Fiamma: The Essence of Contemporary Italian Cooking

I spent three and a half weeks in Italy on my honeymoon and then spent three and a half weeks on my return to San Francisco trying to find food that tasted like what we ate all over Italy, without success. I was looking for a good Italian cook book recently and spent several hours at the local bookstore reading and studying the many offerings. After five minutes reading Fiamma, I was struck by the how different this book felt. I almost felt I was back in Cinque Terra watching seafood risotto being prepared as I read parts of Mr. White's book. There is great value and beauty to the simple, well-considerd thoughts and recipes presented in Fiamma. Our many great meals in Italy were made with fresh,simple ingredients.Fiamma captures the essence of this style in its recipes. I felt like I had met a kindred spirit to my visit to Italy in reading about the lessons Mr. Smith learned cooking there. I haven't cooked all the recipes yet, but can say without hesitation, that following Smith's mantra of buying the freshest and best quality ingredients you can afford makes the recipes I've prepared shine. There are many easy and straightford recipes presented..great value for money to those who Love Italian food!I look forward to eating at the restaurant in New York as well.

`Fiamma' by American restauranteur of Italian cuisine, Michael White, assisted by Joanna Pruess, with desserts by Elizabeth Katz is another in the recent trend of books which market themselves as manuals on `contemporary Italian cooking' when they are actually nothing more than good restaurant cookbooks. Another recent entry into this category is Scott Conant's `New Italian Cooking', which impressed me when I reviewed it, in spite of the pretentious title and aspirations. Conant and White seem to have much in common, especially as they distinguish themselves from `Mister Italian chef in New York', the redoubtable Mario Batali. While Mario's genetic credentials run to true `Italian-American' traditions, Conant and White both seem to pride themselves on having virtually no Italian blood. We have ample evidence that this is no barrier to cooking great Italian food and even creating great Italian styled dishes. The Brits, Rogers and Gray and wunderkind, Jamie Oliver have been serving up first rate Italian dishes for years now, and both London's River Café and Oliver's `15' seem to be thriving on this diet. Conant and White are also predominantly rooted in the Northern Italian cuisine, but both distinguish themselves from Mario by focusing on distinctly Italian ingredients. This really sort of runs contrary to their claim to modernity, as Mario seems to have the right idea when he applies the Italian food ethic to local American ingredients. But, all three manage to create totally marvelous dishes. A glance at White's Table of Contents reveals a style about as Italian as you can get and still be publishing an American book. All primary chapter and recipe titles are in Italian, with all having an English translation just below. A quick glance at recipe titles shows White being almost 100% true to the classic Italian larder and market. In one recipe, White says `I like to marry old dishes with contemporary ingredients.' Well, his ingredients in this dish (not including herbs and spices) are truffle oil, balsamic vinegar, baby artichokes, sea scallops, and frisee. Now which of these ingredients is `contemporary'? I will grant that combining `carciofi alla giudia' with scallops and frisee may be new, but these are certainly not new ingredients. The author makes something of the fact that the pumpkin is a `new world' vegetable that only arrived in Italy in the 16th century. I guess that in a country where a 900-year-old church may be considered `young', this is new, but then the great orange gourd got there at the same time as the tomato, and no one is calling the tomato a `new' Italian ingredient. `The Silver Spoon', the Italian `Joy of Cooking' has 16 recipes for pumpkin listed in its index. There are also several dishes done `in the style of ...' one Italian region or another. Where is the `Contemporary' in this book? I confess I'm having just a bit of fun at Chef White's expense. I really like almost all the recipes in this book, and I have no doub

Luscious photographs and bold presentation showcase the contemporary Italian flair of White's New York and Las Vegas restaurants. Like most elegant restaurant cookbooks, this is as much for savoring in the armchair as taking to the kitchen. White offers cooking tips and suggestions for ingredient substitution inn his evocative recipe introductions but many of his luscious dishes require more patience or kitchen help than the average home cook is likely to coax out of family members. Robiola Cheese with Soft Polenta and Fonduta, for example, essentially a rich cheese ball covered with polenta and topped with shaved truffles requires an hour of continuous stirring for the polenta as well as a tricky cheese sauce and a bit of quick assembly before your cool cheese ball melts. That said, it's delicious. Creamy Artichoke and Sunchoke Soup calls for some chopping and several cooking steps but looks to be worth it, as do the Herbed Pork Rolls made with pounded pork tenderloin, sage, rosemary and Romano. And a few dishes are simple: Rabbit Braised in Oil is a must try - and the 3 cups of braising oil can and should be used again - and Farmer-Style Spinach, well cooked with wine, vinegar and mushrooms has a melting texture. A beautiful and inspiring book for cooks with a bit of flair and ambition. -- Portsmouth Herald