HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE – Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites By Mary Ann Esposito

GIFT IDEA – CIAO ITALIA FIVE-INGREDIENT FAVORITES BY MARY ANN ESPOSITO

I love the idea of any gourmet type meal that could be made with five ingredients. The publisher graciously gave me permission to reprint one of the recipes (below) and after reading it I decided that I must check this one out for myself. Stick around to find how you can win one.

About Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito

Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites
Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen

By Mary Ann Esposito
Published by St. Martin’s Press
September 2009
$29.99US/$38.00CAN
ISBN 978-0-312-37769-4

From the publisher – In Mary Ann Esposito’s new book, Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, she shows home cooks how to turn just five ingredients into an easy, delicious, and economical Italian dish for the family dinner table. Mary Ann Esposito knows that the genius behind great Italian cooking is the simple philosophy of using just a few quality ingredients to create something delicious. In Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites she shows home cooks how to make that philosophy work for them so that they can save time and money without sacrificing flavor. With seventy-five authentic Italian recipes — from antipasti to pastas, main courses to desserts — Esposito draws on the Italian culinary tradition of simplicity in the kitchen to create such effortless and tasty dishes as:

* Prosciutto di Parma, Fontina, and Fig Wraps
* Spicy Soppressata Tartlets
* Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs
* Pistachio-Dusted Pork Chops
* Oven-Poached Halibut with Shallot and Fennel
* Escarole Salad with Mustard Dressing
* Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Banana Tartlets
* Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Vanilla

With Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites, Mary Ann Esposito serves up a surefire way to please family and friends with easy recipes that are quick and delicious.

Author Bio
Mary Ann Esposito is the creator and host of the long-running PBS series Ciao Italia, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010. She is the author of eleven successful cookbooks, including Ciao Italia Slow and Easy and Ciao Italia Pronto! She lives in Durham, New Hampshire.

For more information, please visit www.CiaoItalia.com.

Reviews
“Immediately appealing, Esposito’s warm tone echoes throughout the book, offering quick trips down memory lane. At a time when most families are tightening their belts, an array of effortless, five-ingredient recipes is most welcome, especially since most are to be served family style.”
–Publisher’s Weekly

RECIPE FOR COAL MINERS STYLE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Coal Miners’-Style Spaghetti
by Mary Ann Esposito,
Author of Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen

Just about everyone I know has a recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara. This simple but heavenly dish is said to get its name from the coal miners who could make it easily with readily available ingredients: eggs, cheese, and guanciale, cured and salted pig’s jowl and cheeks. A likely story, but the fact is that this dish is easy to make, superb when made correctly, and a completely balanced meal. The eggs should be of the highest quality and at room temperature so they will mix well with the spaghetti. The cheese should be none other than the true Parmigiano-Reggiano, or pecorino Romano. Today, the more readily available pancetta is used in place of guanciale. And a pepper mill is absolutely essential for the right grind of black pepper.

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 ounce chunk pancetta, diced
Fine sea salt
* ½ pound spaghetti
* 3 large eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten
* ¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Coarsely ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan, stir in the pancetta, and cook until crispy. Set aside the pancetta, still in the pan, and keep it warm.

Cook the spaghetti in 4 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water. Al dente means still firm to the bite but no uncooked flour is visible in the center when a strand of the spaghetti is broken in half.

Drain the spaghetti, reserving 2 tablespoons of the water. Immediately return the spaghetti to the pot and, keeping the heat very low, rapidly stir in the eggs, reserved water, and half the cheese. Toss to combine. Add the reserved pancetta and any pan drippings. Stir well. Add a generous grinding of coarse black pepper. Transfer the pasta to a platter and sprinkle it with the remaining cheese. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

The above is an excerpt from the book Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen by Mary Ann Esposito. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2009 Mary Ann Esposito, author of Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen

WIN IT!

ONE winner will receive a copy of the book Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter visit the Ciao Italia recipes page and then leave a comment on this post telling me one recipe you found there that you’d like to try..

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THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.