Today’s post comes on the heels of two commingled happenings. First, My Head of Culinary is trouncing about in Parma checking out brown cows and pig legs. Second, The Food Book Fair kicks off it’s 2017 edition. So, a book on Italian Street Food is more than appropriate. If any of you have spent any time in Italy, as Paola, the author of this guide to goodness, has, you know getting a bad meal is tough anywhere on the boot. But, the culinary road less traveled lies in the nooks and crannies that are street food. A rice ball, a porchetta sandwich or a panini from a stand or off the beaten path vendor with a tiny hole in the wall (literally sometimes) shop are the true diamonds in the rough of this food gem country. Paola Bacchia was born Australian but has always looked to Italy as her Italian migrant parents made it impossible not to. Her book chronicles the recipes of these undiscovered street classics in a way that only an enamored 1st generation non-Italain can. If this book redlines your drool factor, Paola hosts a cooking school in Melbourne, Australia and annual workshops at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School in Sicily where you can taste some of the beauty this book reveals.
More Culture Stuff
Dinette Magazine
Recipes, stories and design are cross bred into each issue of this extremely beautiful indie food magazine. Dinette is the Québécois version of Kinfolk and we love it. Reading a little french helps to really dig in but browsing the beautiful photography and perfectly aired page layouts makes it as much a look book than a deep dive into tasty dishes and food maker stories. Issue three is out now.
The Pizza Pilgrims Journey Spawned this Book
We stumbled on this book from the Pizza Pilgrims just a few weeks ago. Looking like a pizza box and claiming pizza history, recipes and stories we knew it was an instant must buy. But, we didn’t exercising that consumerism, instant gratification, constraint. This week we caved and had it delivered to our door which actually made it feel like pizza delivery given the aforementioned pizza box book design. Turns out it is a who’s who, step by step of the Pizza Pilgrims epic adventure from an idea in a British pub to a series of, what at last count looks like 15, pizza shops. The book is way more than a cookbook although it has some fantastic recipes. It talks to everyone from Domino’s to Scott’s pizza tours. Showcases cities finest pizza from Naples to New Haven. All that fits in between some history of pizza and the full step by step of their epic pilgrimage from idea to Italy to pizza shop empire. We particularly love the pizza box art section and the fan submissions. Brilliant. Now that pizza week 2021 is coming to a close, pick up this pizza bible to stay connected all year round with our favorite meal ever.
A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook
We left New Orleans with a copy of John Kennedy Toole’s a Confederacy of Dunces in our digital back pocket. We were inspired to read the comedic, novel depicting Ignatius J. Reilly’s exploits because of Cynthia LeJeune Nobles’ cookbook of the same name. The Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook is a series of dishes inspired by 1960’s New Orleans and Ignatius’ favorite foods. The research that went into this book is incredible. I’m not sure which one I suggest you read first. Maybe read them both and cook simultaneously for a real immersive trip.
The Mad Feast
We’re going to let the book jacket write this one for us because it’s succinctly so many things we live for. The Mad Feast is a richly illustrated culinary tour of the United States through fifty signature dishes, and a radical exploration of our gastronomic heritage. We’re kinda obsessed with dishes that define cities and states. Matthew Gavin Frank does just that and digs in the history of each to boot. If you follow the Drool List, you know we’re entering travel season. This one makes us want to dust off the luggable loo and mount up the truck for an epic cross country zig zag…again.