DOC: 50 Tastes of Italy

Price: $11.99
(as of Dec 10, 2023 06:07:10 UTC – Details)

This is an Italian cookbook for the “counter top,” not the “bookshelf.” You will want to cook from these recipes because they use simple techniques and easy to find ingredients. I wanted simple Italian recipes that didn’t have so many ingredients or so many steps that the readers would shrug their shoulders and say “maybe some day.” I want readers to look at a recipe and say, “I’ll make that tonight.”

Among these 57 recipes you will find directions for bruschettas and bagna cauda; pasta carbonara, cacio e pepe, meat sauce ragù, and homemade pici noodles; steak florentine, mushroom topped chicken breasts, and frittatas; cauliflower and potatoes; Naples style pizza and focaccia; and desserts like panna cotta, flan, lemon cake, and limoncello. All with easy to follow instructions, lots of pictures, and simple ingredients.

DOC is an Italian symbol of authenticity and quality. It is an acronym for a government process certifying the origin and production of food and wine: Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Controlled Designation of Origin). When you look for Italian wines and foods be sure to select ones that are DOC, or better, DOCG (“Garantita,” Guaranteed), an even more coveted certification.

When I decided to write a cookbook, one of the first things that came to mind was to use DOC, or authentic recipes. I wanted to get away from recipes that relied on tomatoes and garlic as American symbols of Italian food. An important characteristic of DOC recipes is their simplicity, as explained in Chapter 1.

Finding DOC recipes was not hard. I have two families to take recipes from. The first was my American Italian family. My maternal grandparents moved from Italy to the USA in 1910 and promptly had 13 children, 10 girls and 3 boys. They all had recipes, some of which my cousin Linda Tiezzi Waldera published in a family cookbook a few years ago.

Chapters 1 through 6 lay the groundwork for Italian cuisine with discussions of methods and ingredients. I include recipes from each course and begin with the antipasti in chapters 7 through 10 focusing on bruschetta. The largest section of the book covers primi piatti including pasta and risotto recipes in chapters 11 through 29. Recipes for entrées, pizza, and side dishes are in chapters 30 to 48. I finish with deserts and digestivi in chapters 49 to 55.

My friends and relatives seldom cook anything the same way twice, their recipes depend on what is fresh and available in the home and markets. Look at each recipe as a guide rather than blueprint, a conversation between you and me. Go where the inspiration leads.

Buon appetito!

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CFD9D4NK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (August 15, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8851937071
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.38 x 10 inches