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Bottega Favorita is an incredible Italian cookbook!
October 30, 2009
Have you heard? Italian food is in again!
In case you missed this, you can catch the post I wrote about it here:
Italian food is popular again!
In my world, Italian food was never “out”. I know French cuisine was the big “it” cuisine during the richer, financially-fatter years, but now many people are pairing down their recipe choices along with their lifestyles. (Personally, I still enjoy French cuisine – and have been enjoying it since I started dating my Parisian ex-husband back in the 90s – only these days, you won’t see any foie gras or Champagne on my mid-week menu, just quiche or ratatouille instead.)
I think the reason why so many people are embracing Italian cuisine and recipes again is because there is something quite comforting about it, don’t you think? It’s the comforting part that attracted me so much to Bottega Favorita, an Italian cookbook written by a Southern chef (what a powerful combination – Southern and Italian cuisines are both about loads of love!).
This incredible 269-page book from Chef Frank Stitt is an homage to the beauty and simplicity of Italian cuisine. You might know Chef Stitt from his 2004 best-selling cookbook about Southern Cuisine, called Southern Table. Bottega Favorita chronicles his travels to Italy to showcase the best of that country’s fare.
What I like about this cookbook is that Chef Stitt makes Italian cuisine his own. I already own a few Italian cookbooks, including the Bible of them all, The Silver Spoon, so I was pleased to discover Chef Stitt’s recipes are not the same old traditional ones I already have on my bookshelf.
I love how Chef Stitt describes his creativity:
“There’s no Pompano in Venice, but ours, fresh from Apalachicola, fits into the cartoccio (Italian fish stew) perfectly; our Chilton County white peaches are squeezed by hand for a bellini; our wild Gulf shrimp, oysters, crab, and fish are easily a match for their Mediterranean equivalents.”
The beauty of this extraordinary cookbook is that many of these recipes have been served for two decades at Bottega Restaurant and Café, Chef Stitt’s Birmingham, Alabama, eaterie – hence Bottega Favorita (Bottega’s Favourites).
I’ve not yet been to Bottega Favorita (or Alabama, for that matter), but after reading what Chef Mario Batali had to say, I’m just itching to get a table there to sample some of these dishes in person:
“I think it is one of the best Italian restaurants outside of Italy.” — Mario Batali
There are so many cookbooks on the market, but not all of them have the soul of Bottega Favorita, which contains loads of anecdotes and photos from Chef Stitt that document his Italian trip.
Keep in mind that the beautiful mesh between Italian and Southern cuisine means simple, flavourful dishes that will not only get your family to crave healthy eating but won’t cost you an insane amount of money to prepare.
If you can only afford a couple of cookbooks this year, I would urge you to pick up a copy of Bottega Favorita. In fact, given the time of the year, and since so many people do their holiday shopping months ahead, I’d say this cookbook would be an absolutely perfect gift for anyone who loves Italian food or for someone who thought that Italian cuisine was just pasta.
I’m complete enamoured with Bottega Favorita and it’s officially one of my favourites!
>>> Read more reviews of Bottega Favorita
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