The Italian Table Book

The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends delivers both parts of the fantasy and reality of Italian meals as they would be eaten on location. Combining menus and recipes with visual experience and inspiration—as well as insight into the traditions of the food and celebrations—it serves as a practical resource that gives home cooks and hosts step-by-step guidance on how to re-create these fabulous meals at their own tables.

Menus and recipes include Eating in the Market in Florence with Coward's Spaghetti and Pappa al Pomodoro; A Sunday Lunch in Emilia-Romagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard Tortelli, Vegetable Pie, and Stuffed Pork Roast; and A Table by the Sea in Positano with Mozzarella on Grilled Lemon Leaves, Squid and Walnut Salad, and Jackie O's Spaghetti. With a resources section for Italian ingredients; headnotes brimming with interesting history, recipe shortcuts, and serving suggestions; and menu introductions detailing what to drink, how to set the table, and how to time the preparation and the party itself, this is an essential guide for home cooks and those who love to entertain.

Author Elizabeth Minchilli has written about food, style, and culture from her home in Italy for the past 25 years. She divides her time between a rooftop apartment in Rome and a restored farmhouse in Umbria. Her website, Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome (elizabethminchilli.com), won a Saveur Blog Award for Best Culinary Coverage, an Italy Magazine Best Food Blog Award, and was named The Culture Trip Local Favorite. She is the author of nine books, including Eating My Way Through Italy, and the founder of the Eat Italy app.

This hardcover book is beautifully illustrated with full-color photos that capture the spirit and ease of dining all around Italy, from the busy streetside trattorias of Rome to patios overlooking the farmland of the Sicilian countryside.