My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy: Ciao Italia

by Mary Ann Esposito

Overview

Mary Ann Esposito, the beloved host of PBS's CIAO ITALIA, has inspired a global audience with her traditional, authentic, and passionate Italian cooking since 1989.

Legions of loyal fans of Mary Ann Esposito’s groundbreaking PBS cooking show CIAO ITALIA have enjoyed cooking with and learning from this beloved television personality, a trailblazer who helped spark a billion dollar food media industry and paved the way for countless other television chefs. Fans have three words to describe her cooking style: traditional, authentic and passionate. From creating and launching CIAO ITALIA in 1989 to authoring 12 cookbooks, Esposito has inspired a worldwide audience who want to know more about Italian food and culture.

For more information, visit the author's website: https://www.ciaoitalia.com/

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942155171
Publisher:	Peter E. Randall Publisher
Publication date:	11/01/2018
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	418,564
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Chef, author, and TV personality Mary Ann Esposito is the creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™ (www.ciaoitalia.com). The author of fourteen cookbooks, most recently, Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook ! Mary has worked beside world-renowned chefs Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, Jasper White, and countless others. Through Ciao Italia and appearances on other television programs-including The Today Show, Regis and Kelly, QVC, the Food Network, Hallmark Channel, Discovery Channel, Fox, Martha Stewart Radio, RAI International, The Victory Garden and many others-she has shared traditional Italian cooking with audiences around the world through personal appearances and social media platforms.

Many organizations have recognized Mary Ann for her efforts to preserve the traditions surrounding Italian food and culture. In 2013 she received the Order of the Star of Italy Cavaliere from the President of the Italian Republic, as well as the Premio Artusi award for her work promoting Italian food. Johnson and Wales University presented her with the Distinguished Author Award. St. Anselm College conferred an honorary doctorate, and the Italian Trade Commission named her a 2010 Hall of Fame honoree.

The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) honored Mary Ann with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement in the Culinary & Cultural Arts of Italy, as did the National Italian American Foundation. As part of the focus of Ciao Italia, Mary Ann established the Mary Ann Esposito Foundation (www.ciaoitalia.com/foundation), whose goal is to continue fostering the traditions of Italian regional cooking in the United States by providing scholarships for the next generation of chefs.

When not filming Ciao Italia, Mary Ann can be found in Italian kitchens giving hands-on cooking classes all over the "boot."

Editorial Reviews

08/06/2018
Esposito has hosted PBS’s Ciao Italia cooking show for nearly three decades and has written 12 previous titles, and her experience shows in this wide-ranging compendium of Italian classics. Recipes for regional treats include stuffed olives from the Marche region of Eastern Italy and sebadas, fried cheese-filled turnovers from Sardinia that are drizzled with honey and served for dessert. Encyclopedic in scope, the book covers rice, pasta, and bread, including a paper-thin, stracchino cheese–filled focaccia from Recco in Liguria and a traditionally unsalted Tuscan loaf. Sometimes organization falters: a dish of spaghetti with calamari crops up in the fish chapter, far from its pasta brethren, and it would make more sense to house panettone with desserts rather than sandwiching it between basic bread dough and pizza. Recipes are workmanlike and clear, but the standouts here are the sidebars, which include practical information (such as an alphabetical list of various types of cheese) with informative history (like a mini-essay on how the chalky soil sets apart the olive oil of Umbria, and has been the choice of popes for centuries). This is another worthy volume in Esposito’s long and sage list of cookbooks. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

11/15/2018

Esposito, a PBS host (Ciao Italia) and veteran author (Ciao Italia Family Classics), combines "recipes and food experiences from all over the boot, along with stories that bring them to life." Divided into courses, starting with antipasto and closing with sweets and fruit, dishes are presented in Italian alongside the English translation (i.e., minestra con pane sotto, soup with bread). Staples such as soup, rice, pasta, fish, meat, poultry, and salad, as well as side dishes such as pasta sauces and breads, join ziti con pomodori e melanzane alla Siciliana (ziti with tomatoes and eggplant, Sicilian style), vignarola (Roman-style spring vegetables), pesce al cartoccio (fish in paper) and tanti biscotti (a lot of biscotti). Esposito discuses common ingredients such as cheeses and olive oil and later explores the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and offers advice on bread making and starting a vegetable garden. VERDICT With intriguing photos, Esposito shares her love of the food and culture of Italy. Can't make it to Italy this year? This book is a great start.—Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO

Library Journal