Michele Scicolone

Italienska läckerheter

Res i fantasin till pastans och prosciuttons förlovade land. Låt dig lockas av dofter, smaker och traditioner i ett av världens mest omtyckta kök. Kokkonstens Italien är en elegant och överdådig kokbok med stämningsfyllda miljöbilder, vackra akvareller och över 140 traditionella och nyskapade recept - alla läckert illustrerade och uppdelade i fem kapite som återspeglar den italienska måltiden: antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni och dolci. Michele Scicolone berättar personligt om sina egna upplevelser från Italien och hyllar de regionala skillnaderna som gör landets matkultur så spännande och variationsrik.

MICHELE SCICOLONE är författare, lärare och journalist med mat, vin och resmål i Italien som specialitet. Hon har skrivit ett flertal böcker om Italien och italiensk matlagning och medverkar i flera stora amerikanska tidningar och tidskrifter.… (mehr)

During winter (the holiday season especially), I love to take advantage of the slow cooker when making meals. Often, however, it is too easy to resort just to soup as the best slow cooker dinner option.

The Mediterranean Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone is full of delicious, healthy meal ideas, and while it is not a vegetarian cookbook, it has enough vegetarian recipes to make it worthwhile. With recipes from Turkey, France, Italy, and Spain, among other countries, there are all sorts of delicious flavors. Polenta with Herbs, Vegetable Bulgar Pilaf, Apricot Almond Cake, and Chickpea and Lentil Soup fill the pages of this cookbook, as do beautiful pictures and essential details about Mediterranean spices and cooking styles.

This book has recipes for vegetables, desserts, and main entrees, and makes delicious recipes that are even more impressive because they were made in a slow cooker with minimal effort. The Mediterranean Slow Cooker is a great find and makes healthy cooking on a weeknight even easier.… (mehr)

Vive La France! ...and French cooking tips!

I confess I have always been doubtful about slow cookers. I know people swear by them. But I’m a cook who loves to be in the kitchen stirring, tasting, adding this and that.
Certainly my experience of other’s Slow Cooking has been Mac ‘n Cheese, tough Chicken in some sort of Sauce, or beef gone wrong. Some good some bad all less than stellar!
In light of this, when the words ‘slow cooker’ surface, all I can think of is those horrific experiences, shudder and turn back to my trusty pots n’ pans.
But now! There is Slowing Cooking--a la gourmet stylet. Vive La France! (or in this case the French Cooks!)
My mouth watered as I read through The French Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone and I am almost convinced that this method will be for me. I say almost because I have to purchase the cooker. My slow cooker (that I used once and then it went the way of the Hard Rubbish Collection) had been bought at a garage sale and was nowhere near as swish and user friendly as those to be found in the chapter entitled Choosing a Slow Cooker.
The chapters are well laid out; explanations are great and recipes accessible. The lamb recipes, particularly Lamb Shanks are appealing (I am so…ooo a lamb lover). The other red meat recipes seem excellent also.
Had I had this book ages ago my household would have run differently and the children may have eaten before 8pm. Now they all eat at 6pm so at least the grandkids aren’t starving or learning to snack or going to bed on full stomachs like they did.
This is a great book for those of us scared stiff by ‘The Slow Cooker’…Slow cooking with verve, panache and style. What more can one ask for.
A Netgalley ARC… (mehr)

The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook, by Michele Sciolone, is my latest library checkout and what a hit it’s been.

You can recreate traditional Italian dishes, soups and desserts in a crock pot – perfect for anyone with a busy schedule. Michele Sciolone is the author of many cookbooks, a cooking instructor and an Italian culinary tour guide.

The recipes in this book are intended for slow cookers with a 5 to 7 quart capacity. If you are a household of two, as we are about to be, the extras may be frozen for a quick dish later on.

We tried Chicken and Orzo Soup as well as Mushroom Soup with Marsala . The chciken soup was my favorite so far. The orzo cooked in the slow cooker was incredibly tender and fluffed up. It was like having tiny dumplings…must be the lengthy (and low heat) cooking process from using a slow cooker. You’ll be amazed if you cook orzo this way – promise!

For the recipes and photos please see my blog:

http://tinaculbertson.blogspot.com/2011/01/italian-slow-cooker-cookbook.html… (mehr)