Aperitivo : The Cocktail Culture of Italy

Filled with stunning photographs of Italian street scenes, restaurant and bar serving staff and, of course, foods and aperitivos, this gorgeous book,  Aperitivo gives us the recipes and preparations for Italy’s famed cocktails and accompanying foods. Marisa Huff presents these in four chapters centered on four major cities but additional chapters called “Farther Afield” add another three chapters. Too bad she didn’t think of including a sketch of a location map (where is the Ligurian Coast? Or Piedmont?). Her writing is delightful, her recipe head notes interesting and informative, recipe instructions clear. The layout of many recipes is a problem for the cook—they spill inconveniently to overleaf pages. Many recipes are labeled with the establishment of its origin, such as Bar Cavour or Rebelot (presumably a restaurant). Needless to say you must have an exceptionally well-stocked bar to be able to reproduce many of the beverages. Some items are going to be tough to find: peppadew peppers, chinotto or pane carasau, for instance. It seems this book was written more for travelers visiting Italy though the book is too big to heft around. Huff even provides a list of seventy-four city-by-city bars and caffés as guides to visit.