If you love the pungent aroma of simmering garlic, the rich tang of spicy tomato sauce, or the salty bite of Parmesan cheese, you're already well on your way to mastering the secrets of Southern Italian cooking. Now, you can learn to improvise with these enticing flavors and combine them in new and exciting ways that bring variety and vitality to every delicious dish you create. With her unique flavor-based approach to Southern Italian cooking, celebrated Italian chef and author Erica De Mane shows how to use the simplest techniques and purest ingredients to create surprisingly innovative dishes that add new dimension to the flavors you savor most. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

DeMane (Pasta Improvvisata) hones her flavor-combining philosophy and skills in this volume that successfully and wonderfully improvises on traditional recipes of southern Italian cuisine. She bases her dishes on the cooking of her grandmother, who emigrated from a town on the Campania-Apulia border; from there, DeMane has adapted her recipes according to ingredients available in the U.S. (mostly New York); the busy lifestyle of today's home cooks; and, finally, her own personal taste. DeMane's adaptations are subtle, but their effect is powerful. For example, she eschews sausage for prosciutto in Orecchette with Broccoli Rabe, Prosciutto, and White Wine. For main courses, she brings to the table Braised Sausages with Green Grapes, Wine and Bay Leaves; Pork Chops with Gentle Vinegar Peppers (into which she mixes anchovy fillets and marjoram); and Grouper Wrapped in Prosciutto and Served with a Winter Tomato Sauce (made with Marsala wine, sage and rosemary). Her salads are standouts (many, she maintains, can be a full dinner): Strawberry and Wild Watercress Salad with Pine Nuts; and Spinach Salad with Pears, Spiced Walnuts, and Ricotta Salata. Equally simple though enticing are DeMane's antipasti (e.g., Sautéed Cerignolo Olives with Fennel and Mint) and contorni, such as Potato and Sweet Pepper Gatto, Calabrian Style (made with vermouth, pecorino and caciocavallo cheeses). While lacking essential photos and illustrations, DeMane's clear and easy narrative and her abundance of flavorful recipes make this a valuable collection. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Erica De Mane writes on Italian cooking for Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Saveur, the New York Times, Gourmet, and Marie Claire. A member of the New York Culinary Historians and the Italian-based International Slow Food Movement, she lives in New York City Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Introduction	viii
Acknowledgments	xii
The Flavors of the Southern Italian Kitchen	1
Bitter. Sweet-and-Sour. and Salty: Fundamental Tastes. Southern Italian Style	5
The Southern Italian Love of Bitterness	6
Sweet and Sour: The Taste of Agrodolce	8
Southern Italy and Sea Salt	11
Essential Southern Italian Flavoring Ingredients	13
Southern Italian Olive Oil	14
Olives in Southern Italian Cooking	17
Cooking with Garlic	20
Tomatoes	23
Tomato Paste and Sun-Dried Tomatoes	24
Capers	28
Oranges and Lemons	30
Anchovies and Bottarga	32
Sweet Peppers and Hot Chilies	36
Some Thoughts about Black Pepper	39
Fennel and Saffron	40
Nutmeg and Cinnamon	44
Pancetta and Salami	46
Buying Southern Italian Cheese in America	49
Basil, Mint, and Parsley	54
Oregano, Rosemary, and Bay Leaves	58
Pine Nuts and Raisins	61
Almonds and Pistachios in Southern Italian Cooking	63
Wine in Cooking	64
Recipes: Cooking Southern Italian Style	67
Vegetables	71
Shopping for Vegetables	72
Cooking Vegetables	72
Green Salads in the Southern Italian Kitchen	74
Seafood	147
Buying Seafood	148
Cooking and Flavoring Seafood	149
Meats and Poultry	217
Meat in the Southern Italian Home Kitchen	218
Cooking for a Group	219
Savory Tarts	275
Pizza Neapolitan Style	287
Calzone	297
Soups	309
Pasta	333
Sauce for Pasta	335
How to Cook the Best Pasta	336
Desserts	387
Menus	425
My Favorite Southern Italian Wines	433
Wines and Good Producers to Look For	434
Sources	436
Bibliography	439
Index	440

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