“Filled with classic recipes, creative innovations . . . The world of twice-baked sweets might seem challenging to new bakers, but Marchetti is a good coach.” —Chicago Tribune Ciao Biscotti is a collection of forty-four authentic biscotti from Italian cooking expert Domenica Marchetti. Studded with nuts, adorned with chocolate, or dotted with dried fruit, biscotti, Italy’s unique twice-baked cookies have a crunchy, toasty, enduring appeal. Perfect for dunking into coffee, tea, or Vin Santo, they’re easy to make; and transform a simple bowl of ice cream or sorbet into a special dessert. With savory ingredients swapped for the sweet ones, biscotti are a delicious accent to a cheese platter. Nibble on traditional flavors such as Hazelnut or Anise, coffeehouse neo-classics like Christmas Cranberry-Pistachio, tempting new versions such as Browned Butter and Toblerone, or savory ones, including Mountain Gorgonzola and Walnut, and taste the perfection of a classic cookie. Ciao biscotti! “Will keep biscotti lovers happy for a very long time . . . Some of the old classics are here, like almond or anise biscotti, but she’s also included some recipes for some not-so-traditional ones like browned butter and Toblerone.” —Ciao Chow Linda “You’ll find yourself turning out batch after batch of these twice-baked delights in your own kitchen . . . packed with tips on technique and ingredients, and clear recipes make the baking easy.” —L’Italo Americano

What could be better than an authentic Italian dinner like this that takes only thirty minutes to prepare? Little Ciabatta Toasts with Ricotta and Salami Skillet Breaded Pork Chops with Rosemary Cherry Tomatoes with Leeks and Thyme Dried Figs in Red Wine From years of cooking in her Ciao Italia television kitchen, Mary Ann Esposito understands what many people with busy lives, as well as those just beginning to learn their way around the kitchen, want to know: How do I prepare an authentic Italian meal without spending hours in the kitchen? In Ciao Italia, Pronto!, Mary Ann shows everyone how to prepare an authentic Italian meal in thirty minutes with more than eighty mouthwatering recipes from the entire gamut of Italian cuisine. She's gathered together a treasure trove of antipasti, soups, pasta dishes, main courses, vegetable side dishes, pizzas, calzones, and deserts that make easy and delicious meals for family and friends. Besides recipes for dishes like quick chicken cacciatore, macaroni with a rich lamb sauce or Cornish game hens with tomatoes and potatoes, Mary Ann shares her how-tos of cooking Italian quickly and authentically: · how to maximize your time in the grocery store · how to create a Pronto! pantry filled with staples · how to have a cooking plan and multitask as the preparation gets underway · how to get several meals out of a single preparation · how to use seasonal fruits and vegetables to greatest effect. For good measure, Mary Ann adds a dozen Pronto! menus to show readers how to combine the dishes, as well as a select list of mail order and online sources for specialty items. So, instead of bringing home fast food or prepared frozen dishes from the grocery story, involve the whole family, spend thirty minutes with Mary Ann, and bring a little la dolce vita---as Italians would say, "the good life"--- to your kitchen. Without fuss or bother, Mary Ann Esposito shows you how to bring an authentic taste of Italy to the table for your friends and family.

Join the popular host of Ciao Italia, seen nationally on public television, for an intimate journey back to her childhood in Buffalo, New York, to a time when her mother and grandmothers ran the household from their kitchens. Food was the connector in our lives; it brought people together. In an Italian family, love is expressed through kisses, kudos, and in the kitchen, writes Mary Ann Esposito. Yet, as a girl, Mary Ann took for granted the endless parade of delicacies emanating from the family hearth. Only when she began studying cooking in Italy did she realize that the techniques and recipes she was learning were so familiar because she'd seen them prepared countless times before! Inspired, Mary Ann spent ten years combing Italy for the secrets of its great regional cooking. Now, in this companion volume to her enormously popular cooking show, she offers two hundred recipes -- some straight from the Mediterranean, others from her family's archives and memories -- plus dozens of anecdotes and tips, to create this intimate loving tribute to her Italian heritage. The hallmark of Italian cuisine is its freshness, and Esposito shows how to make the most of every ingredient. Here's her recipe for quick tomato sauce, ready in just thirty minutes, plus one made with red peppers and another with yellow tomatoes. A chapter on breads covers everything from hearty focaccia to calzoni with a choice of four fillings to sweet, fruit-filled panettone. Many of her soups are meals in themselves, like rich Sardinian Fish Soup or Spinach and Meatball Soup.

Famed for its bustling cities rich with art, history, and centuries-old traditions, as well as for its gently rolling landscapes filled with vineyards, cypress trees, and olive groves, Tuscany is one of the most popular regions in Italy. Mary Ann Esposito, host of the longest-running television cooking show, invites us to experience the tastes, smells, and traditions of this wonderful region, one delectable meal at time. With eighty delicious recipes accompanied by anecdotes, travel essays, and cooking tips and techniques, this collection shares and explores the essence of Tuscan cooking. Cucina povera, country-style cooking, is the backbone of the Tuscan culinary heritage, and you'll see it in practice on an agricultural estate just outside of Siena, at a palazzino in the heart of Florence, at a popular restaurant in an industrial city, in medieval villages, and in the charming cities and towns across the region. Simple, flavorful ingredients are transformed into authentic, mouth-watering dishes such as Scarola e Fagioli (Escarole and Beans), Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato Bread Soup), Patate con Olio e Ramerino (Potatoes with Olive Oil and Rosemary), Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Grilled T-bone Steak), Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa di Pecorino e Panna (Potato Gnocchi with Pecorino Cream Sauce), Panforte, Ricciarelli di Siena (Siena-Style Almond Cookies), and much more. Complete with information on mail-order sources, Web sites, and Tuscan restaurants, this celebration of the region of Tuscany is a tribute to the people practicing and preserving its rich culinary traditions.

A beautifully conceived cookbook representing the best of Italian cooking brought to us by the trusted host of the longest-running television cooking show in America On Ciao Italia, which has been airing on PBS for more than twenty years, Mary Ann Esposito has taught millions of fans how to cook delicious, authentic Italian dishes. In her previous books, she has shown us how to make a quick meal with just five ingredients, helped us get dinner on the table in just thirty minutes, and encouraged us to slow down and take it easy in the kitchen while re-creating the rich aromas of Italy. Now Mary Ann returns to her family's humble beginnings to bring us a treasure trove of more than 200 time-honored recipes. They represent traditional, everyday foods that she regards as culinary royalty—always admired, respected, and passed down through generations. Even better, they are easy to make and guaranteed to please. You'll be dog-earing the pages to try such classics as: - Sicilian Rice Balls - Spaghetti with Tuna, Capers, and Lemon - Risotto with Dried Porcini Mushrooms - Lasagna Verdi Bologna Stylegnese - Homemade Italian Sweet Sausage - Veal Cutlet Sorrento Style - Roasted Sea Bass with Fennel, Oranges, and Olives - Almond Cheesecake - Orange-Scented Madeleines Georgeously designed with appetizing full-color photographs of recipes and homespun essays about Italian cooking and family traditions throughout, Ciao Italia Family Classics will have fans old and new pulling it off the shelf again and again.

Contains sixty recipes based on the cooking traditions of the Umbria region of Italy, and includes anecdotes, profiles, and cooking advice from Mary Ann Esposito, host of television's "Ciao Italia."

Any biscotti fan knows how great freshly baked biscotti can be. With these recipes, you can make a wide range of fresh biscotti flavors right from your home! Don't just put any boring old biscotti next to your morning cup of coffee, make some tasty nutella chocolate chip biscotti or toasted coconut biscotti to start your day off on the right foot. With so many recipes to choose from, it's hard to know where to begin. While many of the biscotti you will find in this book are sweet and cookie like, we also have several recipes for savory biscotti such as parmesan pepper biscotti which goes great with wine and crackers. So don't let old, store bought, tasteless biscotti be the norm anymore, grab this book and start creating some fantastic biscotti today!