[.ca] Patricia Wells' Trattoria: Simple and Robust Fare ... (ISBN 0060936525)

Simple, yes.:
First, I should warn you. I am a college student. I live in a cramped apartment with two roommates, and we are poor. BUT, we live in a place with lower rent so that we can afford groceries, and we take turns cooking during the week. Basiclly, we are not too typical college students. Among a collection of handed down cookbooks, we have Patricia Wells' Trattoria. The kick here, which I think inspired my mother to get it for me, is that it has simple recipes and its Italian food. This should be a win-win situation: I crave spaghetti daily. But this cookbook is dissapointing. Among the recipes that do not acquire Lamb, Saffron, Mussels, Pancetta, Crab, Swordfish, Rabbit, or Oxtail, are a few that sound absolutely ridicuously easy. Examples; "Pan Fried Potatoes with Olives," (Potatoes, Olive Oil, Olives, Salt & Pepper) or "Tajarin with Rosemary-Infused Butter." (Unsalted Butter, Rosemary, Salt, Tagliatelle, Parmagiana-Romana Cheese) After following the sometimes meticulous, but still easy steps, we found ourselves chewing and thinking "Is that it?" Of course our friend in culinary school would point out that we are not using the freshest of ingredients, but we got what we could. Even he thought what we had was uneventful. Why three stars? Last night we had some very good chicken, and, again, the recipes are easy to make. Overall the results from this book were good enough to eat, but nothing special enough to write a cookbook about.

Good, Economical, Easy Italian Food, Excellent Recipes:
This book is Patricia Wells' Italian companion to her French cuisine's 'Bistro Cooking' and it succeeds in doing for the Italian comfort food world the same great job she did for the Bistro. A look at the table of contents shows at a glance where the major differences lie between the two cuisines. Where 'Bistro Cooking' had a chapter on potatoes and one chapter on pasta, 'Trattoria' has two chapters on pasta (dried and fresh) plus chapters on 'Rice and Polenta' and 'Breads and Pizzas'. While 'Bistro Cooking' desserts concentrated on pastries, 'Trattoria' desserts concentrate on granitas, sorbets, and ice creams. The French book also seems to give more attention to eggs and cheese than the Italian book. Recipes for a large number of Italian standards are presented in this book, but not all classics make an appearance, since this book does not deal with all of Italian cuisine, only that food you would most commonly expect in a family-run Trattoria. This means that the book gives a lot of attention to antipasti, salads, vegetables, soups, pastas, sauces, and condiments. The most common land based protein is chicken. Veal, so common in many classic Italian dishes, just barely manages to make an appearance in a recipe for veal shanks. There are no expensive veal dishes here. Some pork and lamb dishes make an appearance, but chicken is definitely the star of the show. There are also few long cooking beef braises like ragu Bolognese either. I was surprised to see that even gnocchi was absent, in spite of a healthy representation of other dishes from famous Roman Trattorias. The classics which do show up are things like marinated, grilled, and fried artichokes; panzanella and other salads featuring arugula, celery (puntarelle), and spinach; and pasta such as spaghetti alla Puttanesca and lasagna. One of the real stars of the book is the selection of chicken dishes, including chicken cooked under bricks and the chicken cacciatora dishes. Although Ms. Wells specializes in French cuisine, she has really done us a service with this book in making these Italian classics available in such an effective manner. The nature of the subject means that almost all recipes, especially those for vegetables, starches, and seafood are very straightforward. Still, the author does not skimp on important details. This is no more evident than in her chapters on pizza and breads. In reviewing books like this, I typically advise people to refer to books by specialists in baking, but I make an emphatic exception with this book. I am delighted, for example, to find a really effective recipe for ciabatta, a rustic type of bread which is superb for making panninis, not to mention a killer Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich (See Tyler Florence's book for an over the top recipe). For those who are unfamiliar with bread baking, do not be surprised at the long waiting times for some types of bread baking, especially the artisinal yeast breads and natural yeast breads such as sourdough. Ms. Wells suggestions on bread baking techniques are repeated by every bread expert I have read. Do not skimp on her resting times or on her suggestions to have doughs rise in a cool location. Also, I strongly suggest you get a baking stone if you do bread, at least for your pizza. This is not to say that all bread recipes take days. The previously mentioned ciabatta and a recipe for olive rolls are relatively fast. Wells's chapter will not turn you into a professional baker, but it will certainly turn on the bread-baking gene, if you have it. In the chapter on desserts, I was particularly happy to find a recipe for the ricotta cheesecake, a very chic pastry with as much panache as a Brooklyn cheesecake with much fewer calories. If you like cooking Italian food without a lot of fuss, this is the book for you. If someone asked me for a recommendation on a book with which to have fun, I would recommend they get both 'Trattoria' and 'Bistro Cooking'. Together, they are less expensive than many recent celebrity written cookbooks. Highly recommended.

Finally: Italy is in my hands!:
Since I returned from a trip to Italy a year ago, I have sought high and low for a cookbook that would put Italy into my hands as it was when I was there. This is that book! I've had it two weeks and used it six times already. I learned in Italy that there is Italian food, and then there is American Italian food (think "Olive Garden" chain restaurant). A true Italian "trattoria" is small, intimate, and completely reliant on the ingredients of freshness and simplicity. Dried pasta isn't forbidden, and fresh pasta isn't unheard of. Many of these recipes have only a half dozen ingredients. The techniques are simple, and you need have only a medium level of confidence to turn out the most savory and aromatic food of your life. The recipes run the entire course: appetizers to dessert. Additionally, there are sources for hard-to-find ingredients and equipment. Some sample dishes: Lemon Risotto, Goat Cheese and Carlic Spread, White Bean Salad with Fresh Sage and Thyme; Tuscan Five-Bean Soup; Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup; Roasted Rosemary Potatoes; Individual Eggplant Parmesans; Penne with Vodka and Spicy Tomato-Cream Sauce; Saffron Butterflies; Tagliarini with Lemon Sauce; Risotto with Tomatoes and Parmesan; Orange, Sage and Mushroom Risotto; several bread recipes; Fried Calamari; Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Sage; Chicken Cooked Under Bricks...oh, enough. Are you salivating yet? Mille grazie, Patricia! And a big bacia to you for this wonderful, loving tribute to Italy. If I can't be in Italy, I can pretend.

Fabulous food!:
I bought this cookbook on a whim and have never looked back! Shortly after perusing this book I thought "hmmm. Italian anti-pasti party!" I gave that party five times, and almost every dish I made for the parties was from this book. I have not made one single thing that wasn't delicious. Try the caponata, or Aunt Flora's olive salad, or the chicken with red peppers, or the mushroom orange risotto, or the fragrant orange lemon bundt cake, or the ricotta cheesecake....okay, I'm getting carried away, but from someone who cooks a lot, has taken many, many cooking classes and practically collects cookbooks, this book is incredible!

Classic, Simple Italian:
I'll preempt this review by stating that i'm used to excellent Italian cooking created by my Italian mom, my 3 Italian aunts, my 2 Italian grandmothers...all excellent cooks. With that in mind, i thoroughly enjoyed Trattoria. What makes it so wonderful is that not only are the recipes tasty and simple to make but they're also authentic, just what she boasts on the book's front cover. This is what Trattoria or simple Italian cooking is all about. Think a few fresh, quality (those are both very important words) ingredients...fruity extra virgin olive oil, tender fresh mozzarella, plump summer tomatoes...mixed just so to create magic. HEre are a few examples: Aunt Flora's olive salad, a spicy mix of olives, hot pepper flakes and olive oil is very close to what i look forward to every Christmas Eve except my mom adds some diced red bell pepper. The baked sea bass is very close to the bluefish my grams used to make, except she used halved tomatoes pierced with spikes of garlic in place of the artichokes. And the lemon risotto, beautiful in its simplicity, is perfect in the summertime with simply grilled chicken. These three recipes are very simple , very authentic and very delicious, typical of all of Trattoria. What's not to love about that? This cookbook is also a great starting point for anyone that is just learning to cook, especially if you love Italian.