutto, and Fontina Tart. Sharing the techniques passed down from her grandmother, Mary Ann shows you how to make Nonna's Sponge Dough and turn it into dozens of delights such as Roasted Vegetable Calzones or robust Pumpkin Seed, Sage, and Panchetta Bread. Her easy-to-work-with Simply Sweet Dough offers delicious choices too, from an impressive Fig, Chocolate, and Walnut Tart to the perfect coffee cake. Try a selection of her holiday breads, such as the dense and rich Almond Paste Holiday Bread or Sweet Spiral Wreath. And for special occasions, indulge in Mango and Dried Cherry Pie, Almost Apple Charlotte, and delicate donuts, reminiscent of those found in Sicily, oozing with velvety pastry cream. What You Knead is the bread book that the home baker can call a friend. Mary Ann Esposito offers you a clear and diverse selection of recipies that are almost effortless. Along the way, step-by-step technique photographs demonstrate the basic building blocks for making dough. With more than 50 recipies and over 170 tantalizing color photographs, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the simple methods of working with yeast doughs.




Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites


Book Description

In Mary Ann Esposito's new book, Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, she shows home cooks how to turn just five ingredients into an easy, delicious and economical Italian dish for the family dinner table. Mary Ann Esposito knows that the genius behind great Italian cooking is the simple philosophy of using just a few quality ingredients to create something delicious. In Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, she shows home cooks how to make that philosophy work for them so that they can save time and money without sacrificing flavor. With seventy five authentic Italian recipes--from antipasti to pastas, main courses and desserts -Esposito draws on the Italian culinary tradition of simplicity in the kitchen to create such effortless and tasty dishes as: - Prosciutto di Parma, Fontina and Fig Wraps - Spicy Soppressata Tartlets - Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs - Pistachio Dusted Pork Chops - Oven-Poached Halibut with Shallots and Fennel - Escarole Salad with Mustard Dressing - Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Banana Tartlets - Buttermilk Panna Cotta Infused with Vanilla With Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, Mary Ann Esposito serves up a surefire way to please family and friends with easy recipes that are quick and delicious.




Ciao Italia Slow and Easy


Book Description

Esposito, host of the long-running PBS series "Ciao Italia," takes it easy with the slow-cooked classics of Italian cuisine, using techniques such as braising, roasting, baking, and simmering. 8-page color photo insert.




Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink


Book Description

First published in 1983, John Mariani's Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink has long been the go-to book on all things culinary. Last updated in the late 1990s, it is now back in a handsome, fully illustrated revised and expanded edition that catches readers up on more than a decade of culinary evolution and innovation: from the rise of the Food Network to the local food craze; from the DIY movement, with sausage stuffers, hard cider brewers, and pickle makers on every Brooklyn or Portland street corner; to the food truck culture that proliferates in cities across the country. Whether high or low food culture, there's no question American food has changed radically in the last fourteen years, just as the market for it has expanded exponentially. In addition to updates on food trends and other changes to American gastronomy since 1999, for the first time the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink will include biographical entries, both historical and contemporary, from Fanny Farmer and Julia Child to the Galloping Gourmet and James Beard to current high-profile players Mario Batali and Danny Meyer, among more than one hundred others. And no gastronomic encyclopedia would be complete without recipes. Mariani has included five hundred classics, from Hard Sauce to Scrapple, Baked Alaska to Blondies. An American Larousse Gastronomique, John Mariani's completely up-to-date encyclopedia will be a welcome acquisition for a new generation of food lovers.




Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites


Book Description

In Mary Ann Esposito's new book, Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, she shows home cooks how to turn just five ingredients into an easy, delicious and economical Italian dish for the family dinner table. Mary Ann Esposito knows that the genius behind great Italian cooking is the simple philosophy of using just a few quality ingredients to create something delicious. In Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, she shows home cooks how to make that philosophy work for them so that they can save time and money without sacrificing flavor. With seventy five authentic Italian recipes--from antipasti to pastas, main courses and desserts -Esposito draws on the Italian culinary tradition of simplicity in the kitchen to create such effortless and tasty dishes as: - Prosciutto di Parma, Fontina and Fig Wraps - Spicy Soppressata Tartlets - Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs - Pistachio Dusted Pork Chops - Oven-Poached Halibut with Shallots and Fennel - Escarole Salad with Mustard Dressing - Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Banana Tartlets - Buttermilk Panna Cotta Infused with Vanilla With Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, Mary Ann Esposito serves up a surefire way to please family and friends with easy recipes that are quick and delicious.