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ISBN: 9781608442874
200 pages
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Introduction

In Southern Italy, nestled in the mountains of Irpina, is the small town of Castel Baronia; this is where I was born. The rich volcanic soil of this region gives birth to a tremendous variety of luscious tomatoes, fruits, and vegetables. Here too livestock graze and produce milks for some of the finest cheeses in all of Italy. What could be better than feasting on these cheeses with locally produced salami and a fine table wine? This is the Campania region and where I trained my palate. Foods were harvested and eaten in season as Mother Nature intended.

My mother was an excellent cook, and I continued in the tradition. My passion for working in the kitchen came easily to me. Nikki Buchanan, the food critic of PHOENIX magazine, wrote that cooking was "in her bones." When I’m in the kitchen, I know that is true. The fresh taste of Italian country cooking, or la cucina sapoarita, is the traditional country cooking I prepare for my own family.

In 1969, my dear husband and I opened our first restaurant in Brindisi, Italy. Our family and friends encouraged us to take our first steps in a long and joyful career together. It was in that first restaurant where I worked side by side with our chefs, honing my craft and sharpening my skills. The restaurant in Brindisi was very successful, but due to a twist of fate, we decided to return to the States.

In 1977, when our family moved from New Jersey to Arizona, it was in Phoenix where I was able to share my love for cooking with other people again. We opened another restaurant, Livia’s Fine Cuisine, which garnered an outstanding reputation. It made my mother proud to know that I had followed in the family tradition. Livia’s was a success, winning many dining awards. The New York Times also took note of my cooking style.

My appearance on local television in the Phoenix area throughout the years has given me another venue for sharing my love of the kitchen. All my life, I’ve wanted to introduce homemakers to the simplicity of Italian cuisine and the pleasures of Italian country cooking. People have formed a myth, for some reason, that it takes hours of preparation to make delicious dishes. Not so.

The Italian culture, in general, takes great pleasure around the dining table. It’s an innate need to satisfy la dolce vita, the good life. Most Italian people take delight in buying the very best fresh ingredients that are available in the open markets found in the piazzas in every village and city. When my husband, Rocco, and I owned our restaurant in Brindisi, we would shop every morning with our fellow chefs and purchased from the enormous selection of the freshest fish, vegetables, and fruits for that day’s menu, always shopping with that old saying "You get what you pay for” in mind.

Gourmet cooking does take time and experience. This book, however, is not about spending countless hours in the kitchen, making elaborate gourmet dishes. I’ve written and designed this book for family meals to be prepared in thirty minutes or less.

Remember, what we know as gourmet cooking started in country-home kitchens by homemakers who had imagination and knowledge of cooking basics. They combined those talents to make creative meals bursting with flavor.

Italy’s many regions have their own specialties. These specialties come from what is locally produced in each region, and Italians take enormous pride in what they produce. For instance, Polenta is a true rustic country dish, incredibly popular in the Friuli and Veneto regions of northern Italy. Made from yellow or white cornmeal, it is a basic staple. Also other regions have their specialties. I’m sure you have heard of Bolognese sauce from Bologna, Risi e Bisi from Venice, Gnocchi alla Romana from Rome, Parmesan cheese from Parma, and so on and so forth.