For my birthday, my beloved spoiled me with a gift from Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli. No, it wasn’t truffles, cheese or prosciutto di Parma. Tony carries copies of the only Italian cookbook you’ll ever need. In fact, it might be the only cookbook you’ll every need, period. It’s called The Silver Spoon (Phaidon $39.95), and it is Italy’s best-selling culinary “bible,” now available in English. The 1,263-page tome, first published in 1950, contains more than 2,000 recipes. It’s akin to an Italian Joy of Cooking, full of recipes and technique tips for making everything from homemade pasta to woodcock with truffles. I tried out The Silver Spoon’s basic potato gnocchi recipe last week, and it came out superb! Best gnocchi I’ve ever made. Pick up a copy at Caputo’s, 314 W. 300 South (phone 531-TONY) for someone you love.
While we’re on the topic of Italian food, I’ve been hearing positive murmurings about a new Italian restaurant in Sandy: Little Italy Pizzeria e Ristorante (9284 S. 700 East). I haven’t gotten there yet, but I’m told by a reliable source that the red clam sauce is great (“Wow!” was the word I think she used). Apparently, it also has a good Tuscan salad and five different veal dishes—something you don’t see on many menus these days. No wine list yet, though. I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s a quick gnocchi preparation tip for the home kitchen. Fresh gnocchi can get pretty messy, and it tends to clump together when you try to store it in the fridge or freezer. Here’s what I do: Scatter them out on a large, flour-dusted cookie sheet and freeze it, uncovered. Within a half-hour or so, it’s ready to be either used or stored away for future use.
Quote of the week: Italy is like cooked macaroni—yards and yards of soft tenderness, raveled around everything.
—D.H. Lawrence
Send Food Matters information to teds@xmission.com. Hear Ted over the airwaves on Sound Bites, Thursdays on KSL NewsRadio 1160 AM and 102.7 FM.
While we’re on the topic of Italian food, I’ve been hearing positive murmurings about a new Italian restaurant in Sandy: Little Italy Pizzeria e Ristorante (9284 S. 700 East). I haven’t gotten there yet, but I’m told by a reliable source that the red clam sauce is great (“Wow!” was the word I think she used). Apparently, it also has a good Tuscan salad and five different veal dishes—something you don’t see on many menus these days. No wine list yet, though. I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s a quick gnocchi preparation tip for the home kitchen. Fresh gnocchi can get pretty messy, and it tends to clump together when you try to store it in the fridge or freezer. Here’s what I do: Scatter them out on a large, flour-dusted cookie sheet and freeze it, uncovered. Within a half-hour or so, it’s ready to be either used or stored away for future use.
Quote of the week: Italy is like cooked macaroni—yards and yards of soft tenderness, raveled around everything.
—D.H. Lawrence
Send Food Matters information to teds@xmission.com. Hear Ted over the airwaves on Sound Bites, Thursdays on KSL NewsRadio 1160 AM and 102.7 FM.
