SEGRETO ITALIANO
FAVORITE ITALIAN DISHES
And SECRET RECIPES
Customer Review
If You Love Italian; Italian-American or Sicilian Cuisine
You Must Buy This Book! Review by un Siciliana-Americana Signora
Verified Purchase
If you're just beginning to learn Italian cooking - or you're advanced.....
you'll find at least ONE recipe in this book you'll have to try. But more
likely, you'll find several. What I love about this selection of recipes is
that they include strictly Italian; Sicilian; and Italian-American dishes.
The author recognizes Italian-American as a cuisine unto its own.
Falling into all three categories myself, I have a large collection of Italian
and Sicilian cook books, but none specifically for Italian-American.
I think this is about as close as I'll get. Dishes from my childhood
(along with some charming anecdotes from the author) are in here
and my mouth waters just thinking about which one I'll make first.
The recipes are rather simple just like *real* Italian food. I remember
The recipes are rather simple just like *real* Italian food. I remember
the time I asked Zia Elena for her spaghetti sauce and meatball recipes.
To me, she was the Queen of authentic and delicious Sicilian/Neopolitan
cookery (she married one of those northern Italians, so learned to cook
for him. I had to ask her on the sly as no one would admit to her
superior culinary skills in front of their own mothers!) Her list of
ingredients was short and of course, delicious. Most Italian recipes
are like that ---- not complicated, but delicious.
I give this book two paws up! For the price, it's such a deal, it should
be in any cook book collection which focuses on the three types of Italian
food. And lest the reader say, "But I thought Sicilians *were* Italians..."
You can read up on this on the internet and see that Sicily had hosted
numerous types of colonies for hundreds of years by everyone from
Greeks, Arabs, Byzantines, even Scandinavians!. It only became part
of Italy in 1860. Then in 1946 it became an autonomous region. Why
does this matter? Sicilian cooking has many influences and so differs,
although at times in subtle ways and sometimes in a complete
composition expression to the more northern Italian food and customs.
Due to Sicily's proximity to Greece, a dear Greek man once told me
(as I choked on the sweetness of the baklava he had just given me),
that Sicilians were "just Greeks" who wanted to be Italians. May be
a grain of truth in that.!
If you love this outrageously ethnic food, then I highly recommend this.
It's the kind of book I wish Zia Elena would have written and left to me!
Thanks Daniel !
I loved this little book of Italian Secrets. The way it’s laid out, the
anecdotes and the cultural references all make for a light hearted
ride into amazing cuisine. I love Italian food, and this is one of my
favorite books in recent memory. There’s a very easy to follow path
here, and if you want to cook with some secret recipes, here is your
opportunity.
dishes I’ve ever made in my home. I’m not a great cook, but the easy to
work with recipe, let me impress my family, and they really liked the
flavors. I’m going to try more of them out, but am excited about how the
recipes taste. You’ll love this book, the recipes, and the food, guaranteed.
Check it out.
By The Same Author
SUNDAY SAUCE - When Italian Americans Cook
SUNDAY SAUCE
Cutomer Reviews
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a really good cookbook. Many of the recipes remember from my childhood! I really loved the stories that the author told. His stories answered some questions for me about my Italian American heritage. Great book!
