Product Description

In 1999, Eleanora Scarpetta wrote a letter to Martha Stewart claiming that she could teach Martha a thing or two about canning tomatoes and about Italian-American food in general. Intrigued, Martha’s producers visited this Easton, Connecticut, housewife and were immediately enamored with her home-style cooking methods and outstanding results. They invited her to appear on Martha’s show where she was such a hit that they invited her back again and again – a dozen times in all. Now, Eleanora has collected the family favorites and Italian-American classics that television viewers loved in Eleanora’s Kitchen, her debut cookbook.

Born in a small town outside Naples, Eleanora was raised on the Bronx’s famed Arthur Avenue, one of America’s great “Little Italys.” She spent her childhood in the family kitchen by her mother’s side, learning the secrets of making cavatelli by hand or Sunday Sauce alla Russo. She also learned how to shop for the perfect tomato, choose the sweetest eggplant, and tell which was the freshest broccoli rabe.

Heralded by Martha Stewart as an “Old World cook,” Eleanora brings the best of her Italian-American upbringing to her cooking: the heirloom recipes passed down from generation to generation in her family and the understanding that the finest ingredients make the most delicious food. Here are the robust dishes of the Italian-American table, all enhanced by Eleanora’s creative touch: antipasti (with such favorites as Baked Littlenecks Oreganata and Eggplant Rollatini); soups and stews (classics such as Nonna’s hearty Homemade Minestrone, Pasta e Fagioli, and Zuppa di Pesce); pastas (Spaghetti Puttanesca, a quick and easy Fettucine Alfredo, and Classic Lasagna – a must for festive holidays); seafood (Striped Bass alla Pizzaiola or Fried Baccalà, the signature dish of an Italian Christmas Eve); meat and poultry dishes (family fare such as Chicken Cacciatore, Italian-Style Sausage and Peppers, and Veal Sorrentino, as well as Braised Pork Chops with Eleanora’s homemade Marinated Artichoke Hearts and Vinegar Peppers); and vegetable and side dishes (Swiss Chard with Prosciutto and Cipolline or Fava Beans alla Pomodoro).

Eleanora’s versatile recipe for panella, the country-style Neapolitan loaf, is the base for Prosciutto Bread with Pancetta and Basil, Tomato Focaccia, and Pizza Napoletana. The crowd-pleasing desserts of Southern Italy are all here: Pignoli Cookies; Zeppole di Ferrara, a staple of Italian street festivals; Fig and Hazelnut Torta; and Sweet Lemon-Ricotta Pie with Brandied Cherries. Eleanora also includes her treasured recipes for those great canned tomatoes, as well as her canned marinated artichoke hearts, eggplant, and olives, advice on drying herbs, and much more. For anyone who wishes he or she had grown up learning to cook from an Italian mother or grandmother, Eleanora’s Kitchen is the next best thing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #484481 in Books
• Released on: 2004-04-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Scarpetta has all the elements in place to become a TV celebrity chef: accessible cuisine, appealing persona (à la Sara Moulton) and unflagging energy (enough to can tomatoes and bottle homemade liqueurs at the end of a day in the kitchen). Though Scarpetta was born in Naples, her book's culinary scope extends from Campania south to Palermo, by way of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Here readers will find the holy trinity of Italian-American eggplant: bruschetta, rollatini and parmigiana. "Red sauce Italian" restaurant favorites appear without fanfare and in all their authentic goodness: Fried Calamari, Linguine with White Clam Sauce, Potato Croquettes, as well as the mother of all marinara sauces, here dubbed "Sunday Sauce." Scarpetta also includes recipes for seasonal traditions, such as the classic Italian Easter pie, Pizza Rustica, and Struffoli, an Italian-American Christmas staple. At times, however, the superiority of TV as a teaching medium becomes obvious, as in Scarpetta's instructions for making tagliatelle, which are virtually impossible to visualize and have no illustrations. Still, this is a competent, organized and generous book. Although Scarpetta's tome may not stand out among the multitude of competent rivals, it's an unpretentious, accessible guide to unpretentious, accessible cuisine.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"If there is such a thing as an Italian elf, it would be Eleanora Scarpetta. Her impish sense of fun is only surpassed by her knowledge in and around the Italian kitchen. I love Eleanora, but between you and me, I love her cooking even more!"
--Al Roker, co-host, NBC Today Show


"Eleanora's unabashed enthusiasm for the direct, bold flavors of her native Naples is apparent on every page of this very personal tribute to food and family."
-- Viana LaPlace, author of La Bella Cucina: How to Cook, Live, and Eat Like an Italian


"A wonderful collection of family recipes and stories that will inspire you to make great food a part of your everyday life."
--Sara Foster, author of The Foster's Market Cookbook

From the Back Cover
"If there is such a thing as an Italian elf, it would be Eleanora Scarpetta. Her impish sense of fun is only surpassed by her knowledge in and around the Italian kitchen. I love Eleanora, but between you and me, I love her cooking even more!"
--Al Roker, co-host, NBC Today Show


"Eleanora's unabashed enthusiasm for the direct, bold flavors of her native Naples is apparent on every page of this very personal tribute to food and family."
-- Viana LaPlace, author of La Bella Cucina: How to Cook, Live, and Eat Like an Italian


"A wonderful collection of family recipes and stories that will inspire you to make great food a part of your everyday life."
--Sara Foster, author of The Foster's Market Cookbook