The Italian summer kitchen Timeless recipes for la dolce vita

Cathy Whims

Book - 2025

"For a culinary tour of Italy, or a master class in creating the nation's many regional gems in your home kitchen, you couldn't ask for a better tour guide than Cathy Whims. Cathy brings together dishes from Italy's many and varied regions, united by her masterful interpretation of cucina povera - literally 'food of the poor', which means fresh produce, local meats, handmade pasta and pizza and simple cooking methods. These recipes for drinks, appetisers, pasta, pizza, risottos, meat and fish and desserts are united not by region but by feeling: everything is authentically Italian yet easy for the home cook to create no matter where they live"--

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Subjects
Genres
cookbooks
Cookbooks
Published
New York, NY : Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Cathy Whims (author)
Other Authors
Kate (Illustrator) Lewis (illustrator)
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
xxi, 202 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781682689189
  • Introduction
  • Pantry
  • Tools
  • Starters
  • Ombrellone Pâté
  • Tuscan-Style Chicken Liver Crostini
  • Bruschetta con Salsa di Pomodoro with Variations
  • Marinated Mushrooms
  • Marinated Zucchini with Chickpea Fritters (Zucchini alla Scapece con Panelle)
  • A Quintessential Negroni
  • Negroni Sbagliato
  • Petali di Rosa
  • Snow in Summer
  • Zucchini Fritters
  • Fried Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Mozzarella and Anchovies
  • Grilled Shrimp with Herbed Rémoulade
  • Dandelion (or Radicchio) and Spring Red Onion Tortino
  • Salads, Soups, and Sides
  • Zucchini Carpaccio with Tomato Vinaigrette
  • Fresh Tomato, Peach, and Basil Salad with Stracciatella
  • Insalata Nostrana
  • Sicilian Potato Salad (Italian Pantesca) with Wild Oregano, Capers, and Olives
  • Seafood Salad (Insalata di Mare)
  • Rice and Bean Salad (Insalata di Riso e Fagioli)
  • Cannellini Bean and Grilled Tuna Salad with Giardiniera
  • Chickpea and Olive Salad with Pan-Fried Calamari and Gremolata
  • Grilled Vegetable Platter with Stuffed Peppers
  • Rob's Summery Braised Cabbage
  • Artichokes alla Romana
  • Peperonata
  • Eggplant Caponata
  • Pappa al Pomodoro, Winemaker Style
  • Italian Roasted Potatoes
  • Pappa di Zucchini
  • Minestrone alla Milanese
  • Sage and Black Bean Soup with Bruschetta
  • Ligurian Seafood Stew (Cacciucco)
  • Pastas, Breads, and Pizzas
  • Pasta alla Checca
  • Fresh Fettuccine with Yogurt, Caramelized Onions, and Tender Herbs
  • Fennel Alfredo Pasta
  • Spaghettini with Garlic, Clams, and Bottarga
  • Spaghettini with Clams, Zucchini, and Zucchini Blossoms
  • Spaghettini with Prawns
  • Pici all'Aglione
  • Shrimp Ravioli in Brodo
  • Potato Gnocchi
  • Salt and Herb Focaccia with Variations
  • Margherita Pizza with Variations
  • Entrées
  • Zucchini Parmigiana
  • Roasted Peppers in Crema
  • Roman Stuffed Tomatoes with Rice (Pomodori al Riso)
  • Summer Zucchini Risotto with Savory Fruit Variations
  • Fish in a Venetian-Style Vinaigrette (Pesce in Saor)
  • Lemon-Marinated Fried Rockfish (Branzino in Aceto)
  • Salmon in Agrodolce
  • Halibut Baked with Aioli
  • Grilled Trout with Salsa Verde
  • Chicken with Tomatoes and Red Peppers (Polio alla Romana)
  • Grilled Vinegar-Marinated Chicken (Polio alla Diavola)
  • Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Nostrana Style
  • Turchetta
  • Pork with Tuna Sauce (Maiale Tonnato)
  • Pork Tenderloin in Baguette (Filetto di Maiale in Crosta)
  • Braised Pork Sausages with Grapes and Tomatillos
  • Thin Parmesan-Crusted Lamb Chops
  • Desserts
  • Yogurt Panna Cotta
  • Lemon and Rosemary Granita
  • Almond Granita
  • Torrone Semifreddo
  • Cherry Semifreddo
  • Spumoni with Fresh Cherries
  • Bar Biscotti
  • Piedmontese Baked Peaches with Amaretti and Cacao
  • Summer Fruit Crisp with Almond Cream
  • Olive Oil Cake (Torta all'Olio d'Olive)
  • Basics
  • GCBC (Garlic Chile Bread Crumbs)
  • Salsa Verde
  • Salmoriglio
  • Salsa Piccante
  • Salsa Piccante Muffaletta
  • Eggplant Puree (Crema di Melanzáne)
  • Basil Pesto with Variations
  • Aioli
  • Green Goddess Dressing
  • Summery Tomato Sauce
  • Marcella Hazan's Tomato Butter Sauce
  • Basic Fresh Pasta
  • Perfect Beans
  • Homemade Ricotta
  • Cantaloupe Confettura
  • Rosé and Champagne Vinegar Cherries
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

A cookbook that's not only filled with recipes but also imbued with lots of insider information makes a happy foodie heart. Rather than blazing new trails in Italian cuisine, Portland, Oregon, chef Whims offers home cooks the sorts of details that will distinguish their offerings, such as: focus on prosciutto as the cornerstone of il tagliere (Italian for charcuterie plates). In cold temperatures, radicchio increases its natural sugar. Potatoes boiled in their skin do not get waterlogged. And focaccia is always (in Italy at least) served as an appetizer. After Whims' annotated list for pantry items and tools, nearly 100 recipes, all featuring charmingly drawn illustrations by Kate Lewis, fill out the expected categories: starters (zucchini fritters); salads, soups, and sides (eggplant caponata); pastas, breads, and pizzas (granchio pizza on a crème fraiche base with Dungeness crab atop); entrees (savory fruit risottos); desserts (granitas and semifreddi); and basics (garlic chili breadcrumbs). The piece de resistance? All the information Whims packs into sidebars, e.g., risotto done right, sausage from scratch, how to peel tomatoes.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Nostrana restaurateur Whims brings the tastes of a summer in Italy to home cooks in her appealing debut. Reflecting her philosophy that "delicious food doesn't have to be complicated," Whims offers unfussy, rustic dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients and farmers market bounty. Zucchini reigns supreme throughout, in fried, stuffed, and layered forms. Starters include grilled eggplant caponata, several bruschetta variations, and fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and anchovies. A section on "Salads, Soups, and Sides" features seafood salad in an herbed vinaigrette, and classic minestrone soup. In the "Pastas, Breads, and Pizza" section, basil-marinated tomatoes shine in Pasta alla Checca ("Wait until the height of summer, when tomatoes are at their juicy best, to put this pasta on regular rotation" Whims advises). Entrées include savory and fruit-sweetened risottos and multiple fish dishes, among them grilled trout and baked halibut. For dessert, there's berry-topped panna cotta and almond granita. A final chapter on basics, including salsas, pestos, and other purees, offers versatile building blocks. Recipe headers charm with Whims's sunlit memories of Italy, while cheerily colorful illustrations throughout add to the fun. Instructions are clear and the dishes are simple yet tempting, resulting in a collection that's sure to find fans. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

For her debut cookbook, Whims, a six-time James Beard Award nominee and the chef/owner of Nostrana in Portland, OR, defines her own culinary philosophy as the idea that delicious food can also be easy and enjoyable to make. With this in mind, Whims uses the cucina povera of Italy as a culinary touchstone to create her toothsome interpretations of classic Italian dishes, composed from the freshest ingredients available to her in the Pacific Northwest. Arranged by course, the recipes include expected favorites such as bruschetta, artichokes alla Romana, and potato gnocchi, as well as Margherita pizza, pollo alla Romana, and torrone semifreddo. Whims generously dispenses culinary wisdom throughout the book--including a discussion of using salt-packed versus oil-packed anchovies--as well as offering her own clever twists on dishes, such as her use of yogurt in place of heavy cream in her version of fettuccine. In place of photographs, Whims opts for charming watercolor illustrations that help enhance the summery, dolce vita spirit the cookbook aims to capture. VERDICT While there is a plethora of excellent guides on this topic, including the indispensable Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan (with whom Whims studied), home cooks need Whims's whimsical, wonderfully informative take on the simple pleasures of Italian cooking.--John Charles

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