Description:
Mark Strausman, one of Manhattan's top restaurateur-chefs, presides over Campagna, his acclaimed country-Italian restaurant. Strausman's feeling for simple but savory dishes is everywhere apparent in the restaurant's home-style food. The Campagna Table, a collection of more than 150 recipes from the restaurant and elsewhere, also celebrates what home cooks achieve, while understanding what they can reasonably accomplish, as few other chef's cookbooks do. Those seeking accessible recipes for superior everyday and special-occasion dishes should find Strausman's book a catch. In chapters such as Al Fresco or Summer Cooking, One-Pot Meals and Soups, and Quick-Cooking Main Dishes or A La Minutes, and others devoted to dishes such as Pasta, Risotto, and Polenta, Strausman offers delicious food tailored to the skills and schedules of modern home cooks. For example, many of the dishes from the Al Fresco chapter, such as Sicilian Peppers Stuffed with Rice, can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature. Braised Short Ribs with Lentils, Tuscan Mushroom Soup, and other one-pot meals, as well as such quick-cook dishes as Braised Striped Bass with Fennel, Pernod and Saffron, are also time and effort savers. Strausman doesn't overlook the pleasures of weekend and holiday cooking, however, and offers such slow-cook treats as Real Eggplant Parmigiana, as well as recipes for an Italian Christmas Eve dinner, and for Easter, Hanukkah, and Passover celebrations. Cooking tips and a section on pantry-stocking add to the book's usefulness, while color photos depict the dishes in all their homey, likeable glory. --Arthur Boehm
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