My copy of Il Cucchiaio d'argento (The Silver Spoon) arrived from Amazon.co.uk today. This is the italian equivalent of the american classic Fanny Farmer Cookbook. It is the classic "wedding gift" for any new italian bride.
With over 2000 recipes, it is the bible of authentic Italian cooking. It has been Italy's best-selling cookbook for the last 50 years. It features traditional dishes alongside specially written menus by celebrated chefs. Now translated for the first time into English. It even has ribbons to mark your place. Like the old family bible!!
I love Marcella Hazen and she's been my italian cooking goddess for years but move over Marcella there's a new (old) kid in town.
Well, let's say that it was a classic wedding gift some 30 years ago. Nowadays a bride that gets this book instead of a microwave oven may just bring havoc on the person who gave her the gift. By the way, if you happen to be invited to an Itlaian wedding, don't forget to ask for the gifts list: free, unexpected gifts are not very welcome, and the couple will already have a list of gifts available at a certain shops (usually with web access) for you to chose from.
And, while an excellent book, Cucchiaio d'Argento is not the only classic Italian cuisine book available. There was a bit of discussion here on the board before about such books, and it turned out that at least here on the board there seems to be more Talismano della Felicità girls than Cucchiaio d'argento girls, so I invite you to check out Ada Boni's book too (it's available in English too). Personally, my latest buys have been Obersdorfer's Tesoretto della cucina italiana and... Uhm... Escoffier's book (oh, our beloved French cousins!).
Gee Alice, next you'll be telling me the Italians started this gross modern habit of ordering gifts for themselves. Lista de nozze may be a convenience to guests who would like to know the bride needs or likes the gift they plan to give, but to me it requires collossal nerve to be angry if someone gives you something from their heart that you didn't ask for. There is a website called Etiquette Hell that describes what happens at weddings of Bridezillas like that. It can be hysterically funny while making you weep tears for humanity. Many brides are young and don't know all that the world contains, so ordering up a frullatore when someone may be willing to send you a one of a kind object of great beauty that you never knew existed could be the result. Anyway, a library of cookbooks never killed anyone, and books are exchangeable anyway.
Abslutely not. The point is that too many of the Italian brides nowadays just don't care a thing about actually cooking their food or having those odd paper parallelepipeds at home (you know, books of any kind!). My nother's colleage (age 22) just got married, and when her mom asked her if she wanted to take home some of her old cookbooks, she (the daughter) replied that she wouldnìt know what to do with them, and in any case " You are bringing frozen food aren't you?". Obviously not all young brides are like this, but they are common, believe me. Also, do you know that Italy is one of the country in the world where the population reads less?
Italians may read less, but they talk more, don't they? The last time I came home from Italy I was shocked to notice how few everyday cafes or meeting places are open after nine PM even in places like Belmont and Somerville, MA.
In Vermont, of course, the population is sparser, but if more of the small towns had a fountain and a cafe, it seemed to me we would probably get to know each other a lot better even if we didn't read as much.
Don't know how they would make ends meet, though. As it is, the one store in my town serves also as Post Office, Fire Department, Game Warden, ice cream shop, bakery, butcher and video shop, and is run by our state representative and his wife, so I'm not holding my breath for an outdoor cafe.
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