Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos, hosts of the Cooking Channels's hit show Extra Virgin, bring together food, family, and style in a celebration of the pleasures of the rustic Italian table with 120 recipes for simple yet exquisite meals that are accessible, full of fresh flavor, and easy to prepare. Devi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos are ambassadors of contemporary Tuscan cooking. In Extra Virgin, Gabriele is a traditional Italian with a big heart, and Debi is an outgoing, brash New York City girl. Their sassy and playful exchanges illuminate what’s important in everyday life: good food and a lot of love. Ranging from traditional antipasti and soups to their spin on entrees, pizzas, and desserts, recipes include Pecorino and Honey Dip, a sweet and salty way to start a meal; tangy, luscious Grilled Apricots with Goat Cheese Ricotta, inspired by wild Tuscan apricot trees; and Sausage and Beans, which offers hints of fennel in a Tuscan red sauce. Here, too, are Braised Artichokes softened in guanciale-infused oil, Breakfast Pizza, and Coffee Granita just as Italians make it. So flag these recipes, get sauce on them, let splashes of olive oil mark the pages—and invite Debi and Gabriele’s charisma and passion for cooking to spill into your kitchen.

According to European legislation, extra virgin is the top grade of olive oils. It has a superior level of health properties and flavour compared to virgin and refined olive oils. Mediterranean countries still produce more than 85% of olive oil globally, but the constant increase of demand for extra virgin olive oil has led to new cultivation and production in other areas of the world, including California, Australia, China, South Africa and South America. At the same time, olive oil’s sensory properties and health benefits are increasingly attracting the attention and interest of nutritionists, food processors, manufacturers and food services. Progress and innovation in olive cultivation, harvesting and milling technologies as well as in oil handling, storage and selling conditions make it possible to achieve even higher quality levels than those stipulated for extra virgin oils. As a consequence, a new segment – excellent extra virgin olive oils – is increasingly attracting the attention of the market and earning consumers’ preference. The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Handbook provides a complete account of olive oil’s composition, health properties, quality, and the legal standards surrounding its production. The book is divided into convenient sections focusing on extra virgin olive oil as a product, the process by which it is made, and the process control system through which its quality is assured. An appendix presents a series of tables and graphs with useful data, including conversion factors, and the chemical and physical characteristics of olive oil. This book is aimed at people involved in the industrial production as well as in the marketing and use of extra virgin olive oil who are looking for practical information, which avoids overly academic language, but which is still scientifically and technically sound. The main purpose of the handbook is to guide operators involved in the extra virgin olive oil chain in making the most appropriate decisions about product quality and operating conditions in the production and distribution processes. To these groups, the most important questions are practical ones of why, how, how often, how much will it cost, and so on. The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Handbook will provide the right answers to these key practical considerations, in a simple, clear yet precise and up-to-date way.

Extra Virgin introduces a major new voice in this delicious tale of two sisters who find unexpected joy in the isolated village of Diano San Pietro, Italy. How could anyone leave such a lovely place to go to rack and ruin? It looks as if no one has ever been near it for decades, its land's untended and its olive tress unkept. I want it every badly. It ought to be mine. In 1983 a pale Annie Hawes and her equally pale sister decide to leave England for the sun-drenched olive groves of a small Italian town in Liguria. With fantasies of handsome tanned men and swimming in the sea urging them on, they sign up to graft roses-something they know nothing about, but as it is a bad year for olives, they figure they can fake a knowledge of roses for ten weeks. What they don't count on is falling in love with Italy-and with one old farmhouse in particular. Although they quickly realize that Liguria is not Tuscany -- it is undiscovered by tourists, and its inhabitants (none of whom appear to be handsome, and none of whom seem to be under forty) have strict ideas about what young Englishwomen should and shouldn't be doing("to go swimming in seawater outside the month of July or August is even worse for your health than drinking cappuccino after twelve noon!") they simply cannot resist the charm exuded by the little town. Annie, who has never wanted to settle down anywhere, now doesn't want to leave. How will she find a way to make this old derelict farmhouse her own? What will the Ligurians think about their wild new neighbor with her strange ways staying on for good? Extra Virgin is a wonderful memoir, written with irresistible verve and humor. Annie Hawe's adventures will captivate readers who have wondered what happens when you fall in love with a certain house, on a certain hill, near a certain village. After eighteen years living as a Ligurian, Annie tells a story that is much more realistic than nay other book on Italy, and Extra Virgin is sure to put Liguria in the minds of travelers, armchair and real alike.

Public television cooking show host Christina Pirello is the woman who put the fun back into healthy cooking. In Christina Cooks she's responded to the hundreds of questions that her viewers and readers have put to her over the years-with lots of sound, sane advice, hints, tips and techniques-plus loads of great recipes for scrumptious, healthy meals with a Mediterranean flair. A whole foods cookbook, Christina Cooks offers inventive ideas for breakfast, special occasions, and what to feed the kids. Chapters include Soups, Breakfast, Kids' Favorites, Beans, Grains, Vegetables, Beverages, and Desserts-Christina addresses popular myths about dairy and protein amongst other often misunderstood ideas about healthful eating.

Winner of the World Best Mediterranean Cuisine Book - the Dun Gifford Prize - in the Gourmand Best in World awards, also the National Best Diet Book in the 'for the public' category. 'Useful, attractive and captivating' Olive Oil Times Is it true that two tablespoons of olive oil a day can halve your risk of heart disease and help sustain weight loss? Can olive oil kill cancer cells, fight Alzheimer's Disease, revive a failing heart and even turn off bad genes? The Olive Oil Diet takes an authoritative look at the science behind the headlines. Recent studies have shown that a diet based around olive oil will significantly improve your health, well-being and vitality. It will also help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid heart disease, stroke and diseases such as cancer, diabetes and dementia. All olive oils are not the same, however. This book also explores the effects of diverse varieties of olives, growing techniques and oil-production methods on the health-giving properties - and flavour - of different oils. With over 100 delicious recipes, it points the way to those extra virgin oils and food combinations that are likely to do you the most good. This fascinating journey to the heart of the Mediterranean reveals the extraordinary health secrets of nature's original superfood.