Review: Mangia bene!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2012
The very best Christmas present I can ever remember getting is the iPad my children gifted me with this past Christmas.  One of the very first books I acquired was David Cowles'The Deli Maven's Cookbook(Yes, I wrote a review of that one too) so when I saw his latest offering,Italian Cuisine for American Cooks, I couldn't wait to see what he had in store this time.Now, I must warn you that at least in this book, you would think that Cowles was feeding the Israeli Defense Forces from the size of many of his basic recipes.  I would have to cut his Marinara and Bolognese sauce recipes in half just to fit them in the largest pot I own other than the water bath canner, but I do like David's idea of making a huge batch of pantry staples or casseroles like lasagne that do relatively well in the freezer.  I am a big proponent of having a few things in the freezer that you can just throw into the oven if the mood strikes, unexpected company darkens your door, or you just don't feel like cooking.  Nonetheless, the recipes are good and often quite similar to the way I make things myself.  I was particularly grateful to have his recipe for White Clam Sauce, even if it is huge.  Not long ago a Facebook friend asked me for a recipe for White Clam Sauce.  For some reason or other I couldn't lay hands on the recipe I used to use and the ones I could find all omitted the milk or cream.Italian Cuisine for American Cookshas been very thoughtfully put together.  David includes links to more information on a variety of subjects, the development of Italian-American food and the origins of Tiramisu among them.  One link I was particularly grateful to have is one to a chart of pasta shapes, complete with illustration, description and suitable substitutions.  The Table of Contents is well done and lists every recipe in the book.  Cowles even managed to get it to show in the Kindle navigation menu.  It is, however, located in the back of the book for some reason.  One thoughtful addition is the inclusion of links to appropriate recipes for things like his spice mixes (recipes are in the book) when they are called for in the book.Cowles makes no pretense that his recipes are "authentic Italian" or anything other than good, basic Italian-American fare in quantities large enough to stock your freezer.  I think you'll enjoy using some of them.  I know I will.Highly recommended.