In the Footsteps of Nonna: Recipes and Ramblings in Southern Italy and Sicily

Every cook should have an Italian cookbook in his or her collection. This is a great choice. It is a fantastic cookbook, but it is so much more. First, it’s very specific to the southern region of Italy and includes Sicily. Secondly, it is full of wonderful, personal anecdotes about relatives, friends, towns and villages, an old man gardening, sheep and goats blocking the road, etc. Third, in a sense, it is a bit of a travel guide and also gives a taste of history and cultural studies. Each little story is attached to a recipe of the region. There are over 160 stories and recipes in this gorgeous book, which is also filled with wonderful photographs of the many places author Bill Abruzzo visits as well as mouth-watering close-up photos of the final products of the recipes. These are not short-cut recipes. Be prepared to take your time and do things the old-fashioned way. Abruzzo has included a section on what to stock in your kitchen and what you might want to grow in your vegetable garden to enhance your cooking. Take your time and savor the savory experiences in the pages of this lovely book.