Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Christopher Hirsheimer (Photographer)

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
If you want to know the true origins of spaghetti and meatballs or veal parmigiana, don't look to Italy, look to Queens. The early Italian immigrants invented these dishes and many other mainstays of Italian-American cooking, and they are the stars of Lidia Bastianich's book, companion to a new TV series.

In the '80s and '90s, dishes like lasagna and veal parmigiana were pooh-poohed by the Italian chefs who wanted us to know la vera cucina italiana, but they have always had an enthusiastic following. This book pays tribute to authentic Italian-American cuisine, a cuisine of adaptation, created in the boardinghouses and smaller restaurants, by immigrants who tried to re-create the flavors of home without the same ingredients.

As we learn in the preface, Lidia Mattichio Bastianich grew up on traditional Italian food in Istria, the part of Italy ceded to Yugoslavia after World War II. In 1958 her family emigrated to America, to Astoria, Queens, where Lidia worked in Italian-American restaurants and came to know and cook these dishes that were at once familiar and unknown. She and her husband then opened a restaurant, serving Italian-American food for ten years before they went on to open more upscale restaurants serving Italian regional cuisine.

Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen is also a companion book to her new 52-part public TV series. (Indeed, several pages helpfully give the episodes and their dishes in order of broadcast.) But this cookbook is organized traditionally, from antipasto to dessert, with gorgeous color photos of the finished dishes and black-and-white instructional photos that demonstrate, for example, how to unroll and stuff porchetta, or how to prepare shrimp scampi style.

All your favorite dishes from this ethnic cuisine are here -- pizza, sausage and peppers, penne alla vodka, lobster Fra Diavolo with spaghettini, spiedini, fritto misto, baked cannelloni, and lasagna -- but they are given that extra Bastianich touch. It's a good reason to celebrate this slice of Americana. (Ginger Curwen)

From the Publisher

Lidia Bastianich, loved by millions of Americans for her good Italian cooking, gives us her most instructive and personal cookbook yet.

Focusing on the Italian-American kitchen -- the cooking she encountered when she first came to America as a young adolescent -- she pays homage to this "cuisine of adaptation born of necessity." But she transforms it subtly with her light, discriminating touch, using the authentic ingredients, not accessible to the early immigrants, which are all so readily available today. The aromatic flavors of fine Italian olive oil, imported Parmigiano-Reggiano and Gorgonzola dolce latte, fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary, sun-sweetened San Marzano tomatoes, prosciutto, and pancetta permeate the dishes she makes in her Italian-American kitchen today. And they will transform for you this time-honored cuisine, as you cook with Lidia, learning from her the many secret, sensuous touches that make her food superlative.

You'll find recipes for Scampi alla Buonavia (the garlicky shrimp that became so popular when Lidia served the dish at her first restaurant, Buonavia), Clams Casino (with roasted peppers and good American bacon), Caesar Salad (shaved Parmigiano makes the difference), baked cannelloni (with roasted pork and mortadella), and lasagna (blanketed in her special Italian-American Meat Sauce).

But just as Lidia introduced new Italian regional dishes to her appreciative clientele in Queens in the seventies, so she dazzles us now with pasta dishes such as Bucatini with Chanterelles, Spring Peas, and Prosciutto, and Long Fusilli with Mussels, Saffron, and Zucchini. And she is a master at teaching us how to make our own ravioli, featherlight gnocchi, and genuine Neapolitan pizza.

The key to her delectable fish and meat cooking is the aromatic vegetables that so often form an integral part of the dish -- sole with oregano, vidalias, and tomatoes; tenderloin with potatoes, peppers, and onions; sausages with bitter broccoli. Try her version of scallopine with sauteed lemon slices, garlic slivers, capers, and green olives -- you'll be hooked.

Soups are Lidia's specialty, particularly hearty bean and pasta soups -- meals in themselves. And you can top off a Lidia feast with traditional Italian-American favorites, such as a perfect Zabaglione or cannoli, or one of her own creations -- Lemon Delight or Roasted Pears and Grapes.

Laced with stories about her experiences in America and her discoveries as a cook, this enchanting book is both a pleasure to read and a joy to cook from.

Publishers Weekly

Correction: The opening sentence for Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen (Oct. 1) should have read: "Despite the slightly misleading title.... readers will be charmed." Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Before Bastianich opened Felidia, an upscale New York City restaurant known for its unusual regional dishes from her native Istria (once part of Italy, now in Croatia), she and her husband had two popular Italian American restaurants in Queens. So Italian American food is not the departure some fans of her more recent restaurants might assume. At Buonavia, her first restaurant, she was determined to serve "the best" Italian American food she could, and in her new book, companion to a 52-part PBS series, that is just what she presents: her Baked Clams Oreganata, for example, are prepared with Sicilian or Greek oregano, and she adds diced tomatoes for "freshness"; her manicotti is made with crespelle (crepes) for lightness, though she offers a fresh pasta variation too. Bastianich has a warm, engaging style, and she's a teacher as well as a chef: throughout, she provides thoughtful head-notes and sidebars along with useful boxes on cooking with wine, "resting" soup, and other such practicalities. John and Galina Mariani's The Italian-American Cookbook (LJ 10/15/00) explores the same subject, but Bastianich's book offers a more sophisticated and more personal approach. Highly recommended. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

• ISBN: 037541150X
  
• ISBN-13: 9780375411502
• Format: Hardcover, 432pp
• Publisher: Random House Inc
• Pub. Date: October 2001
• Sales Rank: 6,927

• Table of Contents
• Read an Excerpt
• View a Recipe

Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

from Chapter 1

Antipasto

Among the many things Italians brought with them to this country is their love for antipasti-those little bites to nibble on before the meal. An antipasto can be as simple as prosciutto e melone, affetati (an assortment of sliced, cured meats), or a lemony seafood salad. Or it can take up the better part of a table with a display of vegetables that are grilled, pickled, tossed in vinaigrette, broiled to golden brown, or fried; fish that has been cured, preserved in oil or salt, tossed in a salad, or made into a terrine; as well as all kinds of cured meats, cheeses, legumes, salads, and crostate (savory pastries). Whether simple or elaborate, an antipasto is meant to stimulate the taste buds and start the gastric juices flowing with an assortment of flavors, textures, colors, and aromas.

At home antipasti were usually made up of food that could be found in the cupboard-cured, marinated, smoked, dried, or otherwise preserved foods and meats, and an assortment of dried or aged cheeses. In Italian-American restaurants of the 1970s and '80s, "antipasto" meant a plate of prosciutto, salami, cacciatorini, cheese, roasted peppers and all kinds of vegetables-artichokes, giardiniera, pickled mushrooms, assorted olives, beans-tuna in oil, anchovies, and hard-boiled eggs. All this would be dressed with some virgin olive oil and wine vinegar. Today, antipasti include a whole repertoire of hot preparations and salads in addition to these traditional favorites.

It is easier than ever to present an authentic family-style antipasto at home, because it is easier to get traditional products imported from Italy. Prosciutto, whetherfrom Parma or the type of prosciutto known as San Daniele, from Friuli-is the king of any antipasto assortment and can now be found across the United States, as can many imported Italian cheeses, cured fish, and vegetables. The surest way to capture the flavors, colors, and textures of a culture is by using authentic products. If you take a bite of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or taste a drop of aceto balsamico tradizionale, there is no doubt in your mind, or on your palate, that you are eating Italian. Use that to your advantage and search out these authentic products, which will bring your table that much closer to Italy. And remember that cooking techniques are also important to the authenticity of a dish. In this chapter I share with you some of the antipasti that have become my favorites.

This appetizer was very popular at my first restaurant, Buonavia, which opened in 1971. It was a time when lots and lots of chopped garlic was used in Italian-American cooking. If you like a milder garlic flavor, use crushed or sliced garlic cloves instead, and remove them from the dish before you serve it.


Scampi Appetizer "Alla Buonavia"


3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing dish
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 pound extra-large (about 25 to the pound) shrimp, completely shelled, deveined, and cut crosswise into 3
pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
12 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian 1*4 inch thick and 21*2 inches wide), toasted and kept warm
1 lemon, cut into slices
Whole chives andor parsley sprigs, optional

Makes 6 servings

In this dish, high heat and speed are essential. Make sure the pan is good and hot when you add the shrimp and that it is wide enough to hold all the shrimp pieces in a single layer (so the pan doesn't cool down as the shrimp go in). And be sure to have all your ingredients right by the stove-once the shrimp go into the pan, it's "full speed ahead."

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, shaking the pan, until light golden, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the shrimp, and toss until they are bright pink and seared on all sides, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped chives, then add the wine, butter, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, and boil until the shrimp are barely opaque in the center and the sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and crushed red pepper. Season with salt.

Place a piece of warm toast in the center of each of six warm plates. Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the toast, drizzling some of the sauce around the toast. Decorate the plates with lemon slices, and with the parsley sprigs andor whole chives, if using.



The restaurant business is tough on family life. Joseph, my son, was only four years old when we opened our first restaurant, Buonavia, in Forest Hills, Queens. He would spend many days playing on tomato boxes, and when he got a little older, he would make pocket money by standing on a milk crate and helping with the dishes or the preparation of the day's did have his rewards, and a plate of clams casino was one of his favorites.


Clams Casino


36 littleneck clams
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted and peeled as described on next page, cut into 1-inch squares
12 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch squares
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup dry white wine

Makes 6 servings

You can prepare the clams right in their baking dish up to several hours in advance and bake them just before you serve them.

Preheat the oven to 450’ F.

Shuck the clams as described on page 7, reserving the clam juice and arranging the clams on the half shell side by side in a 13 x 11-inch baking dish. Strain the juice through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve into the baking dish. Sprinkle some of the parsley over the clams. Top each clam with a square of roasted pepper. Cover the pepper with two squares of bacon. Using about 3 tablespoons of the butter, dot the top of each clam with about 14 teaspoon butter. Cut the remaining butter into several pieces and tuck them in and around the clams in the baking dish. Add the wine and remaining parsley to the baking dish.

Bake until the bacon is crisp and the pan juices are bubbling, about 12 minutes. Arrange clams on a warmed serving platter, or divide them among warmed plates. Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Boil until lightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the juices over the clams and serve immediately.



Two Ways to Roast a Bell Pepper

Roasting peppers imparts a subtle flavor to the some people find hard to digest. Here are two ways to roast a pepper. Whether roasting green, red, or yellow peppers, choose thick-fleshed peppers that are boxy in shape-they will char more evenly and be easier to peel.

Turn the gas burners on high and, working with a pair of long-handled tongs, place the peppers on the grates, directly over the flames. Roast the peppers, turning them as necessary, until evenly blackened on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove the peppers, place them in a bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 40 minutes.

Or place a rack in the uppermost position and preheat the oven to 475’ F. Put the peppers on a baking sheet and roast them, turning as necessary, until all sides are evenly blackened, about 12 minutes. Remove the peppers to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 40 minutes.

To peel the peppers: Pull out the stems and hold the peppers upside down, letting the seeds and juices flow out. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and, using a short knife, scrape away the blackened skin, ribs, and remaining seeds.

This is a tasty dish adored by many people. Shucking the clams is easy, if you follow the directions on page 7. And it beats steaming them open, which toughens the clams.


Baked Clams Oreganata
Vongole Oreganate


12 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
36 littleneck clams
12 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
12 teaspoon crushed hot red crumbs
14 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
14 cup cubed (14-inch) peeled and seeded tomatoes (see Note below)
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably the Sicilian or Greek type dried on the branch, crumbled
1 lemon, cut into thin slices

Makes 6 servings

I always add diced fresh tomato to this dish, because I think it contributes a little freshness. Now is the time to try to find the
Greek or Sicilian oregano dried right on the branch-it makes a difference. Many Greek and Italian groceries will have it.

You can buy powdered hot red pepper, but I like to chop up the flakes myself.

Let the oil and garlic steep in a small bowl 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475’ F. Shuck the clams as described on page 7, reserving the clam juice. Strain the juice through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve into a 13 x 11-inch baking dish. Add the white wine, 1 12 tablespoons of the parsley, the butter, and half of the crushed red pepper.

In a deep bowl, toss the bread crumbs, grated cheese, tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil, the remaining 1 12 tablespoons chopped parsley, the oregano, and the remaining 14 teaspoon crushed red pepper until thoroughly blended.

Top each clam with about 1 12 tablespoons of the bread-crumb topping, packing it down tight. Set clams in the prepared baking pan and drizzle the remaining infused oil over them. Bake until the pan juices are bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the clams to a warm platter or divide among serving plates.

To keep the bread-crumb topping crunchy, spoon the sauce from the baking dish onto immediately, garnished with the lemon slices.



To Peel and Seed Tomatoes

Use this method with either plum or round tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water near the stove. Cut the cores out of the tomatoes and cut a small x in the opposite end. Slip a few tomatoes into the boiling water and cook just until the skin loosens, 1 to 2 minutes depending on the tomatoes. (Overcooking will make them soggy.) Fish the tomatoes out of the water with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drop them into the ice water. If necessary, let the water return to the boil and repeat with any remaining tomatoes. Slip the skins off the blanched tomatoes and cut the tomatoes in half-lengthwise for plum tomatoes, crosswise for round tomatoes. Gently squeeze out the seeds with your hands. The tomatoes are now ready to dice or cut as described in the recipe.

View a Recipe

Serve these nice and hot, or let them cool to room temperature. If you'd like to make this a little more contemporary, you can add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the red peppers and scallions as they cook. In true Italian-American style, these are topped with butter, but in Italy, we would use olive oil. Best yet, top them with butter, "bless" them all with a little olive oil.

This wonderful stuffing is delicious in celery stalks baked with a light tomato sauce. You can also line up blanched asparagus on a baking sheet, sprinkle the bread crumbs over them, and bake them until the crumbs are crispy. I'm sure you can come up with a lot of uses for the bread crumbs. Remember, I give you the basics, but I want you to go and play.

24 white or cremini mushrooms with caps about 1-1/2 inches in diameter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the tops of the mushrooms if you like
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped bell peppers
1/2 coarse breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock, or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine, optional

Preheat oven to 425° F. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop the stems fine.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the red peppers and chopped mushroom stems and cook, stirring, until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove and cool.

Toss the bread crumbs, grated cheese, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and the sauéed vegetables until thoroughly blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity of each mushroom with the filling, pressing it in with a teaspoon until even with the sides of the mushrooms.

Using 2 tablespoons of the butter, grease a 12 x 18-inch low-sided baking pan. Arrange the mushrooms side by side in the pan and, using the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, dot the top of each mushroom with about 1/4 teaspoon butter. Add the stock, wine, if using, and remaining 2 tablespoons parsley to the pan. If you like, drizzle the tops of the mushrooms with the oil. Bake until the mushrooms are cooked through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Serve the mushrooms on a warmed platter or divide them among warmed plates. Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Boil until lightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the juices over the mushrooms, and serve immediately.

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA -- Melanzana alla Parmigiana
Serves 6

When I bread and fry things like these slices of eggplant, I make a little assembly line that leads from the flour, to the eggs, on to the breadcrumbs, and right into the pan of hot oil. Placing three rectangular cake pans side by side next to the stove works nicely...there is very little clean-up afterward...but any container wide enough to hold several slices of eggplant at a time will work just as well.

This dish can be made with roasted eggplant slices instead of breaded and fried eggplant. Although it will be good, it will not be as tasty, nor will it have the texture of the fried eggplant. The roasted version is very simple: Drain and rinse the eggplant as described above, but instead of coating the eggplant slices, toss them with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil, and set the eggplant slices side by side on the baking sheet. Bake them in a 450° F preheated oven for 20 minutes, till they are golden brown. Let them cool, and proceed to layer and bake the ingredients as below.

3 medium eggplants, or 5 or 6 smaller eggplants (about 2-1/2 to 3 pounds total)
1 tablespoon coarse sea or kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
All-purpose flour for dredging
2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
1/2 cup olive oil, or as needed
Tomato Sauce
2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
12 fresh basil leaves
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese or Italian Fontina cheese, cut into slices 1/2 inch thick

Trim the stems and ends from the eggplants. Remove strips of peel about 1 inch wide from the eggplants, leaving about half the peel intact. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and place them in a colander. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and let drain for 1 hour. Rinse the eggplant under cool running water, drain thoroughly, and pat dry.

Whisk the eggs and 1 teaspoon salt together in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan or wide, shallow bowl. Spread the flour and bread crumbs in an even layer in two separate wide, shallow bowls or over sheets of wax paper. Dredge the egg plant slices in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the floured eggplant into the egg mixture, turning well to coat both sides evenly. Let excess egg drip back into the pan, then lay the eggplant in the pan of bread crumbs. Turn to coat both sides well with bread crumbs, pressing with your hands until the bread crumbs adhere well to the eggplant.

Pour 1/2 cup each of the olive and vegetable oils into a medium skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until a corner of one of the eggplant slices gives off a lively sizzle when dipped into the oil. Add as many of the eggplant slices as fit without touching and cook, turning once, until well browned on both sides, about 6 minutes. Remove the eggplant to a baking pan lined with paper towels and repeat with the remaining eggplant slices. Adjust the heat as the eggplant cooks to prevent the bits of coating that fall off the eggplant slices from burning. Add oil to the pan as necessary during cooking to keep the level more or less the same.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Heat the tomato sauce to simmering, if necessary, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Ladle enough sauce into an 8 x 13-inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with an even layer of grated cheese and top with a layer of fried eggplant, pressing it down gently. Tear a few leaves of basil over the eggplant and ladle about 3/4 cup of the sauce to coat the top evenly. Sprinkle an even layer of grated cheese over the sauce and top with a layer of mozzarella or fontina, using about one-third of the cheese. Repeat the layering as described about two more times, ending with a top layer of sliced cheese that leaves a border of about 1 inch around the edges of the baking dish. Drizzle sauce around the border of the baking dish and sprinkle the top layer with the remaining grated cheese. Finish with a few decorative streaks or rounds of tomato sauce. Cover the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil and poke several holes in the foil with the tip of a knife. Bake 30 minutes.

Uncover, and continue baking until the top layer of cheese is golden in spots, about 15 minutes. Let rest 10 to 20 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

SAN MARTINO PEAR AND CHOCOLATE TART -- Torta di Pere San Martino al Cioccolato
Makes 12 servings

The texture of the chocolate-amaretto custard is very delicate, so be sure to slice the pears very thin so you can eat the dessert with a spoon.

For the Caramel:
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water

For the Torta:
16 amaretti cookies, crushed
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into very thin slices

Stir the sugar and water together in a medium skillet. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the syrup is boiling. Don't stir the syrup after it comes to a boil, as this will most likely form crystals in the syrup. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent the syrup from hardening on the sides of the pan, until the syrup begins to turn a very pale golden brown. You will be able to tell when the syrup is about to change color -- the bubbles will be larger and will move a little more slowly. When the syrup begins to change color, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and swirling until the syrup is a medium-amber color (about 340° F) on a candy thermometer). If the caramel begins to color too quickly, dip the bottom of the skillet or saucepan in a basin of cool water for a second or two. Pour the caramel immediately into a 10-inch round heatproof pie dish or shallow casserole and tilt to coat the entire bottom with caramel.

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Choose a roasting pan large enough to fit the pie plate and place it on the center rack of the oven. Heat a kettle of water to boiling.

Pour the crumbled cookies into a blender jar and blend, using on/off motions, until finely ground. Pour in the cocoa and sugar and pulse to mix with the cookies. Pour in the milk, eggs and yolk, rum, and baking powder and blend at low speed, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the jar, until smooth. Pour in the heavy cream, and blend just enough to incorporate the cream. Scrape into a mixing bowl and stir in the pears.

Pour the chocolate-pear mixture into the prepared dish and set the dish in the roasting pan. Pour in enough of the boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the mold. Bake until firm in the center and lightly browned on top, about 40 minutes.

Remove carefully from the water bath and place on a wire rack Cool completely to room temperature, then chill thoroughly. To serve, run a thin knife around the edges of the custard to loose them. Invert a plate large enough to hold comfortably over the tart, then, in one quick motion, flip the tart over and set the plate down. The tart may take several seconds to work itself loose from the dish. After it does so, gently lift off the dish and serve the tart.

Variation: Caramel-Pear Sauce for the Tart
If you'd like to take this dessert one step further, prepare this simple sauce that echoes the caramel-pear flavors for the tart. Peel and slice thin an extra pear and double the amount of caramel called for in the recipe. When the caramel is done, pour half of it into the dish and immediately scatter the extra sliced pear over the caramel remaining in the pan. Shake the pan off the heat until the liquid given off by the pears begins to loose the caramel. If necessary, return the pan to low heat to dissolve the last bits of caramel. Serve the sauce at room temperature, or re-warmed over very low heat, spooned around individual servings of the tart.

Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tuttia Tavola, L.L.C.