Italian Street Food by Paola Bacchia (Review and Giveaway!)

Book Details:

Book Title: Italian Street Food: Recipes From Italy's Bars and Hidden Laneways by Paola Bacchia
Category: Adult Nonfiction, 274 pages
Genre: Cookbook
Publisher: Smith Street
Release date: October 2016
​Content Rating: PG

Book Description:

Italy’s classic recipes are well known the world over, but few are aware of the dishes that reign on the flourishing Italian street-food scene. Hidden behind the town squares, away from the touristy restaurants, and down back streets are little-known gems offering up some of Italy’s tastiest and best-kept secret dishes that the locals prize.

ITALIAN STREET FOOD is not just another Italian cookbook; it delves into truly authentic Italian fare—the kind of secret recipes that are passed down through generations. Learn how to make authentic polpettine, arancini, stuffed cuttlefish, cannolis, and fritters, and perfect your gelato-making skills with original flavors such as lemon and basil or affogato and aperol. With beautiful stories and stunning photography throughout, ITALIAN STREET FOOD delivers an authentic, lesser known take on a much loved cuisine.

Arancini

​​Buy the book: Rizzoli ~ Amazon

My Review

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

This hardbound beautiful cookbook is Paola Bacchia's ode to her love of traditional artisan Italian cooking found in Italy's bars and hidden laneways. I savored the stories of her upbringing, her search for these little-known eateries she highlights in her book and also the rich history of these artisanal foods and eateries.

This book is filled with lots of recipes, new ones I had not heard of and many of which I am familiar with because both my mother and father would make them. My dad can make a killer porchetta. I have to say this book brought back so many memories of my childhood. The gelato recipes caught my eye and I will need to try them. For the Italian foodie, this book will provide recipes of beloved dishes or twists on familiar dishes since different regions of Italy will use different ingredients for the same dish. For the North American foodie it will open up the way to bring Italian flavors into your home.

Tomatoes in Bari

The layout is very well done with complete recipe on one page and the full-page matt photograph of the dish beside it. Bacchia uses both the metric and imperial system for the amount of ingredients which is great. I grew up using the imperial because that is how my mother passed on her recipes to me. This cookbook also stays open when you are simultaneously reading and cooking a recipe from it. And there is a handy index in the back of the book. Furthermore, it also contains fantastic street photography.

Fish seller in Naples

This would make the perfect gift for the foodie in your family or if you are of Italian origin like me and want a cookbook with the recipes of dishes you are familiar with and want to preserve. This book is a work of art and clearly a labour of love. A stunningly beautiful cookbook.

Meet the Author:

​Paola Bacchia is one of Australia’s most popular Italian food bloggers. On her blog, Italy on My Mind, she shares family memories and their connections to food. It won awards for best food blog in 2013 and 2015 from ITALY Magazine. Paola returns to Italy every year to expand her knowledge of Italian food, its traditions, and innovations.

Connect to the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram

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Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers by Sally Allen (Review & Giveaway)

Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers by Sally Allen
Griffins Wharf Productions
ISBN: 978-0983644613
Published November 2015
Trade paperback, 225 pages

Book Description:

Award-winning writer and teacher Sally Allen knows that good books don’t just draw us in; they talk to us, shape us, and transport us to times, places, and minds different from our own.

In Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers, Allen deftly weaves personal stories with fifteen thematized, annotated, and illustrated reading lists for what to read next. By sharing some of the treasures in her library and the secret lives they reveal, she gives us permission to embrace the shameless book lover inside each of us. Unlocking Worlds is a testament to how reading passionately—and compassionately—can unlock the world beyond our back yard. Celebrating books and those who read them, Allen shows how the solitary act of reading can be a powerful thread that creates community and connection. Thought-provoking and eloquent, Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers is a must-have for anyone who can’t leave the house without a book in hand.

My Review:

The minute I began to read Unlocking Worlds I knew I had found a kindred spirit. Sally Allen begins with an anecdote of how she brought along her current read (at the time Goldfinch) tucked in her purse as she went to meet a friend for coffee. You know, just in case her friend was late. That's me. That's a lot of us, right? I even bought a new purse recently based on the specs that I could fit a book in it.

Unlocking Worlds lives up to its name of being a companion to book lovers. Allen who has a PhD in English Education writes without airs, but with a true understanding of someone whose life is revolved around literature from early childhood onward. She writes about her discovery of book blogs and "how despite the illusion that reading is solitary, we readers are always in conversation--with books, of course, but also with other readers and critics." How true, hence the appeal of book blogging.

The book is divided into chapters that list books that touched her and made her reading experience memorable for various reasons. For example, Novels That Play with Time and Space, Books Set in Times of War, Books That Thrill, Chill and Keep You Guessing and so on. It was like being part of Allen's book club where she went into the reason she liked these books. I was intrigued. I made a list of books I now wanted to read because of what Allen discovered through them. She even includes a bibliography at the back of the book of all the books she mentions in her text.

Allen even addresses the issue all book lovers have, agony of not being able to read all the books we want. Who could understand such a thing but another book lover? The book is interspersed with quotes at the beginning of each chapter. My favorite is the one that summarizes the book:

"the great advantage of being a literary woman was that you could go everywhere and do everything."

- Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

Unlocking Worlds is the perfect gift for any book lover.  It's such a pleasure to read and infuses you with warmth and nostalgia. Why nostalgia? Because as Sally is reminiscing about the books she's read as a child, teenager or adult you will inevitable do the same. Thank you, Sally, for telling the world why we love books so much.

To read more reviews, please visit Sally Allen's page on iRead Book Tours.

Buy the book: 

 Amazon 

 Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

Award winning writer and teacher Sally Allen holds a Ph.D. from New York University in English Education, with an emphasis in writing and rhetoric, and a M.A. in English Language and Literature. She teaches writing, literature, and communications, leads book group discussions, and is the founder and editor of Books, Ink at HamletHub.

Connect with the author:   Website   ~   Twitter

And now for the giveaway!

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Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Inheritance by Marianne Perry (Review and Giveaway!)

The Inheritance by Marianne Perry
iUniverse
ISBN: 9781475952834
Published November 2012
Trade paperback, 280 pages

Book Description:

The Inheritance tells the story of a family disintegrating from conflicting loyalties in Calabria, Italy. Set during the period 1897 to 1913, the region was subject to earthquakes and tsunamis; the land harsh and poverty the norm. Superstition clashed with religion and a class system ruled the people. Calabria is the perfect backdrop for the tragedy that unfolds in The Inheritance.

Caterina is an atypical woman, and The Inheritance chronicles her life from birth to young womanhood. Born with an inheritance of loss into a society that has predetermined what she can and cannot do, she vows to live a life of her choosing. Caterina refuses to allow the limits of her gender, the constraints of her class and the demands imposed by those in power to stand in her way. Caterina remains steadfast in her commitment to become the woman she imagines. Her decisions ignite conflicts and fuel a chain of events that result in dire consequences for all whose path she crosses.

My Review:

Italian historical fiction novels are my favorite genre, reminding me so much of the stories my grandmothers and aunts used to tell me. When I picked up The Inheritance, I quickly became immersed in the lives of Anna Marino, the kind wife of Santo, a business man whose wealth and connections made him brutally powerful, and vivacious Caterina Romano, the daughter of Anna's servant.

I was glued to the pages and would have read the book in one sitting if I didn't have work and family obligations. The author deftly wrote a tale that was compelling and heartbreaking. She developed her characters so well that one easily felt strong emotions toward them whether it was contempt or compassion. The village life too was brought to life with secondary characters that supported the role of the main ones and helped us to understand them. How could one not love Bruno, the cook? Food is such a big part of the Italian culture and his character showed the strength of food in connecting people.

Anna, Caterina, Lorenzo and Padre Valentine propelled the story forward and although one got the sense of impending doom, hope was always foremost in these characters. Both Anna and Caterina are strong female characters but they suffered from male dominance and social restraints. Nevertheless, there were little victories in their lives that I applauded. The ending was bittersweet and left me wanting more. One could easily see a sequel in the works. I was hoping for redemption for one of the characters but it fell short.

The setting of a small town in Calabria was vividly portrayed. The rigid class system was manifested in the lifestyle and ways of thinking. The hard life of the peasants clearly helped us understand why many emigrated from there to North America in search of a better life. 

There was only one distraction for me as I read this well-written novel, and that was the misspelling and wrong verb tenses of the Italian words used throughout the text. For those not fluent in Italian, this won't matter at all. The story was so immersive for me that I was able to skip over these words replacing them with the correct ones as I read.

Apart from this, I will consider this novel one of my best reads for 2015. When a story has me thinking about it long after I read it, I know it has touched me deeply. This one can be considered an historical literary fiction, and I look forward to reading more of this talented author's works. 

To read more reviews, please visit Marianne Perry's page on Italy Book Tours.

Buy the book: 

  

   Amazon

Barnes & Noble 

  Chapters/Indigo

About the Author:

Family dynamics, genealogical research to solve ancestral mysteries and international travel are Marianne Perry’s priorities. A second-generation Canadian-Italian, she is the author of The Inheritance, a historical fiction set in Calabria, Italy from 1897 to 1913 inspired by her grandmother’s early life in Calabria. With a thirty-year career in education and communications, Marianne holds a Master of Education Degree from The University of Western Ontario (Canada).

A past member of the Board of Trustees, the Canadian National Arts Centre Corporation, she has also published non-fiction genealogical articles throughout North America. As a girl, Marianne fell in love with The National Geographic Magazine and dreamt of exploring the world. With her recent visit to Antarctica, she achieved her goal of stepping foot on every continent. The mother of two grown children, Marianne and her husband live on the shores of the St. Mary’s River, which drains Lake Superior on the outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. She continues to research family history and write non-fiction genealogical articles. In addition, she is working on her second novel and planning further adventures.

Marianne blogs about genealogy, travel, family and writing on her website. Visit her at http://www.marianneperry.ca. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Goodreads.

Connect with the author: Website    ~   Twitter   ~   Facebook

Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.